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Post by bigpete on Jun 19, 2015 6:32:36 GMT
Gday,I just wanted to ask peoples opinion on something. I was just batonning with my Natchez Bowie ( I know Iknow, I just wanted to test it ), and after about a dozen or so hits the handle split lengthwise. Now its not completley asunder, so I was thinking of just pouring in super glue into every hole possible,then wrapping it up in roo leather. What do you other guys think? I know its a cable tang knife,so taking the handle off seems to me to be out of my league,but if anyone here has done the job before please let me know how you did it and maybe I'll just rehandle the sucker :). Oh and for those interested it was handling the task quite well until the handle wood gave up ! Buggered if I know why they don't make them as a full tang ! ( I know,its meant to be a fighting knife btw ) Thanks in advance,Pete
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Jun 19, 2015 7:48:34 GMT
All the axes you have from me and you break your knife. Glue it with epoxy wrap wire around it, then the leather.
Guess it is one of the lower end Natchez Bowies, thought the top one have full tangs.
One of these days just get a big bowie from me it will have a full tang and won't cost you much more than the Cold steel one did.
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Post by bigpete on Jun 19, 2015 8:54:43 GMT
Yeah I know :) I got that SK 5 model that was for sale on here a couple of years ago that you told me to buy before you did LOL. I actually thought all the natchez bowies were cable tang because allegedly it makes them handle better ? Anyways I won't be doing that again. Just wanted to test it out as the Cold Steel lovers on the CS forum reckon it shouldn't be a problem at all,I guess I proved them wrong ! :) Although I suspected it might happen.....
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Jun 19, 2015 9:11:29 GMT
I remember, at the time I didn't know they were cable tang, and I wasn't making big bowies.
Still think the top of the line one's are full tang. Maybe since they have moved out of China they are all full tang again.
Getting cold there.
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Post by bigpete on Jun 19, 2015 9:34:58 GMT
Yeah maybe I should get you to make me one,but at the price i paid for this one it was hard to say no. and in all reality its done everything i wanted it to do. not even really sure why i tried batonning with it today as I've never batonned before . guess i just wanted to try it out. a little disappointed but my own fault really. you actually can't really tell its broken until you really look closely at it. i reckon the glue and wrap will sort it out
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jun 19, 2015 15:42:12 GMT
use slow drying epoxy not that 5 minute stuff, wear rubber gloves, rub it into the cracks, wipe off excess, clamp or bind tightly with string, double the drying time 'cause it's cold. Scrape off string and wrap as you wish
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Post by Daigoro on Jun 19, 2015 15:50:40 GMT
Handle breakage, especially from batoning, is a well known problem with the SK-5 Natchez. There's nothing wrong with the cable tang (on this knife or in general), it's just wood handles . The Natchez is supposed to be a "fighting bowie" (the Laredo also) and has been designed to have a very light handle hence the cable tang. Why? Not even going to touch the logic behind that.
Still, since CS loves to advertise their all their blades as heavy users that will slice through car doors & hog heads, they really should at least be using g10 or micarta (like they use on the San Mai Natchez) or just going with full tangs for the handles.
As far as fixing the handle, epoxy and rewrap is probably you're best bet.
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Post by bigpete on Jun 20, 2015 2:35:32 GMT
Exactly my thoughts mate they do go on about how tough their products are so it is kinda amazing that they tried to shave a few grams of the handles of their fighting knives by going for a cable tang ! :) Anyways I'll be trying some industrial super glue, may even drill some small holes in the handle to get the glue in there,then I'll wrap it wire/dacron and coat with superglue,then wrap it with roo hide to finish. Should be strong enough after that,it will be kinda like a sword handle. Incidentally,it did split right down along the grain so it clearly is the wood that gave out,makes me wonder if it wouldn't have happened if I'd wrapped it up already like I wanted to.
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Post by Draven on Jun 20, 2015 2:53:38 GMT
Is the handle plain wood or stabilized? If it is not stabilized I'd use a good quality wood glue rather than superglue/epoxy. Wood + wood glue + clamp the **** out of it will result in an extremely strong bond and in my experience/opinion is the most effective and lowest hassle option when wood is involved.
It's a shame that Cold Steel used wood on that model. The cable tang is a cool idea in theory, but provides virtually no support for the grip itself. Micarta would have been a much better option!
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Post by Draven on Jun 20, 2015 2:55:40 GMT
PS: I've used mason line from lowes (cheap) to wrap awkward shapes tightly where clamping doesn't work. I also use it over sword grip wraps. It's synthetic and won't stick too much to wood glue! It's a bit stretchy, easy to get a good tight wrap but doesn't knot worth a damn!
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Post by bigpete on Jun 20, 2015 4:06:02 GMT
I believe its resin impregnated or something,the other reason for superglue is the fact that the splits are that small and fine I really need something runny to get in there properly. Pretty sure I've got it covered :) if it were really split and falling apart I'd be sure to used epoxy or something along those lines but as it is I think Loctite stuff I plan to use should do a fine job,especially once reinforced with the string and roo hide. Maybe i should just invest in a full tang bowie LOLOLOLOL :)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 18:07:23 GMT
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Post by bigpete on Jun 27, 2015 7:20:09 GMT
That one broke because the bloke was belting on the pommel for some reason. Just finished fixing mine. First I run superglue into all the openings until it ran out then let it all dry int the sun. That made it feel solid straightaway. Then I reshaped the handle to a more traditional coffin shape. Then I wrapped the handle in gutted brown paracord and coated it all in superglue. That made the handle fit my hand better and gave it a less slippery grip. I left about an inch of the original handle showing just for aesthetics. i also reground the spanish notch so I can get my forefinger in there. All in all I really like it now,it looks a little rough but I like it more than before even :)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2015 14:01:21 GMT
Posted the link mostly for the pictures. By the end of that thread, it appeared to be a confusion of terms and that the op had indeed been batoning the blade.
At any rate, I'm glad that gluing held the pieces together in a satisfactory manner for you. They are pretty blades. There are other threads with folk replacing the wood with micarta but retaining the strung guitar routine. The CS design appeared to be two fold. Weight and shock absorption.
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Post by bigpete on Jun 28, 2015 6:51:43 GMT
Yeah I think that may well have been the case. I really don'y understand why they designed such a large blade with such a dodgy tang system,I realise that they think it will help its balance and shock absorbtion, but really, doesn't strength and longevity make a great deal more sense in a knife like that ? I personally think so. I love mine and have indeed used it quite abit, but I'd also love to not be worried about babying it.
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Post by Stromlo_Swords_USA on Jun 28, 2015 23:19:58 GMT
Pic from bigpete...
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Post by Croccifixio on Jun 29, 2015 5:07:13 GMT
Yeah I think that may well have been the case. I really don'y understand why they designed such a large blade with such a dodgy tang system,I realise that they think it will help its balance and shock absorbtion, but really, doesn't strength and longevity make a great deal more sense in a knife like that ? I personally think so. I love mine and have indeed used it quite abit, but I'd also love to not be worried about babying it. Well, lots of working knives survive without a full tang :D Different techniques for different places I guess?
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Post by bigpete on Jun 29, 2015 6:20:55 GMT
Thanks for posting that up Rob,as you can see i've done a little bit of modification,I think its suits the knife and goes well with the tomahawk
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