All About Pocket Knives

I have an Olsen fixed blade hunter with what looks like a rosewood handle. One side is missing. It has a single hole in the tang with what looks like a gray epoxy holding the remaining piece. So what can I use to hold on the replacement side that will stand up to expansion of the wood. I will seal it good first. I thought about using J B WELD.
Thanks, Bob

JB weld will work, the gray epoxy you see might be JB weld from an old repair. I would reccomend Devcon 2 part 2 ton epoxy, it's strong stuff.

Just like MM said.

I might add, if you don't clamp it strongly enuff, or use too much, JB Weld will leave a gray line, behind the guard. (Kinda ugly)

JR

MM is right, JB or Devcon.
Personally I have had fantastic luck using polyurethane glue like Gorilla Glue or Sumo Glue to get the wood to stick to the metal handles. However, if you are trying to fill a void, do NOT use polyurethane glue. JB or Devcon is much better to fill a void, and I personally would favor the Devcon in that case.

Dale

I must be in a mood today, let me throw another log or 3 into the fire. I prefer K&G 24 hr epoxy with the colored dyes so I can mix it however I want as far as color goes. They have found that slower hardening epoxies perform the best.

What I have found to work better than anything is 1 of the 2 following items:

The BEST, IMO is a bedding compound used for glue and it works FANTATIC! Acraglas bedding compound - DO NOT USE THE GEL on knives. I use a syringe without a needle that I buy at a farm supply store to draw out what I need. MAXIMUM shrinkage is 1/10 of 1%. DO NOT use the GEL!

I use JB Weld on metal to metal surfaces only!

This compound came out first in glueing wood to metal in a test on another site. JB Weld and Devcon epoxies failed miseably. Polyurethane glue like Gorilla Glue or Sumo Glue as Dale mentioned work well also and are cheaper. Devcon works best on hidden tangs.

The second best, IMO, which was not in that test is the 2 part Loctite adhesives that allow you to work on your knife in 2 minutes. I have seen a lot of guys using this now. Downside is the cost, but I do like it so much that I do use it. BEWARE it does have a shelf life, a few months, IIRC.

So, I use K&G 24 hr epoxy, Acraglas, Loctite Speed Bonders, JB Weld, and Devcon in hidden tang knives. Occasionally I do use Gorilla glue. Sorry about the redundancy on the Gel, it really lacks performance on knives.

That's my list of adhesives I use, every one has a reason and and a situation for it to be used.