What glue should I use to attach micarta handles?

M

Mikel_24

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Sep 19, 2007
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Hi there,
I am about to finish making my first knife. It is going to be a scandi with blue denim micarta handles (home made). I made it out of a leaf spring so I don't know if the handle, while pretty flat, is going to be perfetly smooth. I am having a hard time hand filing and sanding the blade to give it a smooth shiny look and I don't know if I will be able to do the same on the handle.

I know I should use some kind of epoxi. The knife making tutorial in Twisted Nickel suggest using 24h epoxi (cure time I mean) because he says the longer the curing time, the stronger the bond.

The only thing I have seen in the stores is that double-sringe kind of glue (Araldit brand), but nothing close to the paste-like epoxi that the guy in Twisted Nickel tutorials uses. I think I will need a not so thin glue so it can fill in the little gaps on the handle part.

Suggestions?

Mikel
 
The product I've used for years and years in my woodworking business is System Three T-88. It's an amber, thick, one to one epoxy, with about a 6 - 8 hour cure time, although I always let it cure overnight. It won't clog sandpaper, and is a great gap filler, which the older I get, the more I use :o)
You can pick it up at a local woodworking supply store, or order direct from the company at www.systemthree.com. They also have a fantastic "how-to" booklet telling how to use all of their products, I think it's like $5, but they'll probably throw one in if you ask. Other than that, I agree with Twisted Nickel about the longer the cure time, the stronger the bond. Not being a chemist, I don't know why, but Fitz would.
 
I use gorilla glue, the white stuff. you can get it at wal-mart.
i sand blast my blade handle first , or grind it wit 36 grit.
works great.
vern
 
Look up tracy mickey on bladeforums and look at his post .
he had a post on different glues.
vern
 
id have to suggest konap, or conap. there in Syracuse n.y. not sure of spelling. reason being, "now this is what Ive been told, not my theory but what Ive heard." devcon,and other similar epoxies have a life of i think less than 15 yrs, i think, due to all the environmental mumbo jumbo and after that time they begin to break down and deteriorate. there is a percentage of materials that don't have to have that predetermined life and the conap is one of them that in 20-30 yrs, will still be solid and strong.

if anyone could comment on this theory, please correct me if i am wrong or basically full of Sh**
 
Epoxy, when not exposed to UV light should last as long as the steel and handle materials. All of the degradation info I've seen on epoxy are related to the exposure to UV light.
 
My Spanish friends in ArmasBlancas cutlery forum suggested me to use Araldit (Ceys brand, two componen epoxi adhesive). The Standar product has a pot life of over an hour, and a three day fully curing time. They say it is the best thing we can find locally. Expensive stuff by the way...
Mikel
 
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