overmodulated

Ok folks, I did a forum search prior to posting and came up dry. I suspect the feature's not working properly at the moment because I'm pretty sure this topic was discussed before, so pardon any duplication.

Why do many knifemakers favor use of a liner between the stock material and knife scales? Is it mainly for aesthetics, or is there a functional purpose? The engineer in me says it helps offset the stress between the wooden handles and the steel that expand and contract very differently as a function of temperature, which would cause premature separation, especially whn the metal stock is on the thin side and somewhat flexible.

Thank you in advance for any feedback and insight!

feedback? sexy!

yea? who's Glenn T?

Impurities and potentially oxides segregate along the grain boundaries, which embrittles the steel. It's very difficult or impossible to reverse this.

potential? what if the oxides don't eat my steel?

Way too hot for carbon steels. that is about welding temp. orange to red is plenty for non and low alloy steels

Steve: what is the drawback of being too hot with high-carbon steel? (other than the obvious risk of melting the surface a little, which might be fine before taking it to the grinder?) Thanks

price? priceless.

thanks guys. will take your advise on this one.

Lots of hype about this product for hand polishing - has anyone tried it on a high-speed buffing wheel?

Thanks for sharing any experince you may have.

yes you are. nice, effective carbine-bowie!

Great information from both of you! thank you.

I had been thinking about laser etching, since there's a place that does it right in my town. there's no competing with the sharp crisp lines from a laser. but I also want to mark the blades myself rather than outsource, which is why I ask.

will keep this stencil source in mind if I go with the etch-o-matic

Would appreciate any feedback on this item for blade marking.
Tx!

the adhesion to the scales was excellent. the adhesion to the metal left more to be desired

Thanks. I alwasy clean and rough up the surfaces prior to glueing/epoxying.

the high-temp RTV didn't work well in my tests, btw. it might keep a watertight seal, but I was unimpressed with the adhesion. will look into some of the other products suggested

Thanks. if I try any of these products I will share results.
my current feeling is that adhesion is secondary to a water and oil proof seal that can take some abuse and temperature flutuation, as long as there are pins to keep the pieces together.

like the idea of rifle bedding - didn't know about it - thanks!

I've been wondering how this product - the same stuff used on metal chimneys and wood-burning stoves - would serve in bonding knife handles and scales to the blade stock (with pins of course).

It should take the heat of sanding & grinding, plus have a little "give" for any high impact blows such as accidentally dropping the knife. (I find that lots of epoxies would fail here, like JB Weld.)

On the surface it seems like this would work fine for knifemaking. Has anyone tried it? I'm about to, and will be happy to share the observations, but thought I'd inquire if any of you already tried it.

Thanks!

For non-stainless steel, a high-polish finish seem to be fairly rust & corrosion resistant (they still need proper care for long-term storage, of course).

However, do the less polished finishes mean more trouble for long-term storage?
If I only wire-brush 5160 steel, for example (rather than take it to mirror finish as I usually do), am I asking for trouble with corrosion over time?

Thanks for any !

good points - thanks.

I did plan on experimenting with the stuff but was hoping someone might have been there, done that, to save me the trouble.

I'm suprised this sealant wouldn't bond rather well to either polished or rough steel, since it's commonly used on glass, which doesn't get any smoother. But I'll check that out. Was hoping this might be just the right compromise in a flexible waterproof (mild) adhesive that can take the temperatures of belt sanding. Just seems right.

If I make an experiment out of it I'll share the results.

Folks: Before I risk a potentially bad bond on the next project, has anyone tried hi-temp silicone sealant to bond knife scales to the blade stock? This would be in addition to pinning.

I figure that a lot of people use a thin rubber-type spacer material to help absorb the stresses of the different materials expanding & contracting with temperature, so I'm thinking this might be just the right consistency, and waterproof to boot. Thoughts?

Thanks for any input!

between the scales and the blade stock?

is this for aesthetics, or something more meaningful like stress relief between the materials that expand and contract differently with temperature changes?

if it helps keep the sclaes on, what's the favored spacer material?

any feedback greatly appreciated!

ok picture size has been reduced (still nice and large though).

the chopper works well - edge has plenty of hardness, but shouldn't chip. I only worked it hard for a few minutes on some dense wood, and it was like wielding an axe there's so much momentum behind it. I'm afraid that if I put a real sharp edge on it, it would wedge itself too deeply into the wood and I'd have to fight to remove it after every swing.

but I'm loving this one

5160 Steel

416 Stainless bolsters

Amboyna burl handles

Weight: 28.8 ounces (about 1.8 lbs) - to hack through branches and firewood

Thanks for any comments

This design is very loosely based on Buck's mini-alpha hunter, who's curves I like.

O1 Steel, quenched in peanut oil, tempered back spine.

Cocolobo handles

thanks for looking and for any comments

all good to know.

BTW I am familiar with the epoxy & glue shootout on the other post - what a great experiment that was. I forgot that several prep work experiments were also part of that.

One thing I don't like about the Gorilla glue is the foam it leaves around all seams. If there were a way to clean that mess up before it dries then I'd try it on a knife

I use tape (blue painters tape). ...

Fe-Wood: can you please clarify that part about the painter's tape? Do you use this as spacer material for glueing?