New to Kansas

Rich

Active Member
Hey all, I am here and new to Kansas so I am kind of a transplant. I started making a knife before I left Georgia(it started a long time before) and I had the wood handles glued on with Gorilla glue before we left . We got our stuff and I started working the wood again and the wood was seperated from the tang. I assumed the wood shrank and pulled it off the tang. I cleaned the metal with acetone before I set it to glue. I popped the other side off and used two part epoxy after sanding the tang, acetone on it again and sanded the scales to get the old glue off. I put one scale on and glued it and forgot it for two weeks. I took the clamps off and checked the adhesion. I put a little twist pressuer on the scale again and it popped right off. I followed the directions on the packages and there was no wood stuck on the tang from tearing away, the scales just popped off clean and smooth. I need some help on getting the glue to stick. I found some metal cutting blades and it is a good 1/8th inch thick, so I figured it would make a good knife. I worked it and kept it on the cool side to shape it and hand ground it on a stone to get the edge. I am sure it is hard to drill but will I need to drill it and pin it to keep the scales on? It would be a nice little knife if I could get it to have a handle on it. Please help with what I can do. thank you for your help.
 
Welcome,

Perhaps it was cold when you used the two part epoxy? You do need some pins or loveless bolts as well, The epoxy is really a sealant, Also what kind of wood is this? Perhaps it's too Oily of a wood? Also it does need to be dried to at least 10% moisture or less.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
It was in the 100's in Georgia and in Kansas it was kept indoors for the cure time. The wood is oak and it has been dry for a long time. I cut it down but didn't get to glue it for a few months. How do you think I should drill the metal? It is hard as a saw should be. Thank you for the help.
 
To drill hardened steel you want CARBIDE drill bits! Use a bit of cutting oil to keep things cool. Also slow down your drill press to its slowest setting.

I don't have a clue whats going on with the wood & epoxy?

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Drill press? I guess I will need to find one to use. I got the wood from a pallet and cut it to smaller pieces. It sounded like I cut the tree down. Would peaning rivets work? I like the copper rivets look. Where would I get the screw in rivets?
 
Rich,

You can probably soften the tang area of the blade so that you can use a high speed steel drill bit, by heating the tang to a blue color. You probably should heat the tang three or four times, to make sure you get it softened well. As your material is fairly thin, a propane torch may be able to get the job done. Just make sure to protect the working part of the blade from being heated. Place the blade, or at least the cutting edge in a container of water, then heat the tang.

Epoxy is not going to get a good grip on a piece of slick metal. If you can soften the tang so it isn't difficult to drill, you could increase the epoxies hold by drilling a bunch of holes through the tang. Then epoxy your handle slabs on. This will create epoxy bonds through the tang to each of the handle slabs. I still wouldn't count on this being a sufficient attachment for the handle material without some type of metal fastener.

Cutler's rivets and threaded fasteners can be purchased from most of the knifemaker suppliers. Midwest Knifemaker's supply has a good selection of these items. Just click on the link at the top of this page. Most of these fasteners require the use of a countersink cutting tool to cut a recess in the handle material, placing the head of the fastener flush with the surface of the handle.
 
Interesting. I can drill some holes and pin it up. I will need to plan a cool pattern for looks and function.
 
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