My Knives Scales are Falling Off...

I agree with Alden and Chris, the one I had to do over was because the epoxy wasn't fully cured, AND I heated it up by grinding too aggressively.

I'm still a big fan of corby bolts, but I will definitely look into the accraglass, Gorilla super glue and LocTite stuff next time I go shopping. Belt and suspenders :)
 
Fletch Helical said:
I'm curious about this...What do you do with the super glue after the handles are done? Just seal off where the scales meet the tang? If so by the time you sand it all down is there any glue still left there? Thanks.
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Hi Fletch,
I wick in the "thin" super glue after the handle scales are bolted down or pinned. There is just enough room for the thin stuff to spread nearly all the way to the center. It has to be a gap free fit. I think its a tighter fit than with epoxy. A real advantage is you can inspect the dry fit with optivisors to be sure its tight before applying the CA glue. I'm just saying how I do it.
 
OK, day two the Mosaic Pins are in and I had do some drillin and hammer hard. The scales didn't budge. Then I had to do some grinding. The pins got a little warm all the way through. Very hot to the touch. Then back to the grinder for some 220 and 360 finishing. The scales are tight. I think I'll put the knife in the dishwasher Saturday and see what happens.

If they are going to fail I want then to fail at my house. Not when I give the knife away or sell it.
 
CDHumiston said:
The last 3 knives I have made have had problems with the scales falling off under minor pressures.


Knife 2: D2 Tool steel Yellowheart wood scales and JB Weld epoxy

I think I must be prepping the metal wrong or something. I may be polishing it too much on the tang. All three blades are fixed full tang knives.

Do I need to really rough up the surface of the metal before attaching scales?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
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In my experience, JB weld is only good for wasting your money, doesn't hold up well under load or heat changes, vibration/shock. Surface prep especially cleaning any oily residue off is crucial to a good bond between just about any multiple pieces. I use brake cleaner on metal surfaces, but make sure it is dry before placing anything with die or paint on it. Brake cleaner will make the colors bleed.
 
Here is a shot of knife I made around 1996/98. 4 1/2" blade, bone slabs, tapered tang. Pins are brass, and not peened. Slabs were glued down with (Devcon 2 Ton epoxy). Tang has multiple holes drilled through to allow epoxy bridges from slab to slab. Slabs were tightly C clamped, and fit was as perfect as possible. No visible gap anywhere. This knife was lost in the flood from TS Faye in 2008, and was under water for 3/4 months, and in wet ground for maybe two more. When found the ground was still damp. Absolutely no separation of the bone slabs. Then or now. The pins are still dead level with the bone surface. Your milage may vary, but I have had good luck with the Devcon 2 Ton. Oh, and the bone and tang were cleaned with acetone before glueing.


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I agree 100% with the Corby Bolts. I've never had one single problem with scales coming loose and I've been making knives for a long time. I swear by them.
 
I have had two kitchen knife scales that was done with Devcon 2 turn loose on the ends after around 5 years of use. That is the only epoxy that I have had turn loose. I think the Corbys are pretty much fool proof if done right.
 
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Unless you want to go with the clean look of no pins showing and in this case that doesn't seem to be an issue I use several small Acorn, Dogbone or Luke fasteners or even small Corby's to get the pin look but a better hold. You can get the Acorn types from one of the suppliers as small as 1/8" and Corby's down to 5/32" I use epoxy as well as the corby/acorn for a solid hold.
 
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