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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 01-21-2014, 04:44 PM
hartswave hartswave is offline
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Question

I've been making knives for a little over a year and was wondering if the fit of bolsters is tight and the pins actually hold the bolster to the blade can epoxy be used for a water seal? I've been practicing with solder on scrap but don't have it down yet.


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Old 01-21-2014, 06:30 PM
argel55 argel55 is offline
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Some do the tight fit then use a little super thin super glue to seal the edges. It will wick enough that moisture cant penetrate.
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  #3  
Old 01-21-2014, 08:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hartswave View Post
I've been making knives for a little over a year and was wondering if the fit of bolsters is tight and the pins actually hold the bolster to the blade can epoxy be used for a water seal? I've been practicing with solder on scrap but don't have it down yet.
First off your post throws up All sorts of red flags to me ! you state "I've been making knives for a little over a year " and yet the question you ask is a newbie question and if you have been making knives for a year how many have you made in the year? at this time frame you should be able to answer this question yourself.

While folks on here do not mind to help you out at all the one thing we do request and want "Newbies to do is Be Honest" folks here on KNF will help most anyone out with knife building and any related subjects as well as just about anything . it does not matter if you are a Newbie or an old timer . Mind you we do however frown when trolls come to the site and pose problems and issues with in the site .

So the long of my post is Are you a Newbie or an experienced Knife maker that has just Now come across this problem that you need to know how to properly attach a set of bolsters ?

Best Regards


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Old 01-21-2014, 09:55 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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I think that your question is fine. No need to justify asking it. Actually I like to epoxy the bolster blank onto the blade and drill out from the back side, let that set, then repeat the epoxying and drilling from the other side. From there you can do a contrasting pin, such as mosaic, or try to do a hidden pin.

To do a hidden pin you will have to countersink the holes in the bolster blank. I just use a bit that about two sizes larger than the bit I drilled the pin holes with. Insert the pins and cut them to stand maybe about 1/16" proud on both sides of the bolsters. I epoxy them to keep them in place while I start peening them. To do that strike the end of the pin with the flat face of a ball peen hammer alternating sides every few strikes. The object is to drive the pin material into the countersink of the pin hole. Once you have ground off the excess and have done your sanding polishing it will be hard to spot where the pins are.

The pins through the bolsters is stronger than just the epoxy as it will protect them from coming off with a shearing blow to the handle.

Doug


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Old 01-22-2014, 06:11 AM
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One year at making knives no matter the number, does not an experienced knifemaker make.
If you equate his time to the time/experience many of us on here have, he barely qualifies as a "newbie". And....we all can learn something from just about any post for advice.
Ask away JR.


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Old 01-22-2014, 08:47 AM
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I just wanted to Know if this issue has just reared its head in his knife making ,or if it has been an issue for the year he has been making knives. also there is a huge difference in making a 100 knives a year and some one that has only made 3 in a year. ones total years in knife making does not compare to ones making of 100 knives in a year.

Such as Trollsky has been making knives as of 2006 and it shows here :
http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=62715

I am Not bashing him or anyone for asking questions as "the only Dumb question is the one not asked ! "

someone that has only made a few knives in a year is a Newbie as they have yet to developed the knife making skills that come so easy to someone that has made 50 to 1000 .

apparently some of you do not see it that way it simply helps to know the back ground of the person asking the question as to the depth/detail of a response given by the person answering the question some will need a step by step with explanations of some of the terms used in the Knife community .

I did Not intend to offend anyone nor did I think my post should have .

Best Regards


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Last edited by R. Yates; 01-22-2014 at 09:05 AM.
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Old 01-22-2014, 06:42 PM
hartswave hartswave is offline
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Thank you all for your replies, I haven't been a member for long but have been reading here for quite some time and have gained all my knife making knowledge here. Such a great forum. I bought Steve Johnson's video and he makes it look so easy.
thanks again
Scott


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Old 01-22-2014, 06:45 PM
hartswave hartswave is offline
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Sam I sent you a private message to let you know a little more about myself, hope you don't mind.
regards
Scott
AKA
Hartswave


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Old 01-22-2014, 06:58 PM
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I started making knives about a year ago,(rather poorly i might add) and I haven't even attempted to put a bolster on one. I attempted to make a bolster that's about as far as it went. I am glad to see the question


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Old 01-22-2014, 07:12 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Personally, I've always felt that bolsters were an attempt by Satan to lure innocent knife makers to the dark side, but that's just one man's opinion. If you like them, use them - looks like Scott is off to a good start.

Its a good idea to put something under them, just make sure that whatever it is won't soften in water as most epoxies do. Many epoxies are also susceptible to breaking down in sunlight or when heated (as in when the knife is left in the trunk of the car on a hot day). For those reasons and others most of us have switched to AcraGlas (regular, not the Gel version) for most everything having to do with any kind of gluing on a knife handle....


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Old 01-23-2014, 06:19 AM
hartswave hartswave is offline
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A couple of members here did a torture test for epoxy over quite a long period of time including acraglas and JB weld. They tested about 20 different products. In the end acraglas and loctite hysol were the winners. I have been using the loctite under my scales.


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Old 01-23-2014, 08:04 AM
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This thread is the epoxy torture test thread.

http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=27463
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Old 01-23-2014, 06:35 PM
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Did a couple knives with bolsters when I first started making knives 2 years ago. 50 plus knives later, I haven't done them again. They turned out ok, just seemed like to much work the way I went about it. I think I'll try some again soon, having better tools and a lot more experience now, I think they won't be so bad.
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Old 01-27-2014, 11:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hartswave View Post
I've been making knives for a little over a year and was wondering if the fit of bolsters is tight and the pins actually hold the bolster to the blade can epoxy be used for a water seal? I've been practicing with solder on scrap but don't have it down yet.
Hello Scott,

Some of the best knife makers epoxy their bolsters using AcraGlas (regular, not the Gel version) as Ray stated. However , the few knife makers that push their selves to the Highest level do so for a very important reason. They want their knives to be the best of the best and to be sought after by the knife collectors of the world. Saying this I will state just because you utilize one way or the other when fixing the bolsters to your knives will always be up for debate and you will never get anyone to agree as to the best way or what is the right way .

So I offer you my ?opinion? and how I attach mine most of the time when I choose to install them . one of the prominent ways I utilize is by attaching them using a silver brazing rod of 15%. I cleaned the joints with acetone and set the pins in the socket. I put a tiny bit flux on the pins too and ?tin? them (add a bit of the Silver to them and then Solder or braze (YES there is a Difference) them in place in the bolster) then I sand , clean, flux, tin, and then solder or braze them in place.

NOTE/TIP # 1: You must clean the metal very well that is being joined together , reach optimal flow temperatures for the rod being used for soldering or brazing and NO MORE you will burn out the mechanical bonding of the rod ( its usability and function) go slow you are making a piece of functional art Not just a paper weight .

NOTE/TIP # 2: Something everyone should know is that when you solder or braze when you utilize either you will get the filler rod in places that you do not want it to go or attach itself to So what do you do to prevent it ?
No matter what you do it is going to flow out of the area you want it to stay . so you will need to file and sand it away/off the unwanted areas , you can however use a low temp oil /Grease (I use marine grease) as the melting temp is much higher than my solder/brazing rod flow temp . I apply it with a q-tip or pointed rolled paper to the area I do not want the solder to stick.

Yes I pin and peen my bolsters with the same type of material the bolsters so that they almost disappear into the bolster?s.


Quote:
Originally Posted by hartswave View Post
Sam I sent you a private message to let you know a little more about myself, hope you don't mind.
regards
Scott
AKA
Hartswave
No I do not mind at all in fact it gives/ gave me a starting point to help you out knowing just what level of knife making you are at . Thank you for understanding ?the need to know info about your Skills.? Being a metalworker that has had to work in the different fields you have you know about tight tolerances, cleaning the material?s you were going to weld and extreme proper fitment of parts before welding them up .(Right ?) of course you do ! It is the same when it comes to attaching a set of Bolster?s. (As the reply shows above).

If you do not have the ?Bubble Jig Kit? you should invest in one as it will help you tremendously with your grinding out the profile of knives and help you with muscle memory so you can develop you?re free hand grinding .

I did take a look at the file in your profile the knives you have made/built are very good, as are the sheaths the work you have done with leather is excellent and gives your work its own design (a good one at that) . Yes You are a Newbie to knife making and leather work .However, I will say you?re work shows you have True talent (No One can teach you this) that is equal to a good maker that is not a Newbie level. Any knife maker will tell you they can teach someone how to make knives . However, it is much easier to help someone that has True talent/knack to do them naturally. (In my opinion you have that ability in Natural form and True tallent ).

Sorry it took me a bit to reply as I am a bit busy with a few commissions .

Thank you again for sharing you?re story with me and a bit about yourself and giving me the chance to help you out . If I can help you in anyway let me know I will be more than Happy to do so. Also if you are up to it I have a Very Nice Cable Billet for you to work with to make a knife out of .

Shoot me your addy and I?ll get it out at the first of the month to see just what you can do with some Very Good Steel I made . Yes there is enough to make two out of it . Pm me and we will work out the details.

Best Regards & Blessings to you Sir and your Family


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  #15  
Old 01-31-2014, 12:46 PM
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Hey Scott you still around ?


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