How I blast tangs before glue up

[REK Knives]

First I tape the blade and temporarily put the scales on with pins... Then I use a razor and cut around the tip of the scales. Next I remove the scales and put some blasting tape just barely over the other tape so it does don't get messed up.

This allows for GREAT adhesion!

 

[opaul]

What do you use to sand blast?

 

[REK Knives]

What do you use to sand blast?

Aluminum oxide, 100 grit. It's important to not use any type of impact bead as that will peen the surface vs etch it like alox (which is what you want)

 

[opaul]

Aluminum oxide, 100 grit. It's important to not use any type of impact bead as that will peen the surface vs etch it like alox (which is what you want)

Do you use a small volume blaster. I would be interested to see a photo of the set up.

 

[MTBob]

Aluminum oxide, 100 grit. It's important to not use any type of impact bead as that will peen the surface vs etch it like alox (which is what you want)

I do the same thing prior to gluing, I happen to find 70 grit AO available from our local HF store. I also use that grit for removing heat treat scale or mill scale. But, I like glass beads for surface texturing a G-10 handle. I think I recall Ed saying that he uses something like a 60/40 glass bead to 70 AO mixture.

Do you use a small volume blaster. I would be interested to see a photo of the set up.

Just a note on hand held blasters - be very cautious of fugitive dust in an enclosed area. Nasty stuff to breath, particularly if you use plain sand. Silicon (sand) will really screw up your lungs fast. If you use AO blast media, unless you capture it some how, it can get pretty expensive wasting the media.