Epoxying  handles and making them stay for good.

Handle durability and staying power can make or break a good knife.  I do several things
to ensure that my handles have no separation and they are there for good.
The first thing I do (after cutting out handles) is mark where they will end on the blade by
the ricasso. Notice, I already have the blade taped off to avoid any scratching.











The marking will show you where to end for the next step, which is roughing the handle
for adhesion.   I use a 60 grit belt (fresh) to rough the handle, then I hand sand it with 60
grit in a vertical pattern to make it really rough.  Be very careful to not go past your line,
or you'll end up having to re sand the ricasso to get it back to the desired polish.   















After that, I dip the roughed handle in acetone to clean it.   Do this and let it dry
thoroughly by hanging it on a nail.  DO NOT touch the handle with your bare hands after
you do this as the oils in your skin will prevent proper adhesion.
















With that done, move on to the handle pieces (in this case, it's linen micarta).  Rough the
contact side up like you did the handle metal.












After that, I drill reservoir holes.  These are in a random pattern, and I only go about 1/16
of an inch deep.  These allow extra pockets of epoxy to form and they bond further in the
handle.   Take care to stay at least 1/4 inch inward of the outer lines.  If you get too close
to the outside lines, you may end up sanding it down and getting into a hole, leaving a
nasty gap.













Sand off the attached Shavings by hand.  A few swipes should do.  Then clean it off (I use
my air compressor).  I lightly acetone the contact side, then take care not to touch it again
with bare hands.














I use blue nitrile gloves.  They are acid free, oil free and dust free.  You can buy a 50
count box at Home Depot for around 6$ or so, and they are the best ones in my opinion.  
They don't rip like the latex either.














For epoxy, I like the Super Glue brand extra setting time epoxy.  It dries virtually clear,
and bonds at 2500 pounds resistance.  When you hot box it, you can do it for around 2
hours and get it up to about 3400 pounds.   Tough stuff, plus, it gives you ample time to
work with it and rearrange things.





















Pictured above are 3 pictures of the "hot box".   I use a simple Igloo cooler for the box.  
Place boards or some other material in the bottom that you don't mind getting epoxy on,
and will resist heat warping.  The lamp should be an outdoor 125 watt lamp, and be sure
that the temperature stays below 150 degrees.  I leave knives in there for no longer than 3
hours.






I left out the steps regarding assembly and pinning, but I would assume if you're reading
this you already know how to do that.  Once you're done (put the lid on the box by the
way, it's off for pictures only), you're good to go for clean up.
For information on setting pins and peening, click on the link below.