All About Pocket Knives

While I certainly have not perfected this, I believe that my second attempt at patching bone handle with epoxy is a great improvement.
The knife is a John Primble large Congress that my Dad bought for me:
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... hp?t=20950

The problem with a patch is that the epoxy is one solid, homogenous color. But when you look at the bone, you see variations in the colors. The bone is dyed brown, but when I look at it I see spots that are red, and some areas deep inside that are almost yellow. So I thought to try and put different color epoxy into layers, to see if that would better mimic the natural color variations.
Not having a lot of powdered dyes to choose from, I waited until my wife was gone and raided the spice rack.
The yellow french-fry salt is probably a poor choice for the yellow (the salt might cause tarnish), but the cinnamon was almost perfect for the reddish-brown color! I started with a layer of opaque yellow epoxy, then I put down a layer of reddish-brown that is less dense in color, allowing you to see through it a little to the color underneath.
In hindsight I should have let the first layer dry, then Dremel out some divots and fill those spots with a darker color. Since I put down both layers with the epoxy wet, I missed some of that variation. Still, I like the results in-hand better than in the pictures. You can still tell that it is a patch (and I want that, for ethical reasons), but I do not want it to be obvious from across the room.
Plus, the cinnamon smells great!
Any and all comments appreciated!

Reverand, I think you did a terrific job on that congress knife! I also find the difficult part with epoxy patching is, of course, somehow matching the colors of the surrounding bone. Powdered dyes are made for a variety of purposes, and I have found that the ones that work the best for me for bone patching are some that I have picked up that are used for dyeing concrete. The nice thing about working with epoxy patching is, if you don't like the result on the first try (or second, or third or...), it's very easy to heat up the patch with a heat gun or hair dryer, remove the patch, and try again.

Thanks Herb. I may very well remove this one and try again. The epoxy that I used does not harden as much as I would like, but retains a slight rubbery finish. That doesn't matter as much with a smaller patch like on my Cattaraugus whittler, but this one is large enough that it feels a little strange.

Nice job! I have not tried epoxy patches, but your work gives me hope for the process. Maybe something I will try in the future.

That’s looks darn good Rev! The color looks great and the jigging matches. You definitely have the epoxy patch process figured out.
Jeff

Rev, I’ve used pastel artist’s chalk to color epoxy. I scrape off small piles of various colors (browns, blacks, grays, tans, and white) and then dry blend them as needed to get the right color. The chalks can be expensive if you buy at an art supply store, but cheaper on Amazon, and very cheap at Chinese suppliers like Temu. Some kits have dozens of colors. Might be worth experimenting with them vs. raiding the spice cabinet.

Dennis

Very nice work Reverend. That artist chalk sounds like it should
help you out.

Bob

deo-pa wrote: ↑Mon Sep 11, 2023 2:12 am Rev, I’ve used pastel artist’s chalk to color epoxy. I scrape off small piles of various colors (browns, blacks, grays, tans, and white) and then dry blend them as needed to get the right color. The chalks can be expensive if you buy at an art supply store, but cheaper on Amazon, and very cheap at Chinese suppliers like Temu. Some kits have dozens of colors. Might be worth experimenting with them vs. raiding the spice cabinet.

Dennis

Can you get to much chalk dust that it effects the epoxy setting up?

Can you get to much chalk dust that it effects the epoxy setting up?

I haven’t had that issue. The epoxy I’ve used is shown below. My experience is it doesn’t take a lot of chalk to color the small amount of epoxy needed for a handle patch.

Dennis