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!

I have not tried it, but I'm really not sure that stuff is intended to approach the strength of epoxy. Be interested to hear what results you come up with. Have you tried Acraglas or G-Flex?

If your have it pinned well; all the epoxy really does is keep moisture out of between the scale/tang interface and pretty much anything will work for that. (The neo tribals often used pine pitch!) If the epoxy is the bonding mechanism for the scales then you need to consider the mechanical properties as well.

Hi temp RTV silicon will have (at most) 1/9 the strenght of epoxy. If you want impact resistance, go with a rifle bedding compound or one of the many impact resistant epoxy products.

Or just use rivits.

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

Acraglas is pricey but very good.

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.

I have used high temp RTV to stick my wood handles to my eyed tools like punches and hot cuts, It has some give so that the shock and vibrations don't break the handles as much. I fit the eyes lose and guper up the handle and slide it in. It really don't have to have to be that strong, and if you let some ooze out the top, it seems plenty strong. Others I know just use a inner tube from an bike and just drive it on snug, but I seem to like the RTV.

Overmodulated,

Be sure to clean and abrade your surfaces regardless of which glue you choose. No matter how much you pay for it, the glue won't stick as well to smooth or dirty surfaces.

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

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

I've used it on two knives one was used to glue wooden handle (w/rivets) and the wood was coated on the out side both were baked at 500 looks good laying around. It's held up well I use the small knife photoed regularly for a few months making kindling and it's just steel coated with the dap mortar. I have noticed if it's exposed to heat constantly it becomes brittle so perhaps time will how it fairs for everyday use. So far so good though. Hope it helps