what epoxy for bone handle?

B

blaster4

Joined
May 13, 2005
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i've been lurking for some time now and i am finally getting my feet wet. i was wondering what you guys use to bond the tang inside a bone handle. thanks all.

--KJ
 
Devcon 5 minute works great if you are quick..the 2 hour slow cure works better especially if you are not quick at fitting everything up.

Some use newer rosins and different things to attach thier handles but the Devcon works great to get you started untill you find what you like using best.

Bruce
 
I use K&G 24 hour ,two part stuff.
To get started,Bruce is right,use Devcon.A good test to run on any epoxy you are going to use is to check and see if it is thermoplastic. Glue two scraps of steel together and let it cure (don't squeeze all the glue out from between the two pieces).Warm up the metal on one side with a torch or heat gun and see if the glue gets soft and sticky,like hot melt glue.If it does,DON'T use that brand.It will create lots of problems in grinding and polishing.You want an epoxy that you have to heat to destruction before it breaks down.Handles and blades get hot in grinding and buffing,you don't want them moving around and comming apart when they warm up.
 
the blade is already finished. it is fitted to the bone handle and just needs some glue and a sinew wrap. i use Acraglass when bedding my rifle barrels would this be a good choice? i just don't want to use something that might affect the bone. as far as heat goes the Acraglass would fit the bill.

--KJ
 
I think Accra-Glass is the only way to go! It's the only thing I'll use for handles. There are a couple of other epoxy types out there that work almost as good, but they are hard to come by, and are generally more expensive than accra-glass.

I'm gona crawl up on my soap box for just a minute about "glues"..... Most available epoxies (what you can generally find in local stores) have only a 6 month shelf life from the date of manufacture, and a hold life of only 5 years. This means that after 5 years they begin to chemically break down, and slowly disinitigrate.....doesn't matter what you do with them, that's just how long they are engineered to last.
Accra-Glass, on the other hand, has a 10 year shelf life, and a hold life of 50 years.
Next...... the water-proof factor. Eventhough the epoxy you buy in the little double syringe might say it's waterproof....don't believe it. Early on in my career I had it fail on a couple of knives. Did a little experimenting with it, and found that after a couple hours of exposure to water, the stuff gets gummy enough to pull the handle(s) off.
Again, no problems like this with accra-glass.
It's more expensive than the other "epoxies", but if your making the best knife you can, why skimp on what's going to hold it all together?

OK, I'm climbing back down off the box.....:)
 
thanks gent's you have been a great help. one more question if i may.

do you guys use anything to seal the outside of the bone handle or just keep it 'au natural?

--KJ
 
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