Craft knife handles

[Bats]

It feels wrong to post in "Other Things" before posting any actual pens, but I just finished these and the pens have been very patient about waiting for their turn on camera. Made from stabilized not-quite-but-almost-spalted-and-kinda-punky-and-interesting-looking (is there a term for that?) maple taken down in the yard a year or so back. Unfinished but polished to a nice shine, although it doesn't really show in the pictures... I'm still getting the hang of this "Phot O'Graphy" thing.

The first one (left/bottom) was over-turned a little at the hardware, so it's living on my workbench. The other was a gift for my father.

Hardware courtesy of @PersonMakeObject .

 

[PBorowick]

Those are beautiful. When I first looked at them I thought there were antler but the knot gave it away as wood.
Those would fit my hand so much better than the skinny ones that you get from the store.
I bet the unfinished wood feels quite nice in the hand also.

 

[Bats]

It really is some interesting looking wood - not something I'd usually associate with being very "maple"-looking at all... and yes, it feels fantastic. I'm usually a big fan of ultra-high-gloss CA finishes, but the warmth you get by leaving something like a stabilized wood (or a dense, oily hardwood like ebony, which is another that I'll often treat the same way) unfinished is really something else.

 

[monophoto]

The folks who make the metal fittings used in craft knives caution about using too much epoxy when gluing the metal tang into the barrel. Those are instructions worth listening to.

I was making a tool this morning and experienced why those instructions are important. What I was making is irrelevant - all that matters is that it had a tang similar to a craft knife that had to be glued into a fairly narrow turned handle. And I used too much glue. The handle was turned from red oak (that may have been a factor, but other timbers could have the same issue). As I pressed the end into the hole, it was immediately obvious that there was too much glue - the end had fit perfectly without glue, but when I applied the glue to the hole, and then pressed the end into the hole, I could feel the resistance as the small air pocket was compressed at the bottom of the hole. After a few seconds, the excess glue started squeezing out around the tang, producing a bead of epoxy around the end. That part was expected and is something I can live with.

What was unexpected is that pressure of that bubble of air also forced excess glue into the fibers of the wood, and after it had cured, I found that it had worked its way out the side of the turning leaving beads of cured glue on the outside of the handle. Fortunately, I had already applied several coats of WOP to the turning, so the cured glue didn't adhere strongly and could be peeled off easily. I sanded the handle lightly, and applied another coat of WOP to mask any damage caused by peeling off the excess glue.

 

[Bats]

So it actually oozed out through the pores/grain in the wood and the poly finish? Wow... that's not something I would've expected, or even thought to take precautions against - although I suppose it probably wouldn't have made it though stabilized maple in the same way as oak. I was also dealing with 5min epoxy (the hardware got delayed in the mail, so assembly was very much last minute - usually I prefer a 30min) which was right at the end of its pot life as I finished up, which would probably also reduce the propensity for bleeding.

The biggest problem I faced was that it did make an air-tight seal and wanted to force the hardware back out of the hole - but as soon as I slid on the surrounding collar, it all stayed nicely in place.

Glad to hear yours cleaned up easily, though.

 

[monophoto]

The biggest problem I faced was that it did make an air-tight seal and wanted to force the hardware back out of the hole - but as soon as I slid on the surrounding collar, it all stayed nicely in place.

Yeah - that's the same problem I had. On some other projects, I've resolved the matter by drilling a tiny breather hole (#65 drill bit) through the side of the handle into the cavity that the shank is to be glued into so that there is a path for air to escape when I push the tang into the hole. If I'm not careful and use too much glue (and if I make the hole so small that the tang fits very snugly), it's possible for glue to come through that breather hole.

In a few instances when making tools, I've actually cut a groove along the length of the tang to provide a path for air to escape. But ultimately, the right way to do it is to learn how much glue should be used, and then not use too much. Somehow, I apparently still haven't learned that lesson!

 

[Bats]

In a few instances when making tools, I've actually cut a groove along the length of the tang to provide a path for air to escape.

I've done the same - or filed a groove into the inside edge of the hole. It usually works, too - except when I've made it too shallow, and it seals closed with the epoxy, too. I probably would've done it this time even, except that I didn't think about it until everything was already all glopped up and about to start setting. Oh well - everything worked out in the end.