bolsters

I'm doing my first knife with bolsters and would appreciate information, hints, etc. as to the best methods for attaching, how to hide pins, etc. Thanks

What material are your bolsters made of?
If you are talking bolsters made form any type of metal you must first make sure that the mating surfaces of the knife tang and the bolsters are as flat as you can possibly get them. I flatten my bolters on a disc sander and then finish flattening using a piece of flat granite surface plate with a sheet of 320 grit snadpaper taped securely to it. Once everything is flat I shape the front of the bolsters to the design I want and finish them the way I want the final product to look, either polished or a satin finish. I then clamp one side to the knife and using the pin holes already in the knife as a pilot, drill through the bolster. Then I take the bolster off and match the other side to it and using the drilled holes as a pilot I drill the other bolster. Match each side up with the knife and make sure your pins will slide through both bolsters and the blade and check for any gaps between the bolsters and blade.
Your pins should be the exact same material as the bolsters in order for them not to show when finished.
If everything is flat and lines up right I install the pins which are cut so that they stick out about 3/16 on each side. I then take the blade with the bolsters clamped in place to the small anvil and using a 16 oz hammer start to peen the pins changing sides every few hammer blows until the pins are starting to mushroom on each side of the knife. If everything is going well at this point the bolsters will be flat to the blade on both sides and fitting tightly to the blade. I then revome the clam and get out the 3 pound hammer and really wail the hound of each side of each pin and am almost cold forging the pins and the bolsters. Once this is done just rough shape the bolsters and add your scales and finish the knife as usual. When the bolsters are sanded and polished you can't tell where the pins are.
i am sure that there will be others come along with their methods, but this works for me and I can consistently get bolsters with absolutely no gap and no line between the bolsters and the blade.
Mike

You might also check the CKD tutorial on dovtail bolsters for some pics of the process.