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Post by alientude on Mar 14, 2022 18:45:25 GMT
I have this scabbard from my Kult of Athena mystery box. You can see it's cracked here. I want to see if I can shore it up, and my first thought was to use some wood glue and clamp it together. Any advice would be welcome.
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Post by Brian Kunz on Mar 14, 2022 19:21:22 GMT
If a repair is attempted, I would recommend a non-toxic glue, such as Tite-bond original wood glue (red bottle). Anything else and you run the risk of the glue causing corrosion to the blade due to the toxic fumes.
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Post by alientude on Mar 14, 2022 19:43:05 GMT
Thank you for the tip. I have some Gorilla wood glue, which says no toxic fumes, so I think that would be okay.
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Post by paulmuaddib on Mar 14, 2022 21:55:30 GMT
Thank you for the tip. I have some Gorilla wood glue, which says no toxic fumes, so I think that would be okay. Make sure the gorilla glue is the yellow traditional wood glue like tite-bond or Elmer’s. They have another glue for exterior/moisture exposed applications. It expands as it’s drying and ends up looking like styrofoam. And yes just glue and clamp it. I’ve had to do that on a few of my tsuka that came cracked. Actually pretty common on kats and waks. I spread it a little with a putty knife or something similar and put the glue in with a toothpick. Then clamp. Then file to fit better. Works great. Good luck. Edit: and thanks Brian for the tip about the toxic fumes. Didn’t know about that. I love how helpful people are on this forum. Well, most of the time. 😏
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Post by alientude on Mar 14, 2022 22:01:53 GMT
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Post by paulmuaddib on Mar 15, 2022 0:46:38 GMT
Yep. That’s good. The other is dark brown. Anything that squeezes out just wipe off with a wet (water) rag immediately.
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Post by alientude on Mar 18, 2022 22:20:38 GMT
Here's what it looks like after gluing and clamping. Feels pretty solid. Now I want to clean up the bits of excess glue. I'm thinking some fine grit sandpaper. Maybe 1,000 grit?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Mar 19, 2022 14:25:45 GMT
I just saw your thread although I did see your video yesterday. It would have been much simpler to have wiped the excess off while wet with a wet paper towel or rag as Paul pointed out. Whatever abrasive you now use be prepared redo the entire saya and not just the one spot. Just a far chance but instead of trying to remove the showing glue by sanding and refinishing the entire saya it might, and I say might, be possible to hide it by using a colouring agent and blending in with the sounding wood. Just for future reference if ever needed again. A white glue such as Elmer’s dies clear especially when thinned with water. I used that when doing model railroading. It was great for uniting stuff such as a coal pile as it was invisible after drying. As that is not available to me I use 3M’s White Scotch Glue and see no difference. Both are available in your country.
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Post by alientude on Mar 19, 2022 15:03:00 GMT
Oops. I did wipe away some excess glue, but not all of it. Well, I think I'll use some high grit sandpaper and see what the finish looks like before deciding if I'll need to apply the same to the entire scabbard. Thanks for the tips.
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steveboy
Member
Measure twice, cut once.
Posts: 361
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Post by steveboy on Mar 19, 2022 20:49:29 GMT
Oops. I did wipe away some excess glue, but not all of it. Well, I think I'll use some high grit sandpaper and see what the finish looks like before deciding if I'll need to apply the same to the entire scabbard. Thanks for the tips. I have pretty good success with Elmer's Wood Glue. I tend to make a shim out of thin veneer and use it as a spatula to work the glue well into the crack. I've also used dental floss saturated with wood glue to floss the crack.
Clamping squeezes excess glue from both sides of the crack, and it's a good idea to wipe the inside of the scabbard as well as the outside, if you can get to it. Appearances aren't so important for the inside, so if youhave to wrap paper towel around a thin dowel and swab away, have at it!
For the outside crack, though paper towels easily get gummy and smear the glue around, forcing you to sand later (and then redo the whole saya when that area no longer matches), or leaving paper bits that harden with the glue. I tend to use a damp sponge, which thins & wipes away the excess very well.
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Post by alientude on Mar 23, 2022 2:05:16 GMT
There was less excess glue than I thought. Used some 2500 grit sandpaper and after about a minute, it feels mostly good. While I doubt I'll try to wear the scabbard or anything, at least it doesn't feel like it's going to break just by handling it now.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Mar 23, 2022 2:24:37 GMT
Sound like you're happy with the out come. I'm glad for you.
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circumstances
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All the same we take our chances.. laughed at by time..tricked by circumstances
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Post by circumstances on Jun 20, 2022 3:27:25 GMT
Turned out good. I suppose if you do ever decide your going to put the blade that goes in it to work you could wrap the area that was broken. For straight utility paracord is a ubiquitous material.
If you want better looks leather thong is great. Boot laces work fine and look good. Use a half hitch mast/rigging wrap and you get a cool looking spiral. Then you wouldn't have to worry at all about tossing it around.
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steveboy
Member
Measure twice, cut once.
Posts: 361
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Post by steveboy on Jun 20, 2022 18:03:13 GMT
Turned out good. I suppose if you do ever decide your going to put the blade that goes in it to work you could wrap the area that was broken. For straight utility paracord is a ubiquitous material. If you want better looks leather thong is great. Boot laces work fine and look good. Use a half hitch mast/rigging wrap and you get a cool looking spiral. Then you wouldn't have to worry at all about tossing it around. Traditionally they'd wrap rattan. I've considered trying this, but after looking at some tutorials online I decided against it. It's a nice look, though -- strong and very paintable.
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circumstances
Member
All the same we take our chances.. laughed at by time..tricked by circumstances
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Post by circumstances on Jun 22, 2022 4:09:45 GMT
I've used twisted wire over rawhide for repairing and just because it's cool in scabbards and handles. On handles I dont like that combo in the actual grip area much though. A couple inches under the handguard and/or below the pommel. It can be hard on the hands without a glove. And I never much cared for gloves using a sword.
My swords are primarily Japanese style. With a beast of a European or English style broadsword gloves probably wouldn't bother me so much. With lighter blades like the katana where you change grip positions a lot gloves would drive me crazy.
But as to twisted wire over rawhide it turns out sempriniin' looking. And it themes well with most any culture blade style. Especially on the scabbard.
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