The part of the build that decides how the knife feels
A blade blank arrives finished. The steel is hardened, the grind is set, the edge is sharp. Everything left to do happens at the handle — and how you attach the scales decides whether the knife feels like a tool or like a project that did not quite work out.
There are three common methods and one that quietly fails years later. This guide covers all of them.
What you are actually joining
A full tang blade has a flat steel tang running the length of the handle, with holes drilled through it. Two matched pieces of handle material — scales — sit on either side. Fasteners pass through the holes, and epoxy fills everything in between.
The important thing to understand: the epoxy does most of the holding, and the fasteners keep the scales from lifting. Get the glue joint wrong and no fastener will save it. Get the glue joint right and even simple pins will last decades.
Method 1 — Pins
The simplest approach. A length of rod — brass, stainless, copper, or mosaic pin for decoration — passes through the tang and both scales, and is sanded flush.
How it works: cut the pin slightly proud on both sides, glue up, then sand the ends down flush during handle shaping. The pin is not clamping anything; it is preventing the scales from sliding and lifting.
Choosing diameter: match the holes in your tang. Ours are drilled to standard sizes, and the pin should be a snug slip fit — tight enough that it does not rattle, loose enough that you can push it through with epoxy on it. A pin you have to hammer in will crack a scale.
Best for: most knives. Kitchen knives, hunting knives, anything that will not be pried with. Pins are clean, cheap, and there is no mechanical hardware to fail.
Watch out for: peening. Some makers hammer the pin ends to mushroom them into the scale. Done well it is a strong traditional joint. Done badly it splits the scale, and you will not know until it is too late. If you are new, do not peen — glue and sand flush.
Method 2 — Corby bolts
A two piece fastener: a male half with a threaded post and a shoulder, and a female half that screws onto it. The shoulders bottom out against the tang, so the scales are clamped at a fixed thickness and cannot be crushed.
How it works: the tang hole takes the shoulder, the scale holes are counterbored so the head sits below the surface. Screw the halves together, and the scales are mechanically locked to the tang independently of the glue.
Why makers like them: they hold the assembly during glue-up without clamps, they will not loosen, and they give a genuine mechanical joint rather than relying on adhesive alone.
Best for: hard use knives, thick handle material, anything that will see impact or leverage. Also useful if you are working alone and want the assembly to hold itself while the epoxy sets.
Watch out for: counterbore depth. Too shallow and the head stands proud after shaping. Too deep and you sand through into the head. Drill the counterbore in a drill press if you can, and leave yourself a millimetre of material.
Method 3 — Loveless bolts
Similar in principle to Corby bolts but with a slimmer profile and a screw that pulls the two halves together from both sides. Popular where a low profile matters.
They work well, cost more, and demand more precision in the counterbore. For a first build, Corby bolts are the more forgiving choice.
The method that fails: glue alone
Epoxy on its own, with no pins and no bolts, will hold a handle. For a while.
The problem is not adhesive strength — modern epoxies are strong. The problem is that wood moves. It expands and contracts with humidity, and every cycle works at the glue line. Add heat from a dishwasher or a hot car, and the joint eventually lets go. Usually at the worst moment.
Use fasteners. Even two simple pins transform the joint.
Choosing your epoxy
This matters more than most people expect.
Use a slow cure two part epoxy — 30 minutes working time or longer. Five minute epoxy will start setting while you are still aligning the second scale, and a rushed alignment is a permanent one.
Mix thoroughly and by ratio. Under-mixed epoxy never fully hardens. Scrape the sides and bottom of the cup, mix for a full minute, and measure properly rather than eyeballing.
Prepare the surfaces. Scuff the tang with 80 grit — epoxy grips a scratched surface far better than a polished one. Then clean both the tang and the inside of the scales with acetone or isopropyl alcohol. Skin oil from handling is enough to weaken the bond.
Fill the holes. Put epoxy in the tang holes and on the pins, not just on the flat surfaces. Air pockets around a pin are a weak point and, in a kitchen knife, a place for water to sit.
The step people regret skipping
Finish the front edge of each scale before you glue.
The front edge — the one that meets the blade — is nearly impossible to sand cleanly once the scales are bonded, because the blade is in the way. Sand it to your final grit while the scale is loose and flat on the bench, and apply your oil or wax if you are using one.
Everyone learns this by getting it wrong once.
Glue-up, step by step
- Dry fit everything. Scales, pins, bolts, clamps. Make sure it all goes together before there is epoxy involved.
- Tape the blade. Masking tape over the edge, for the blade and for your hands.
- Scuff and clean the tang and the inside faces of the scales.
- Mix the epoxy thoroughly.
- Butter both surfaces and fill the holes.
- Insert the fasteners and bring the scales together.
- Clamp with even pressure. Enough to close the joint, not enough to squeeze out all the epoxy — a starved joint is a weak joint.
- Wipe the squeeze-out with alcohol on a rag before it cures.
- Leave it alone for 24 hours, whatever the packet claims.
Shaping after the glue has cured
Take the scales down flush with the tang first, then round the profile. Check the shape in your hand constantly — a handle that looks right and feels wrong is a common outcome of shaping by eye alone.
Keep the blade cool. If you are using a belt sander, dip the blade in water regularly. Heat conducted up the tang can soften the temper. It is the one remaining way to ruin a properly heat treated blade at this stage of the build.
Then work up through the grits — 120, 180, 240, 400 — without skipping any.
What to buy for a first build
Two or three pins of the right diameter, or a set of Corby bolts. A slow cure two part epoxy. Sandpaper from 80 to 400. Clamps. Masking tape. Acetone or alcohol.
That is the whole list.
Our handle materials cover stabilised wood, natural hardwood, micarta and G10, and our blade blanks come drilled and ready for pins. If you want the whole build from start to finish, our step by step guide covers everything from choosing a blank to sealing the handle.