Step 10 - Attaching the Knife Handle 

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My knife handles are generally attached to the blades using a series of pins (and some seriously tough industrial epoxy to boot. Some knives, such as tactical knives, may use tapped screws or corby bolts. Here we will be attaching a simple set of ebony wood scales to a Klipspringer knife. Some types of handle materials are obviously more complex, such as mammoth tooth and coral. We also often put liners or other features on the handles. However, this setup should provide a good idea of the process. 

First, I cut the pins. This Klipspringer calls for three mosaic pins to attach the knife scales. Next, I sand the bottom and front of the scales perfectly flat to ensure they fit correctly against both the bolsters and the tang. I then trace a very rough outline around the knife scale.

On the bandsaw, I very roughly cut out the shape. This is simply to reduce the amount of excess material around the steel. Most of the material will be ground away to match the contour of the knife once the handle has been attached.

Once cut, we then clamp the wood to the steel and drill the holes for the handle pins. (Note in the pictures, we drilled the wood before shaping the bolsters. Usually the bolsters are shaped first, but we did this to accommodate the photographer. It really doesn't matter which is done first)

Now we prepare the surface of the metal and the wood for the epoxy. Surface preparation is important for a good long-term bond. This prep work is normally done with low grit sand paper, and we usually also scratch the steel with an air driven high-speed rotary tool. 

A small batch of high performance epoxy is mixed. We have lots of different epoxies for a variety of purposes. For those interested, here we are using a Loctite Hysol ™ E-120HP two part industrial epoxy that we then dyed black with a special black epoxy powder dye.

While we use epoxy, the pins are what actually attach the handle to the knife. While it of course helps with adhesion, the epoxy really serves to keep all moisture from entering the seams.

With one handle and one side of the steel coated in epoxy, we start to drive the pins through the handle and into the pinholes in the tang of the knife. 

We then flip over the knife, apply epoxy to both the steel and the handle, and then align with the pins. The pins are then hammered all the way through to permanently hold everything together.

We then clamp with the handle with light pressure and allow it to fully cure overnight in a heated space before working the knife any further.

The handle is the clamped to the knife in preparation for drilling.