All About Pocket Knives

So right now in my area, we've gotten a LOT of rain, snow, sleet and overall wet stuff that nobody enjoys. Anyways, that throws my normal means of getting wood out of the window. So, I need to use wood from my shop class. A lot of the wood is not thick enough for what my plans are. If I glue two pieces together, will the glue when dry be carvable? I don't want to mess up my knife or waste wood, so I figured I'd ask.

Matthew Blood

I'm not a carver ,but have been a professional woodworker all my life. I have laminated more radius handrails than i care to talk about. Each rail has to be planed and milled to finish. I have never had a problem shaping pieces of laminated wood due to glue.
Tim

You've never had any of the laminate sticking to the blade of your tools? That sounds very nice! I'm probably going to try this. And I might even be able to come up with some neat ideas to use the glue seam to my advantage...

Matthew Blood

Matthew.......The dried wood glue will not stick or build up on any tool edging. As far as utilizing the seam, ...if the two pieces of stock are properly matched and compressed during glue up, you will not be able to see the seam other than by the variation of the wood grain in the two pieces. Good luck with your project!
Tim

A good PVA glue such as Franklin Titebond or Elmers wood glue are best for machining and carving as it leaves an invisible glue line as long as the laminated pieces are well matched and the glue itself is easier on your blades .

Bob R. (RIDGEWOOD CUTLERY)

"Thermoplastic Emulsion (PVA)
These adhesives come ready to use and set to a colorless glue line at room temperature by losing water. PVA (polyvinyl-acetate) is often called "white glue." Elmer's is one brand. The aliphatic resin glues (Titebond brand, for example) are yellowish, but still PVA. They have a high degree of tack (instant stickiness) with a wide range of application temperatures. These are suitable adhesives for furniture manufacturing and the home workshop alike."

Matt,

What little experience I have had with gluing wood together, caused no problems...I use either titebond or elmer's.