That knife did turn out nice. Now belongs to a guy in Alberta who uses it on an almost daily basis. I'm going to address your questions specifically here. If you've more detailed ones, we can always e-mail me at joelcb@pennswoods.net.
1. Yep, I used the Elmer's Resin that I bought at Lowe's. After glueing the whole mess together and then clamping while wrapped in wax paper, I let it cure overnight. I then loosen the clamps and let the block cure for another 3 days until it is really stiff.
2. I ended up buying a bandsaw at Lowe's also(they were on sale). Makes cutting this stuff a lot easier. Before that I was using my Sabre Saw with a metal cutting blade. A hacksaw blade tends to clog up quite quickly; making them about useless. I use the bandsaw to trip all the excess of the block which is typically about 11 inches long by 2.5 inches wide, and around 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick; depending on how many layers of cloth I used. Old blue jeans made of heavy denim take around 20 layers. The new, thinner denim I bought off the roll at walmart took 25 layers to get 1/4 inch thick.
3. After trimming, I cut the block into two pieces. I then grind the pieces to final dimensions using my belt grinder and a 50 grit belt. Makes it more convenient to use.....not absolutely necessary.
4. The denim, or canvas for that matter, work about like commercial canvas micarta as far as texture goes. The handles stay a bit "fuzzy"until I reach around 320-400 grit. At that point, they tend to smooth out. The denim scales one that knife were worked all the way to 1200 grit and then buffed. I find that no matter what grit you use, or how smooth they are, once they get wet with water or blood they get "sticky"just like regular micarta.
5. Once the handle is attached to the tang( I use the same resin to glue it as I did to make it), I shape it like I do most of my handle material. I start with a coarse belt of anywhere from 50-100 grit, then gradually work up to 320 grit. After that, its hand sanding using wet/dry paper up to 1200 or 1500 grit, for the most part. I like my micarta polished. One thing I learned about shaping both regular micarta's and mine is that they work much better and stay cleaner if they are worked wet. I keep a spray bottle of water handy and thoroughly spray the material before I start each grit. When I'm done using that grit, I really spray it and wipe with a paper towel to get the grit/dirt off the handle. Even ivory micarta is easy to work like this. After I'm done with the wet/dry, I polish the handle(actually all of the knife) on the buffer using pink "no scratch" rouge. Some folks like their micarta a bit rougher, so it's really up to you how far you take it. The buffer isn't necessary really.....it's just what I do.
6. A caution. When I first started making this stuff I was working in temperatures in the middle 50's F. That gave me around 15-20 minutes to layer; which was plenty. With the warmer temperatures of around 65-70 F that we're experienceing now, the working time is cut way down....like 5 minutes. After that, the resin turns into a big semi-solid glob. So, now I make it early in the morning or late evening. Here in the mountains of PA, it gets cool during both periods. Another warning......Always do this in a extremely well ventilated space...outside is preferable. That and when sawing and grinding wear a full respirator. You are dealing with fiberglas dust that if it gets in your lungs DOES NOT go away.
7. Here are a couple of pics to give you the idea.
These are blocks in, from left to right, very dark green, blue, red/white/black and orange. The bottom block is denim just out of the clamps.
in this closeup you can see the edges better. I only slightly trimmed these blocks. You can see where there are just lines of resin due to the slightly different widths of cloth; which I cut at 2 inches, more or less. Before I use these, I'll grind deeper into the block until you only see solid layers and no resin lines.
Hope this helps. E-mail me if you need more data.........Joel
