All thumbs newbie & handle repair

[MT-Vessel]

Recently, a friend gave me a much abused swayback George Wostenholm Real Lamb Foot Knife. There is a piece of the bone(?) handle missing. As a learning opportunity, I would like to try to patch the handle. A quick search of AAPK leads to hobby shop casting/molding & super glue build up as methods of repair.
I would very much appreciate any information about this knife and suggestions on how to go about repairing the handle.
Thanks in advance for all responses and Happy New Year!

[#goldpan]

Nice knife! Too bad about the missing piece of bone. If it were mine I would replace the handles. First I would look for another knife with similar handles that was damaged to get a donor handle from. If thats reasonable then I would go to Cullpepper's and find some handle material to replace both side with.
If you want to go ahead and repair the broken handle. You can dye some epoxy to match. Mix some batches and add color, let dry without using it and check the color. When you got it right you can build it up a little at a time and try to match the jigging. Like I said if it wer mine i would replace the handles altogether. Just my 2 cents worth!

[XX Case XX]

Good question. I'm going to have the same problem in about a week. I'm hoping I can find someone to re-pin and patch the bottom of this.

_____________
Mike

[Jeffinn]

That's a pretty large missing piece to replace via epoxy or super glue. If you could find some handle material that matches you could cut a piece that's close to the right size, epoxy it in place and the fill in any voids and machine as necessary. Labor intensive for sure.
Personally, I'd replace the handles. But that's just me, I'm sure others might disagree.
Either way it's a nice knife! Good luck!

[Meridian_Mike]

Just my $.02 worth, I would replace the entire scale.
A patch job will always look like a patch job.
Now this is just my $.02 worth (which aint worth much......LOL)

Mike

[orvet]

I agree, I would replace the handles.

[MT-Vessel]

Thanks for all the input. Replacing the scales is, as I thought, the general consensus. I shall put this on my “to do” list. A list that grows longer due to my other list... the “Honey do list.”

[MT-Vessel]

Decided to try fitting a wooden patch. Used E6000 epoxy to stick it on. Not finished yet but it looks better than the broken handle. One step further along the learning curve....

[orvet]

Nice-looking patch, I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't told us it was there.
Outstanding job!

[Jeffinn]

That turned out great!

[glennbad]

Like Dale said, if I didn't see a before pic, I wouldn't know where to look for a repair.

[edge213]

If it looks as good in hand as it does in the picture....Outstanding!

[MT-Vessel]

Thanks guys.
The picture looks a bit better than reality. The color is slightly off. I added more “jigging” along the outer edge and it looks pretty good. The unpatched side faces out on the shelf, so no worries.

[edge213]

Thanks guys.
The picture looks a bit better than reality. The color is slightly off. I added more “jigging” along the outer edge and it looks pretty good. The unpatched side faces out on the shelf, so no worries.

How did you jig? Dremel?

[MT-Vessel]

I started with a dremel... it felt as if it wanted to take off! I stopped before I ruined something.
Because the patch is a reasonably soft wood, I was able to use the rounded end of a tool to compress the fibers. The patch is sealed, therefore I think the wood may not swell back to its original shape. Time will tell.

[zed6309]

Great job mate,can't even see the patch