Systems Three T-88 vs Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy

I have some Devcon 2 Ton in the Dev-Tubes on (back)order, but have been hearing a lot of good things about the Systems Three T-88 recently as well. Anybody have a preference for one over the other? I read in this post that T-88 should be used to fill and the Devcon to seal: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...tang-holes-and-installation?p=16156#post16156

Perhaps I should cancel my Devcon order and just go for the T-88 if it is overall superior :scratchhead:

2nd Edit - this would be used for wa handle installations

Hi Tanner,
T-88 is great epoxy for gap filling and is waterproof so it can be used as a seal. Devcon 2-ton is also waterproof but it's viscosity is thinner and won't bridge gaps well. I've used both for a long time and trust them.

Something better came along to me, by way of a recommendation from Matt Stephens (another handle maker), and that's G-flex. I've switched over to using this for filling handles and attaching scales. It pours better than T-88 (especially at low temps) and really holds onto oily woods a lot better as well (yeah I tested it).

I still use Devcon 2-Ton for sealing tang slots simply because it spreads nicely and (again) it's waterproof (not water resistant like G-flex).

Thanks Dave, it sounds like the Devcon would be adequate, T-88 is available in Canada but a bit more difficult to find in non-wholesale sized containers, not sure what I'd do with a quart or gallon of the stuff.

With Devcon being a bit thinner, it should fill the internal voids nicely. Although you mentioned it doesn't bridge gaps as well, since the entire tang slot will be filled with epoxy, I'd hope that it would behave as just a solid mass (handle, epoxy, tang) once cured since the internal gaps should be eliminated. At that point the only consideration I suppose would be the shear or tensile strength of the cured product, but I say all of this having never epoxied anything before.

With any epoxy you have to make sure that your hole is filled and not with an air bubble. Pour it s......l......o......w and make sure plenty gets pushed out all over the place when the tang is inserted and you'll be (messy but) good to go.

I'm undecided on what I like best. I currently use G-Flex (in Canada it's very hard to find, but check a Marine wholesaler), but find its a bit sticky for my liking. The results have been very good, so far, but the tubes bug me a bit, because the lettering flakes off and gets in my mixture quite often. I can't remember who recommended it (Pierre, Rader, or Kramer), but if it's good enough for any of them, it's good enough for me... For now. I actually really liked my results that I got with Gorilla Glue.

Well it looks like my Devcon has now shipped so that's probably what I'll be using, but G/Flex looks really good from an engineering point for the setting the tang and as Dave had mentioned. Not sure what sort of repeated impacts from cutting would cause enough resonance that the Devcon would fail, but it sounds like g/flex is superior in this regard (hence the "flex" I suppose).

I see G/Flex at Marine Outfitters in Ontairo, maybe I'll get some and return some of the Devcon Dev-tubes (not sure why I thought I'd need to order 8), and use it for sealing only instead. Lee Valley also sells the West System products, but not G/Flex unfortunately.

Tanner I like the Devcon for attaching scales & filling Wa's. Just a novice compared to Dave. The T-88 is thicker I buy cheap old carbon chef knives fix the handles, force a patina & sharpen them sell at cost to students. Gets them some pretty good old knives for cheap. Sometimes these old handles have cracks or gaps between spine and scales like the T-88 for this kind of repair. Never used G/Flex yet.

I have followed up on some of the handles I have made that are in production kitchens. So far as I know no failures yet. Used Stepans Handles that Dave mounted quite a few years ago held up excellent at work.

Thanks Keith, what you're saying makes a lot of sense with the Devcon being thinner for filling tang slots and the T-88 being thicker for filling open gaps. A low viscosity epoxy would probably probably be the best to flow into all the nooks and crannies inside the wa handle to avoid air pockets.

After doing more research (it was a fun long weekend :whistling, it looks like G/Flex is available in a "650" formation and a "655" formation. 650 is sold in translucent plastic squeeze bottles and 655 is purportedly thickened and appears to be sold in metal tubes. From Dave's and Tom's posts it sounds like Dave may be using 650 and Tom using 655. I'm going to get in contact with the distributor to hear what they have to say.

Dave Martell said:

It pours better…

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Lefty said:

…its a bit sticky for my liking… the tubes bug me a bit, because the lettering flakes off and gets in my mixture quite often.

Click to expand...

This is the stuff I'm using.

Looks like G-flex is waterproof. I thought it was only water resistant. Cool

Dave Martell said:

Looks like G-flex is waterproof. I thought it was only water resistant. Cool

Click to expand...

That's nice to know kind of important in a kitchen knife.

I use the west systems epoxy as well, nice because you have a choice of slow or fast hardener on cure time, if you need more time to work with it or to suit ambient temperature. I also use the microfibres in the mix which adds structure and toughness to the epoxy and allows control of the consistency desired.

Cool that's the 650 version I can get (in bottom left corner of the bottle)

FWIW this is going back 15 years now, but at that time we found nothing stronger than 3M DP460 for bonding metal. Lots of folks claimed 2-ton strength, but only dp460 actually gave it. It is fairly viscous stuff though, essentially a soft paste.



Rick