My First Historical Khukuri-Long leaf Victorian

Just a thought which came to my mind while dropping one of my kids in preschool.
Wood recedes sometimes (dry) leaving a gap between wood and epoxy. (Epoxy will probably stick better to the metal tang which tends not to shrink)
No if there's a gap the whole block of epoxy will just be able to slide out.
How to avoid that? Have the cavity in the handle have a larger diameter than the opening of said hole. This way the epoxy slab holding the tang will always be bigger than the opening and can never come out. It should still be safe even if a gap develops and wiggling starts.
Only disadvantage if you ever have to do Rehandling again It will have to be somewhat destructive. :)

Edit:
Epoxy and glue data http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/337504-Glue-Wars-2 ( link found by Roninsgrips)
 
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Uh oh, I just finished gluing the handle with 2 ton epoxy, and judging by that URL it wasn't the best choice.
 
If you rough up the inside of the handle or create any kind of voids you'll create a mechanical lock.
Even on a full tang knife I'll rough up the inside of the handle, drill a bunch of small holes etc to insure a good connection between the epoxy and the wood. Likewise on the metal side. Roughing up the surface makes a better bond.

Enlarging the cavity will ensure the epoxy stays with the handle but does little to ensure the handle/epoxy stays with the blade.

I think you'll be ok.
 
Bawanna said:
If you rough up the inside of the handle or create any kind of voids you'll create a mechanical lock.
Even on a full tang knife I'll rough up the inside of the handle, drill a bunch of small holes etc to insure a good connection between the epoxy and the wood. Likewise on the metal side. Roughing up the surface makes a better bond.

Enlarging the cavity will ensure the epoxy stays with the handle but does little to ensure the handle/epoxy stays with the blade.

I think you'll be ok.
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I just meant epoxy will stay better with the metal anyways since the metal doesn't dry out and shrink.
The wood however is the weak point here because it can shrink and create a gap so that the epoxy just cant stick to it anymore. That the woods surface was rough or not shouldn't make a difference to the shrinking problem.
Roughening the surfaces helps with most glues but doesn't prevent expanding and shrinking of wood. Some glues stay a little moist for a long time and can move with the wood but epoxy doesn't.
So yes roughening is good and I would never say otherwise but its just not related to the problem I tried to address. Gaps between wood and epoxy slab are just more likely than between expoxy and metal.
 
Nothing to do now but wait for it to cure...

IMG_00000445_zps6bb7f34b.jpg
 
I hope it comes out good - I learned a ton making this handle either way. This was my second attempt, I had to start over after the tip of my file snapped off in the first handle. I'm only buying NOS nicholson files made in USA from now on, the new brazilian ones suck.

I think I'll also leave that "Made in USA" sticker on the handle
 
blue lander said:
I hope it comes out good - I learned a ton making this handle either way. This was my second attempt, I had to start over after the tip of my file snapped off in the first handle. I'm only buying NOS nicholson files made in USA from now on, the new brazilian ones suck.

I think I'll also leave that "Made in USA" sticker on the handle
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Would keep it too but would prefer a sticker "Genuine Blue Lander, Made in USA)
 
Be nice to find one with that same logo burned into the wood. I don't think they do that much anymore. Would be there for a long time.

Your making me want to get a long leaf and put a handle on it. Bad influence.
 
I don't know if I want my name on this one, I intentionally took a blurry picture so you guys won't see what a sloppy job I did on this one. But I do think it will hold, and I did learn a ton in the process, though. I'm going to try putting a handle on a Parang blade next.

For reference, I used an "engineer/blacksmith" handle from Ace hardware, it cost about 7 dollars. I thought I could cut one handle in half to make two kukri handles, but it isn't quite long enough.
 
Hehe HI forum tends to do that.

A soldering iron could help in burning patterns into the wood. Used it this week to make myself an old German board game from scratch. Poplar board from Home Depot a saw and the iron. Thinking of polyurethane surface coating. ( might be good for handles too)
 
Not sure what a Parang is but here's a Barong I put a handle on, might have posted before, don't remember.












The little hook I tried to copy made it a bit more challenging than a regular handle. It feels nice in hand and I was generally pleased with the outcome. The blade was given to me so made it kind of special too.
 
Fyi - the metal on these blades are super super soft, and the metal wants to split at the slightest provocation. But you can pound it back into shape very easily. I think you could pound on this blade like it owed you money - the previous owner certainly did - and it would never split or have any sort of catastrophic failure. But I do think it'd dull and warp/bend very easily.
 
I don't know what the linking rules are here, but if you google outdoor dynamics parang you'll find everything you need to know.
 
If I can do it you can do it. Repeat after me, what one man (ok half man in my case) can do another can do!

Thanks for the kind words.
 
Barong! Ive been meaning to ask you about that knife Bawanna. I saw it in you "display" thread and really liked it. Handle is really cool and since you made it makes it even cooler! Nice job!

Nice job Blue L! Let us know how it holds up.
 
Jens Schuetz said:
How does HI make rivets work? Are they just of a big diameter and thus distribute the stress better or is there less stress in full tangs?
Click to expand...

Generally Hi rivets fit into full width, fairly thick tangs....same as the Brits introduced in the mk.2 kukri in 1915. Most un reshaped in life original tangs are also curved downwards like a claw to help it stay in place.

spiral
 
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