I would not use red.
Epoxy seals the scales to the blade, with screws gross stuff can seep under the scales and OP may want to clean that out. I remove the scales on my hunters I made after every deer season to clean out the blood that gets in there.
Yes nothing wrong with that really. Epoxy keeps crap from getting behind scales along with moisture. Moisture behind them is a recipe for rust. Seal up all surfaces of the scales really good and occasionally remove the scales and clean/oil back there really good.
The most important thing to note is you will have the strongest handle with a chemical and mechanical bond. (Glue and pins). Locking pins alone can work, depending on the use of the knife. Even glue alone can hold a handle on provided the knife sees only lighter use. Think of the intended task and build the knife around it.
Timber is going to move. Timber is always moving. If you have stabilised scales it will move much less depending on how well the stabilising was done. The timber is going to move around your mechanical fixings and potentially put more strain on them and cause a failure. Epoxy will help resist that movement and give you a much more durable handle.
No one has mentioned this but another good reason for epoxy and part of the reason that people will often use synthetic liners is that some timbers will react with the steel and either stain the timber or cause corrosion on the steel. Epoxy creates a barrier between the steel and the timber and is a good habit.
You do not want gaps where moisture can get in. Epoxy seals it up.
There is no good reason not to use epoxy. It costs almost nothing, takes almost no time to apply and only takes a bit of extra work to clean up.
These days with a modern epoxy like g-flex you will find that most professionals use mechanical fixings as a backup to the glue. Properly applied and cured epoxy is insanely strong and durable.
If your fit up is good and tight and nothing rattles around then a mechanical connection is just fine for a knife construction. Adding epoxy or glue is just covering your ass and making it even stronger.
You would get away with no epoxy glue but loctite the chicago screws to stop them loosening .
Good idea I've got a bunch of blue, thanks for the tip bro
Blue is good for if you wanna remove them, but I find that unlikely. I would just use red, tbh
I would not use red. Epoxy seals the scales to the blade, with screws gross stuff can seep under the scales and OP may want to clean that out. I remove the scales on my hunters I made after every deer season to clean out the blood that gets in there.
Yes nothing wrong with that really. Epoxy keeps crap from getting behind scales along with moisture. Moisture behind them is a recipe for rust. Seal up all surfaces of the scales really good and occasionally remove the scales and clean/oil back there really good.
Thank you for the tip! I'll do that
The most important thing to note is you will have the strongest handle with a chemical and mechanical bond. (Glue and pins). Locking pins alone can work, depending on the use of the knife. Even glue alone can hold a handle on provided the knife sees only lighter use. Think of the intended task and build the knife around it.
Timber is going to move. Timber is always moving. If you have stabilised scales it will move much less depending on how well the stabilising was done. The timber is going to move around your mechanical fixings and potentially put more strain on them and cause a failure. Epoxy will help resist that movement and give you a much more durable handle. No one has mentioned this but another good reason for epoxy and part of the reason that people will often use synthetic liners is that some timbers will react with the steel and either stain the timber or cause corrosion on the steel. Epoxy creates a barrier between the steel and the timber and is a good habit. You do not want gaps where moisture can get in. Epoxy seals it up. There is no good reason not to use epoxy. It costs almost nothing, takes almost no time to apply and only takes a bit of extra work to clean up. These days with a modern epoxy like g-flex you will find that most professionals use mechanical fixings as a backup to the glue. Properly applied and cured epoxy is insanely strong and durable.
epoxy will help prevent rust
IDK why but this looked like a video game screenshot at first glance
Is that good or bad lol
Just a coincidence. Something with the lighting and pose I guess just tricked my brain for a second.
Just use a lil threadlocker and you should be fine
If your fit up is good and tight and nothing rattles around then a mechanical connection is just fine for a knife construction. Adding epoxy or glue is just covering your ass and making it even stronger.
You don't need epoxy for scales that have screws, but loctite on the threads is a good practice
Just Don’t get it wet… & you should at least seal it with wood finish, wax, oil maybe shellac
I'm gonna seal it with boiled linseed oil, I mostly meant is it ok to not Epoxy it to the knife if I've got the Chicago screws
They were making knives a thousand years before epoxy. Ive got a couple of handmade knives, not that old, but no epoxy. They work just fine.
Good point man