I went through the search and either I didn't use the right key words or something. Anyway, I'm about ready to add the handle to some knives but need to find adhesives for them. Some are hidden tang and some will be scales, so I need to know kinds of adhesives for both.

They need to take the heat of grinding and be capable of being bought from a store and not mail order.

Go to your local gunshop and ask for Brownell's Accraglass Rifle bedding material.

I am with Bruce I use Acraglass

if all else fails or ya cant find Acraglass use 5 minite epoxy it will work fine as long as youre not grinding on the tang too much

A buddy of mine said the "two ton" epoxy from wally world is hard to beat and cheap..I know he uses it to add stag handles on and its the only thing holding..Hes never had one come off..

I guess the higher quality of the epoxy the better, as far as long life is concerned.
I use West System epoxy, which is for marine use.
Keep in mind that many makers rely on epoxy to do too many things! Its most important role is simply to keep moisture and the environment OUT of the handle area. Don't expect epoxy ALONE to hold your handles on. Pins and bolts do the actual holding. Epoxy just fills in all of the voids and makes your handle water-proof.

Most of the 2 ton epoxies aren't waterproof.
Any of the glass bedding materials will work. Accraglass isn't the only one out there, just the most common.

If it won't show, or if you can stand a fine, gray line, use J. B. Weld.

It'll bond well, waterproof, and will not break down 'til about 700 degrees F.

I second the west systems epoxy, but I am new to making blades I have used it on spearguns and west systems performs flauless for the under water guns. I did epoxy on my first handle with no pins but the knife has not seen much use. So as far as how well it will keep holding you all would know much better than me

Thanks for all the info. I will probably use the JB weld on this one with the hidden tang and get other Epoxy. Will the west systems epoxy take the heat of grinding?

Thanks for all the info. I will probably use the JB weld on this one with the hidden tang and get other Epoxy. Will the west systems epoxy take the heat of grinding?

I guess that would depend on how much heat you are talking about! I can't even imagine having a knife with a handle on it and getting it hot enough to soften epoxy? Why are you generating that much heat so late in the game?

The one thing that nobody has talked about is longevity. The whole reason that I started using AcraGlass is that after about 6-7 years into my knifemaking career, I had some knives come back, which had the handles loosening. A Makers we generally think about the short term, meaning that we focus on how well the adhesive will hold while the knife is being made and in our possession.

When those knife came back to me, I did a ton of research, and found that through chemistry, the makers of many brands of epoxy design them so they only have a short shelf life, and automatically start breaking down at the 3-5 year point. If you think about it, they want you to buy more of their product....so building in a "use life" is in their best interests......but certainly not ours!

Looking at various adhesives, I went with AcraGlass because of it's 10 year shelf life, and it's 50 year hold life. The West Systems is a close second with 5 year shelf life, and a 30 year hold life.

Each of us has to decide whats important to us as makers. My goal is to never have to repair anything I make...ever. If your using something like Devcon epoxy, and your in this for the long haul, then expect to see those knives again....in about 4-6 years. The key is to NEVER skimp on any where you knives are concerned. Do it, and it will come back to haunt you later.

I'm probably not going to generate that much. It was just one of the things I noticed in some info about making sure the adhesives will take the heat when you are grinding the handles so the don't break down and loosen. It may not even be an issue, I'm new to making knives.

I took a class at our guild last march and they showed how to do a hidden that goes all the way through and using a brass end screwed on to tighten. They didn't go into a lot detail on the variety of handle installation.

Here is a thread that compared a lot of glues and epoxies on another forum.


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