All Things Handles

[Mark Reich]

I understand. That's not an issue on my knives. It's easy to match the bolster to the edge, pretty much like you do to your kitchen knives. This is hard steel though, so you don't need to worry.

I try to adjust that with the future in mind, so it takes some time for breaking in. One you have it dialed in, you should still have a long time before the bolster needs adjusting.

The most important consideration is to keep you safe. If there wasn't a bolster, you'd be cutting yourself on the heel.

[grepper]

" If there wasn't a bolster, you'd be cutting yourself on the heel. "

I guess that depends on the design of the knife and the handle. A lot of kitchen knives don't have a bolster that extends to the edge of the blade.

   

[Mark Reich]

Yes, kitchen knives are very different from work knives, and rarely if ever need a bolster.

I always round the heel on Japanese style bolsterless kitchen knives. I've seen too many people (myself included) cut the bejeezus out of themselves. 

I don't make knives that allow your hand to slip up onto the blade.

[wadebevan]

Hey Mark (or anyone in the know),
Working on a new kitchen knife, and I am down to the handle. I followed your advice in this thread and purchased some Loctite 324... In reading the directions, it says you need to use an activator, which I did not know when I made the purchase.
I found a few entries in other forums saying that it is not needed, and some saying that it is.
It also seems that people refer to 'Activator' and 'Primer' interchangeably (different things?)

Any insight?
Thanks,
Wade.

[Mark Reich]

I always use the activator made for the adhesive, which would be # 7075, in the 4.5 oz aerosol spray. Probably about $40.

[grepper]

I did a bit of searching around and found this:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...uLtjR0neGe

Directions for use:
1. For best performance bond surfaces should be clean and
free from grease.
2. To ensure a fast and reliable cure, Activator 7075™
should be applied to one of the bond surfaces and the
adhesive to the other surface. Parts should be assembled
within 15 minutes.

That said, from other searching around I think 324 will cure fine on it's own, but it may take a least a day or two to fully cure.  I guess I'd do as Mr. Mark and the link suggests and use Activator 7075 to be sure.

[Mark Reich]

Wait a minute Wade, I think we're heading in the wrong direction. You would probably be further ahead switching to Acra-glass right now. Your 324 has an expiration date, and you're not going to get much use out of it.

I laid out a case for acra-glass early on, but it kinda got sidetracked into what I use. Acra-glass doesn't expire, and it's a very viable product. There are new epoxies out there, but none proven better than Acra-glass. The peace of mind of it lasting forever is absolutely unique.

[wadebevan]

Oh, okay, that is good news as the acraglass is cheaper and easier to find!
The loctite 7075 activator seems pretty hard to come by for a reasonable price these days.