I’ve long been interested in fish glues since reading about them in A.J. Roubo’s “l’Art du menuisier” from the 18th century. After two years of testing fish glue in our shop, we have decided to begin selling it.
Fish Stick Glue is a reversible adhesive with a long open time. It is ideal for complex assemblies and furniture that deserves to be repaired in the future.
Made from the skins of cod, Fish Stick flows nicely at room temperature, much like PVA. It has a long open time of 90 minutes, and it cleans up easily with hot water, even after it has dried.
It’s a little different than our liquid hide glue, Piggly No Wiggly. Here are the important differences.
Fish Stick Glue has a longer open time (about 90 minutes) compared to Piggly No Wiggly (about 20 minutes). We find that Fish Stick Glue needs more clamp time (about 12 hours) compared to Piggly No Wiggly (about four hours).
Fish Stick Glue doesn’t require heating before use, while Piggly No Wiggly needs a little gentle heat to flow nicely.
Fish Stick Glue is more easily reversible than Piggly No Wiggly, and it also is a little less water resistant.
Fish Stick Glue contains a bactericide, which makes it resistant to attack by microorganisms. The bactericide is an irritant, so the glue should not be swallowed. Piggly No Wiggly is made from only food-grade gelatin (from pigs), salt and water.
Both glues dry colorless and basically transparent. And both glues are made from by-products from the food industry that would otherwise be thrown away.
Finally, Fish Stick Glue is more expensive to make, so the price is a little higher.
Like all animal-based glues, you can expect Fish Stick to last at least a year in the bottle. If you keep it sealed in a cool, dry place, it will last much longer. It doesn’t smell like fish. Because of the bactericide, it smells a bit… minty. But I don’t think any mint plants were harmed in the making of the glue (can’t say that about the cods, however).
Fish Stick comes in 8-ounce bottles. Purchase two or three bottles, and you’ll receive a small discount. Made in Canada. Bottled in Covington. Product name by Megan Fitzpatrick.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. We have a small number of pinch rods in the store. More arrive tomorrow and Monday (in case we run out).
Kinda funny the fish based glue is less water resistant than the land animal based glue…
The label image is fantastic and very strange…
So…the glue is made from that mayfly hornytoad thing with a vest? Should be sticky.
Quick question–my “workshop” is in our unheated basement in the Northeast. I’ve been using Old Brown glue, but even if I keep it in a hot water bath in the summer time I only get 45 seconds – 1 minute until the glue gels (30 seconds or less in the winter)…and then it’s nearly impossible to get an invisible glue line. It sounds like fish glue is likely to give me more working time in my chiller setup…wouldn’t you think? (Not looking for a guarantee, just a best educated guess). Thanks!
I bet it will stay open a lot longer than any hide glue formulation.
Awesome, thanks–ordering now.
What type of bactericide and what are the ingredients of the bactericide?
Phenol. SDS sheet here:
https://blog.lostartpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SDS-for-HIGH-TACK-FISH-GLUE-1.pdf
I’m assuming this glue is suitable for chair joinery?
Absolutely yes
Looping back to say I used the glue right out of the bottle in my ~62 degree basement (it was thick, but it flowed!), glued up two pieces of white pine, let them cure for 12 hours, and, when I whacked them with a sledge, I got wood failure, not glue failure. Very, very promising results!