Timber Wolf Pinecone Hunter Knife And Sheath - Stainless Steel Blade, Stabilized Pinecone Handle, Fileworked Tang, Brass Guard - Length 9”

This is a very nice knife for the price. Unfortunately, it has a problem common to many knives I have purchased made in South East Asia. There is a gap between the base of the blade and the blade guard. (See photo) If I were assembling this knife, the gap would be soldered closed before the scales are applied. Once the scales are applied, it would be dangerous to apply heat and solder the gap closed. The heat could melt the resin in the scales. However, the gap does need to be closed or eventually blood, moisture etc. will corrode the handle and destroy the knife. My solution has been to force epoxy into the gaps and clean the area with acetone immediately after application of the epoxy. Before any application of glue or acetone, wrap the handle with masking tape. I use mid cure epoxy. My experience with epoxy is to let the glue cure overnight no matter what time is claimed for the cure. If the epoxy shrinks too far into the gap, reapply. Note you may want to add a colorant to the epoxy to match the color of the guard. Again, this is a nice knife. You will just have to do some homework if you want it to last.