[TheForge] More on knife gluing

Mon Aug 23 15:49:32 EDT 2010

No danger of that, I hate runny yolks.
Not to argue with success, but I believe Acraglas is actually designed not 
as an adhesive but as a leveler, a very stable filler material for bedding 
steel in wood while still being able to remove the steel. Perhaps it is the 
best for bonding too, I've heard that people use it as a glue.
I wonder why JB would be superior to other epoxies- could it be the added 
fiber material?
The pieces are slowly coming together, though- my goal is to make a certain 
kind of knife using only glue, without visible rivets- the first factor was 
over clamping, then adding the dimples you mentioned, and piercing the tang 
so as to make a continuous glue connection.
It's tempting to use fast cure 5200, but....but yuk. It would gum up the 
sanding belts, and it's nasty messy to use. Sure does stick to everything, 
though, apparently forever. Not sure that it's ideal for food prep, though.
Does anyone have a favorite knife making list for questions like this?
Andy G.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Graham Whaley" <graham.whaley at gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 11:59 AM
To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT - vinegar vs. epoxy

> Hope I'm not teaching you to suck any eggs here ...
>
> I've a feeling one of the favoured epoxies on the 'knife-list', at least 
> for
> gluing through tang knives, is Brownells Acraglas. The slow set epoxies 
> tend
> to be stronger than the fast cure ones, and are even stronger if they are
> cured warmer rather than colder I believe.
> If you can stand the potential black/grey glue line then JBWeld might be
> something to try?
> Epoxy works best when not clamped to a very thin layer. If you want a thin
> glue line or you have a really good slab to blade fit then you might want 
> to
> consider drilling some 'glue rivets' in the scales - that is, just some
> shallow dimples to get some glue pockets in. Maybe some holes through the
> blade tang as well for a similar effect ?
>
> If you are really interested in epoxies then there are a couple of
> interesting references out there - from the boatbuilding and longbow 
> making
> sectors at least. Ask me if you want some pointers (although it is 
> unlikely
> to help you get a better bond).
> Oh, another interesting snippet - aparently freshly sanded wood sticks
> significantly better than wood that has been sat a while. Cleanliness is
> key. I wipe down the surfaces with acetone before glueing
>
> Yeah, I have a 'glue fascination' :-)
>
>  Graham
>
> On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 6:42 PM, Andy Gladish 
> <gladish at cablerocket.com>wrote:
>
>> ok, that's kind of cool.
>> Epoxy has been very much on my mind lately- searching for the best 
>> adhesive
>> for scale handles on full tang knives, still not completely satisfied 
>> with
>> Devcon
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Jason Nass" <me at wargoth.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 7:28 PM
>> To: "'Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA'" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
>> Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT - vinegar vs. epoxy
>>
>> > Filed away with all the other semi-useless scraps of knowledge that I 
>> > may
>> > very well have use for some day...
>> >
>> > Seriously though, I can see occasional application of that quirk of
>> epoxy,
>> > as I do a fair bit of molding and casting in various epoxy resins.
>> >
>> > Jason Nass - me at wargoth.com
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
>> > [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bruce Freeman
>> > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 9:37 PM
>> > To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
>> > Subject: [TheForge] OT - vinegar vs. epoxy
>> >
>> > Way OT.
>> >
>> > The following quotation is from an article on using seat belt strapping
>> as
>> > the hinge for a small boat rudder.
>> >
>> > The interesting part is on the chemistry of epoxy -- i.e., that you can
>> > prevent epoxy from setting using vinegar.  I haven't tried this myself
>> and
>> > am not sure where it would prove useful.  I suspect any acid would work
>> > here, since acids protonate amines and change their chemistry, but I'm
>> not
>> > sure that that's the chemistry involved.
>> >
>> >
>> > "...you must not allow the epoxy to harden on the strap where it has to
>> > flex. But the ends of the strap have to be well saturated to hold the
>> > slide
>> > and the rudderstock halves together. The most successful way I've used 
>> > to
>> > avoid glue where I don't want it is to get the parts all glued up and
>> > assembled with clamps, keeping the glue off the flex line as much as
>> > possible. Then use a syringe or squirt bottle to saturate the flex line
>> > with
>> > vinegar, working it through the fibers, before the glue starts to set.
>> The
>> > acetic acid neutralizes the amines in the epoxy hardener, so it won't
>> > polymerize. The clamped parts won't allow the vinegar to reach the glue
>> on
>> > the strapping between them, so it goes off where you want it to." "
>> >
>> > --
>> > Bruce
>> > NJ
>> > ______________________________________________________________
>> > TheForge mailing list
>> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> > Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>> >
>> > TheForge mail list group photo site is
>> > http://www.photoaccess.com
>> > Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>> > Password: anvil
>> >
>> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> >
>> > ______________________________________________________________
>> > TheForge mailing list
>> > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> > Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>> >
>> > TheForge mail list group photo site is
>> > http://www.photoaccess.com
>> > Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>> > Password: anvil
>> >
>> > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> TheForge mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> TheForge mail list group photo site is
>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>> Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>> Password: anvil
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
> TheForge mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net
>
> TheForge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> Password: anvil
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html 