To Glue or Not To Glue.......

Dwane Oliver

Dwane Oliver

Well-Known Member
I see several people that make bolt on handle knives , some glue them on anyway.....
I think gluing them on as well as the bolts would be best , but the bolt on handles I've made in the past , I have NOT glued them on as well. It seems to defeat the purpose of the bolts.

Give me your opinions please.

Thanks
 
In my little ol' humble opinion , i like to glue them on , it helps to seal the back of the handle material, and keep out any liquid that could cause problems. I would glue them if i am not going to remove them . Scott
 
Glue seals the tang and backs of the scales from moisture and prevents corrosion. For stainless this is probably less of an issue but for carbon steel I consider it a must.
 
Dwane,
Not sure if my opinion counts as humble since I seem to offer it up readily. :biggrin:

If you are making a full tang knife that is a user there is no question in my mind but to epoxy not only the scale but the bolt too. As noted above it seals the knife and I would add that stainless is not rust proof only resistant. It will rust especially under a handle scale.
The exception would be if you were doing a breakdown knife intended to be cleaned or for show.

my $0.02

Eric
 
I would add some silica sealer under the handles of a bolt together just to seal out moisture, in humid climates water can get between the handle and the blade even if not in water. This will still allow disassembly and silica is pretty much available to the user to replace.
 
Thanks for the responses guys.
My first reaction is the same as all of yours , glue it. But the first bolt on handle I made was so the knife could be changed , handle wise. I even sent another set of handles with it. The knife I'm working on now ,I think its more of a look than a function thing. He also lives in a seaside town..ie lots of moisture in the air. I'm asking him now what he wants.

Thanks again

Just got an answer back from the customer...he says to glue away...That makes me feel better.
 
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If you had ever taken the handle off an old knife you would realize how much stuff gets behind un glued scales and begins to grow there....gross.

George
 
In the past I have used aquarium sealer with the screws and stand-offs. It keeps out moisture and can be removed with a razor blade if need be.
 
I would glue along with the bolt because it will keep out blood and guts when skinning a deer for example and then dirt will stick to that and so on . The glue keeps all the crap out and helps bond the handle on as well in case the bolt ever failed. Kellyw
 
Justin King said:
Glue seals the tang and backs of the scales from moisture and prevents corrosion.
Click to expand...


Yup.
Even with Corby's, I use Epoxy too.

And lately, I've been considering using Gun Tight on the Corby's as well.

May not be necessary, but it would make me feel better.
Maybe my customers, too. :3:
 
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