Setting an Knot with Tight Fit?

[Mr00classic]

I had and a Alpha 400 style handle. I originally set a Badger/Boar knot in. Ended up hating the knot for feel reason ad it was a shed monster. Ordered a new boar knot (I'm realizing they are my favorites. The knot is an extremely tight fit. Trying for a 55mm loft but can only get it down to 60mm. Feels as if there is a build up of glue that caused the knot to fan out a little. Forcing it in I was actually shaving hairs off on the aluminum collar.

Any ideas on how to get it deeper?

 

[Ugmug]

If you can’t get it in there by giving it a good push down into the socket, then you either need a handle with a wider socket, a smaller knot, or a knot with a smaller glue bump. Trying to force the one you have will likely result in damage to the knot, handle, or both.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

Sanding or grinding out the hole in the handle a bit will be much better on the knot. A little extra space is much better that tight as it keeps the hairs from getting damaged on the edge of the hole

 

[Mr00classic]

If you can’t get it in there by giving it a good push down into the socket, then you either need a handle with a wider socket, a smaller knot, or a knot with a smaller glue bump. Trying to force the one you have will likely result in damage to the knot, handle, or both.

Thanks. I ended up leaving the loft at 60mm as that's as low as i could get it without damage. I'll see how it feels in a couple days.

 

[dmshaver]

Please let us know how it’s working for you.

 

[Mr00classic]

Used it a few times and it work pretty well. It's a little floppy. In time a may remove the knot and go to Maggards and try a few to get one that will set deeper.

 

[lancre]

Try putting an O-ring or two around the base of the knot like this. That should be similar to setting it deeper.

 

[dmshaver]

The o-rings work well. What I've also used is a velcro strap. The wide strap shown in below thread is 12mm wide. You can also cut a strip in half for a 6mm wide strap to see how a smaller decrease in loft feels like.
Velcro Strap to Reduce Loft

 

[Big Jim]

It is easy to open up the hole with a Dremel with a drum sander attachment. I've opened up handles intended for a 20 mm knot wide enough to accept a 26 mm knot. Very often the hole needs to opened up when you have the actual knot in hand. The one that needed a different approach was a stone handle for which I needed a diamond tipped rotory file because the stone was so hard. Opened up a 21 mm hole to fit a 24 mm knot.

 

[Mr00classic]

I forgot about the o-ring trick. I don't want to grind the aluminum collar on the handle. I may just boil it out and go to maggards and test fit knots. Have done the before with other handles.

 

[huck1680]

Also try using a Forstner bit to drill out the bottom a bit more. They come in a variety of sizes.