I use Brownells Acra-Glas. It is good. West Systems is held in high regard also.

Buy one of those and forget about epoxy breakdown.

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I use Brownells Acra-Glas. It is good. West Systems is held in high regard also.

Buy one of those and forget about epoxy breakdown.

Thanks Mike. I will give the Brownells a try.

Jack, I also use Acraglass most of the time. If not, I really like the epoxies from West Systems - they are often used by boat builders.

So are there knife maker specific epoxies? I saw one company that claimed to be knife maker specific. Seemed a little spendy. I am also figuring out quite quickly that some items listed as “knife maker supplies” are more expensive than the same product listed as say “farrier supplies”. I am due up for a new batch of epoxy and not overly happy with the slow cure BSI epoxy I have been using. I started to really look into epoxies online and man do you go down a rabbit hole on that one. Anyhow thanks for the above info and thanks in advance for any added thoughts.

What Mike spoke of ("Epoxy breakdown") also known as "hold life", is what knifemakers need to be concerned with. Here's the skinny.... the vast majority of commercially available, 2-part epoxies have a hold life of 5-7 years. What does that mean? It means that the epoxy is chemically engineered to start breaking down at the 5-7 year point after it is mixed.

Why is it important? I'll use myself as an example. When I started out, I was using Devcon epoxy, simply because I didn't know any better. After making and selling a number of knives, about 6 years later I had a rash of knives that were returned for "loose handles". After studying the problem, it was obvious that the epoxy had partially turned into a powder. After a LOT of research and calling around, I spoke with an engineer, at a major chemical company. When I told him my problem, he chuckled and told me..... "Ed, my job depends on selling epoxy....I'm never going to create an epoxy that last forever." My jaw was on the floor, because I could not believe such a thing....but after looking at it from his end, it made/makes sense. Many things have built in obsolescence these days, from appliances, to autos, to the clothes you wear.

So....where does that leave us as knifemakers? We need to seek out and use epoxy that has the longest "hold life" possible. The two that I found are Acraglas from Brownells, and West Systems Marine epoxy. Acraglas has a 10 years shelf life, and a hold life of 50 years. West Systems has a 5 year shelf life, and a hold life of 20 years.

With the recent popularity of knifemaking, you're going to find a lot of epoxy labeled "knife" or "knifemaker's".... frankly, I steer clear. Of those I've looked into, the very first question I ask is "What's the hold life on this product?" If they can't answer that question (which most can't), or it's less than the 50 years offered by Acraglas, I don't even consider it.

The way I see it, the choice of epoxy is just as important as any other aspect of building knives. It's YOUR reputation that's on the line, and that is something that takes A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT to establish, but only a split second to destroy.

When it comes to "Knifemaker specific" I generally find that such products/items are under built, and over priced. As for epoxy that is labeled/advertised as being for knifemakers..... I've been a tester for most of them...and would not even consider them over Acraglas.

Thank you so much! Acraglas it is!

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Thank you so much! Acraglas it is!

Something to remember is AcraGlas likes to be warm so keep & use it in a heated environment in the winter time. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//wink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

I used to work in the wooden boat trade, every shop and school I was at, used West System.