epoxy for knife scales

Cameron Wilcox

Well-Known Member
my first knife is off for HT right now and I have seen a few different suggestions for an epoxy to use. just wondering what you guys use.
thanks
Bubba
 
I use SystemThree T-88. Its slow cure- cures fully overnight. It gives you a lot of time to set things up. On one occasion, several hours after I had glued and bolted the scales I noticed that one of the liners had slipped away from the guard. I was able to move it back where it belonged before the epoxy had hardened.
 
Tracy recommended 30 minute cure to me when I asked that question 2 months ago, which he sells at Midwest Supply. Some folks will say 5 minute cure, but as a new guy to this I appreciate the extra time to futz around putting it together, especially since my drill holes are still not laser beam precise, and I tend to fat finger small things like corbys and pins.
 
Definitely go with the longer 30 or 60 min working times. That 5 minutes can go by way too fast while you are trying to line everything up and get it clamped.
 
I have used the system three T-88 which is a marine epoxy.
I also use the Acraglas. What ever you use don't skimp on a low quality epoxy.
Be sure you get a slow cure epoxy to give you time to work.
 
I would avoid using the store brand epoxies just because I've twice had problems where the epoxy just wouldn't cure. I've never had problems with brand names like Lok-Tite.

Doug
 
This is an old story, but I think it's worth repeating.

When I first started on my knifemaking journey, I used Devcon epoxies, both 5 min and the longer setting. About 6-7 years later I started getting phone calls from clients, saying "The handle on my knife is loose", or "The handle is falling off my knife!". After repairing 5-6 knives, and seeing that the epoxy had "crumbled" or otherwise broken down, I started doing some research. After many phone calls, I finally got a chemist at a leading epoxy company to talk to me. I told him what was happening, and he laughed, saying that the epoxy had worked correctly. I didn't understand and kept asking questions...the answers this person gave me floored me. Most commercially available two part epoxies are chemically engineered to have a 6 month shelf life from the date of production, and here's the big one...are designed to start breaking down at no more than 5 years! When the Chemist told me this I was flabbergasted! Again, he laughed and told me.... "Ed, my job depends on people buying epoxy, we are not going to put something out there that will last forever.....we want to sell you more epoxy."

This started me on a search for something that wasn't going to start breaking down is 4-5 years. Admittedly, I have not tried everything available, but at this point in time the ONLY two adhesives that I will even consider for knife handle are Acraglass from Brownells, and West System Marine epoxy. My personal choice is Acraglass. It has a shelf life of 10 year, and a guaranteed hold life of 50 years. I like it's consistency when mixed, have used nothing else for many years. The West System Marine has the same shelf life, but a slightly less hold life. It's consistency is a bit thicker when mixed, and since I make a lot of hidden tang knives, the thinner consistency of Acraglass just works better for me.
There are some quirks with Acraglass that must be considered. First, it was designed as a rifle bedding material, not specifically a glue. Next is mixing it...it must be mixed very closely in a 4 parts resin to 1 part hardener ratio. If you try to make it "kick" faster by adding extra hardener, it will reach the consistency of Jell-O, and never get any harder. Care must also be taken to not get it on anything you don't want it on. It will never come out of clothes, and if you get it on any part of a knife that you don't want, about the only way to get it off is to grind it off. If using dyes/colorants, I suggest using only powdered pigments with Acraglass. Liquid dyes will cause it to cure VERY slowly, and in my tests, weaken it when cured.
Working time? About 10-15 mins.

I keep trying the newer products that hit the market, but am yet to see anything that compares to Acraglass or West Systems. OH! Another thing is the cost...compared to buying the double syringe type epoxies, it's much less expensive. I purchase Acraglass in a "kit" which contains 28oz of resin, and 7oz of hardener (about $60).....this is generally a 1 1/2-2 year supply of "glue" in my shop.
 
This is an old story, but I think it's worth repeating.

When I first started on my knifemaking journey, I used Devcon epoxies, both 5 min and the longer setting. About 6-7 years later I started getting phone calls from clients, saying "The handle on my knife is loose", or "The handle is falling off my knife!". After repairing 5-6 knives, and seeing that the epoxy had "crumbled" or otherwise broken down, I started doing some research. After many phone calls, I finally got a chemist at a leading epoxy company to talk to me. I told him what was happening, and he laughed, saying that the epoxy had worked correctly. I didn't understand and kept asking questions...the answers this person gave me floored me. Most commercially available two part epoxies are chemically engineered to have a 6 month shelf life from the date of production, and here's the big one...are designed to start breaking down at no more than 5 years! When the Chemist told me this I was flabbergasted! Again, he laughed and told me.... "Ed, my job depends on people buying epoxy, we are not going to put something out there that will last forever.....we want to sell you more epoxy."

This started me on a search for something that wasn't going to start breaking down is 4-5 years. Admittedly, I have not tried everything available, but at this point in time the ONLY two adhesives that I will even consider for knife handle are Acraglass from Brownells, and West System Marine epoxy. My personal choice is Acraglass. It has a shelf life of 10 year, and a guaranteed hold life of 50 years. I like it's consistency when mixed, have used nothing else for many years. The West System Marine has the same shelf life, but a slightly less hold life. It's consistency is a bit thicker when mixed, and since I make a lot of hidden tang knives, the thinner consistency of Acraglass just works better for me.
There are some quirks with Acraglass that must be considered. First, it was designed as a rifle bedding material, not specifically a glue. Next is mixing it...it must be mixed very closely in a 4 parts resin to 1 part hardener ratio. If you try to make it "kick" faster by adding extra hardener, it will reach the consistency of Jell-O, and never get any harder. Care must also be taken to not get it on anything you don't want it on. It will never come out of clothes, and if you get it on any part of a knife that you don't want, about the only way to get it off is to grind it off. If using dyes/colorants, I suggest using only powdered pigments with Acraglass. Liquid dyes will cause it to cure VERY slowly, and in my tests, weaken it when cured.
Working time? About 10-15 mins.

I keep trying the newer products that hit the market, but am yet to see anything that compares to Acraglass or West Systems. OH! Another thing is the cost...compared to buying the double syringe type epoxies, it's much less expensive. I purchase Acraglass in a "kit" which contains 28oz of resin, and 7oz of hardener (about $60).....this is generally a 1 1/2-2 year supply of "glue" in my shop.

Well this is just not cool. I have some jewelry crosses that I made out of stainless for myself and my wife. In the center of these crosses (which we both wear) is a diamond. When I put the diamonds in, I drilled a size on size hole and used devcon epoxy to glue them in. Have not had a problem yet, but I guess I better redo that and check those out closer..
 
Thanks for the advise. Ed I will definitely keep that in mind. Do they sell Acraglass in smaller kits? I'm thinking that much will be a little over kill for now.
 
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