Quick Resin question

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panzerjunky

Joined
Aug 13, 2022
Messages
134
Hello Folks
I Am wanting to cast a few more resin knife scales. I have a lot of experience with urethane resins for my prop making. Doing helmets, armor , weapon parts ,ect, I am interested in pouring a couple Scales with polyester resin.
Is there a readily available Brand of polyester ( Or whatever is recommended) Resin that someone has had experience with. That colors well and is available on say Amason or again wherever your favorite outlet is where it may be sold. I have made a few using an amazon brand janchun. They turn out nice But.......It takes a while to get rock hard. no matter the mix.
Any Ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks Jerry
 
Alumilite urethane resin is a pretty popular choice for knife handles. I think it’s easy availability and reasonable price account for a lot of that though. I’ve cast 100 or so sets of scales with it, and it’s ok.

Personally, I like to use an epoxy resin for knife handles because it’s usually harder, more durable, and doesn’t have as many issues with high humidity while casting (important where I am). The biggest downside to epoxy is that you are limited to fairly shallow pours (not an issue for knife scales, but it would be an issue for blocks). Depending on the brand there can be other pros and cons with epoxy too though.

The brand I like is Liquid Diamonds. It can be a little pricey, but I think the cost is worth it.

Liquid Diamonds is very watery resin. Because of this, a pressure pot isn’t necessarily required. The bubbles tend to rise to the top, so you can usually get away without a pot for knife scales.

Another one I really like is Super Clear Liquid Glass Epoxy. Tests have shown that Super Clear discolors very little after long term U.V. exposure. U.V. exposure can cause many epoxies to yellow. Super Clear is also one of the hardest epoxy resins out there. Super Clear is a bit thicker than Liquid Diamonds and definitely benefits from a pressure pot though.

While most epoxy resins are stronger than most urethane resins, they also tend to be more brittle, with urethane resins having a bit of flexibility.

I don’t like polyester resins for anything other than glass composites, or applications that need high heat resistance.

Now the disclaimer. I’ve only been casting for a couple of years, and have only used mine or ten different resin systems. Someone else may be able to give better info.
 
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When casting scales, are you pouring resin into a mold, or are you layering it with fiberglass cloth? I've used some UV activated resin and fiberglass for surfboard fins, and have thought about using the same process for scales. When making those sheets, I'd just put a few layers of fiberglass on a very flat surface (such as glass), saturate with resin, take outside for a couple of minutes, then repeat.
 
Contact Polymer Composites Inc in Ontario Ca.
You can talk to the chemist Gerald and he will tell you exactly what you need. They make their own epoxies and casting resins that are impact resistant and food safe.

They sell in small amounts that are affordable and far superior to most of the resins out there.
 
I recommend and use Alumilite slow. Has a good window for color separation temperatures and getting the temps right pre-pour is important. Many videos on this. I also use a pressure pot to make them bubble free.

Good luck 👍

John
 
Fixall said:
Alumilite urethane resin is a pretty popular choice for knife handles. I think it’s easy availability and reasonable price account for a lot of that though. I’ve cast 100 or so sets of scales with it, and it’s ok.

Personally, I like to use an epoxy resin for knife handles because it’s usually harder, more durable, and doesn’t have as many issues with high humidity while casting (important where I am). The biggest downside to epoxy is that you are limited to fairly shallow pours (not an issue for knife scales, but it would be an issue for blocks). Depending on the brand there can be other pros and cons with epoxy too though.

The brand I like is Liquid Diamonds. It can be a little pricey, but I think the cost is worth it.

Liquid Diamonds is very watery resin. Because of this, a pressure pot isn’t necessarily required. The bubbles tend to rise to the top, so you can usually get away without a pot for knife scales.

Another one I really like is Super Clear Liquid Glass Epoxy. Tests have shown that Super Clear discolors very little after long term U.V. exposure. U.V. exposure can cause many epoxies to yellow. Super Clear is also one of the hardest epoxy resins out there. Super Clear is a bit thicker than Liquid Diamonds and definitely benefits from a pressure pot though.

While most epoxy resins are stronger than most urethane resins, they also tend to be more brittle, with urethane resins having a bit of flexibility.

I don’t like polyester resins for anything other than glass composites, or applications that need high heat resistance.

Now the disclaimer. I’ve only been casting for a couple of years, and have only used mine or ten different resin systems. Someone else may be able to give better info.
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Thank you very much for your in put . Being a supplier of scale yourself it seems counter intuitive to help someone make scales so for that I am in debited to ya , unfortunately to buy a set of nice scales like from Voodoo or someone like that it's like 50.00 really cuts into the profit margin LOL. so again thank you.
Jerry
 
JV Knives said:
I recommend and use Alumilite slow. Has a good window for color separation temperatures and getting the temps right pre-pour is important. Many videos on this. I also use a pressure pot to make them bubble free.

Good luck 👍

John
Click to expand...
When you say temps. Do you mean monitoring the temps from the exothermic reaction or ambient room temps??
Thanks Jerry
 
JV Knives said:
I recommend and use Alumilite slow. Has a good window for color separation temperatures and getting the temps right pre-pour is important. Many videos on this. I also use a pressure pot to make them bubble free.

Good luck 👍

John
Click to expand...
Also, you use pressure only no vacuum???
Thanks Jerry
 
panzerjunky said:
Thank you very much for your in put . Being a supplier of scale yourself it seems counter intuitive to help someone make scales so for that I am in debited to ya , unfortunately to buy a set of nice scales like from Voodoo or someone like that it's like 50.00 really cuts into the profit margin LOL. so again thank you.
Jerry
Click to expand...

Ya know, I’ve never understood that mindset. A healthy industry can support plenty of vendors. No need to be hyper competitive. Some of my best buds are my biggest competitors. 🙂

I do my best to pass along knowledge I’ve learned, or that was given to me. That’s a big part of why I’m a dealer actually. To try to keep some of the knowledge of vintage phenolics alive (and not so secretive).

Honestly, when a customer finds out the work involved in producing high quality scales, they often end up purchasing ready made sets anyways. 😂

As far as your vacuum question goes, it shouldn’t be needed for scales. A vacuum chamber is great for degassing large pours. If you were going to be mixing a very large batch for a slab table, or TONS of scales at once, it would benefit you. Otherwise a pressure pot will squeeze the bubbles enough that you won’t be able to notice them. The rest will rise to the top, which you can take care of with heat.
 
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