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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 07-16-2016, 12:56 PM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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Need some help with handle pins

Hey guys so i have ALWAYS attached handle material with corby's, loveless bolts, acorn nuts always some kind of bolt. the only time i have used plain steel pins (rod stock) has been on bolsters. so i am working on a knife right now and i want a mix of 1/4 thick wich i have corby's for but i also want to put in a couple smaller ones either 1/8th or 3/16 (dont have any more corby's that size right now). so when i do that are you supposed to peen them like you would on a steel bolster? i have watched video of people doing it both ways but if my memory serves me i think it was just a light peening not as far as you would go with a bolster. but is it needed? its a synthetic handle material i dont want to hit the pins to hard and break the material this one is for a friend i have been doing lil by lil for a while now and dont want to screw it up at the home stretch....the reason for needing the smaller one is she wants pink handle material (the corby's will hold that) the basicly a bolster in front but not steel she wants a bolster main from white handle material but its small and i dont want to put one pin and if i do 2 i cant fit 2 1/4 in corby's so i figure do 2 1/8th or maybe even 3/16 but never put regular pins though handle material like that and like i said i been working on this one for a while i do not want to mess it up now. any advice on this would really help guys as always i am sure it will be good advice thanks ahead of time oh and YES EVERYTHING will also be epoxied....
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  #2  
Old 07-16-2016, 01:38 PM
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Andrew Garrett Andrew Garrett is offline
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You will need to peen, but do so with respect to the material being used.
You said it was synthetic. If that means something like Acrylester or reconstituted gemstone, the peening witl be super light--almost to the point of offering no retention. If it is canvas Micarta or G-10, peen the hell out it, because that material can take it.

I like Nickel/Silver for pins. It (and other non-ferrous metals like brass and copper) peens very easily as it is soft. You can really fill the gaps and get good retention with reduced risk to the handle.

If you use SS pins, the risk is higher because that stuff takes significant force to peen correctly.


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Old 07-16-2016, 01:49 PM
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I use heavy duty dikes to cut my pins to about 3/16" off the handle. Then, I slowly grind to about 3/32" and leave it flat topped.

Using a light ball peen hammer, I start lightly tapping in a circular pattern around the top of the pin (with the other end on the anvil section of my bench-vice). I do this to 'warm up' the metal.

After a few times around, I tap in the middle a bit and repeat the process. The shape of the pin starts to dome and then it indicates where it needs to be hit.

If I'm using tough material, I make sure to end with a few hard smacks.
If its wood or anything fragile, I go easy. It doesn't take much and a split can always show up later.


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Old 07-16-2016, 02:11 PM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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Andrew thanks man .... so what order would you peen do you put the pins in as your epoxy the handle and peen them as the epoxy is drying or wait for it to dry? or i saw a video a while ago where he put 2 brass pins in and a mosaic while epoxying but then pulled the brass pins back out once everything was clamed in the right position and then after the epoxy dried i think he put them back in and peened them but then those pins have no epoxy on them???
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  #5  
Old 07-16-2016, 02:20 PM
damon damon is offline
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with 1/8" pin...
file the pin till no more than 1/8" is sticking out each side.
remove the pin and slightly dome each end. this helps the material expand evenly, as well as making the pin swell rather than mushroom.
tap lightly... 1-2 taps each side then check. by doing this with some epoxy in the holes you can see the pin squeeze the epoxy out.
file the pins flush, (or not if you want the textural effect), sand and finish.
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Old 07-16-2016, 02:25 PM
damon damon is offline
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with or without epoxy..... a properly peened pin will not come out.
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Old 07-16-2016, 03:44 PM
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Wait for the epoxy to cure before peening. No reason to remove the pins ever.


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Old 07-16-2016, 05:33 PM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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andrew your saying put the pins in epoxy handle then after its dry peen them?
damon you doing the opisat and peening while the epoxy is still wet? hmmm i am going to have to do a few test first
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Old 07-16-2016, 11:16 PM
damon damon is offline
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epoxy wet or dry... the difference is in what is done to the pin before the hammer hits it... and what the metal does after.

I use the pins to keep the handle material in place as I clamp it, then peen it once all the excess epoxy is squeezed out.
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Old 07-18-2016, 11:36 AM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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You can get 1/8" loveless bolts

It's call Jephco's Knifemakers Hardware. They'll mail them and you should get them in three days at most.
Also you can buy 3/32 copper tube from Hobbytown USA and insert into the 3/32 hole a 1/16" pin inside it after you get the pin into the hole pull the 1/16 pin out and using a sharp pointed center punch whack it carefully and put the 1/16" pin back in with some gap filling super glue.

Now if you drill the holes exactly the same size the pins will be very hard to insert. An .093 pin in an .093 hole will be a tight fit by itself and if you're using synthetic material just some super glue should suffice, that pin ain't coming out of there. Same for an 1/8" pin and try using a center punch to spread the head of the pin into a slightly countersunk hole if you feel you need to spread the head out a little. The center punch is the safest way to do it, leave about 1/16" sticking out on each side. The punch will spread it out a couple of thousandths which is all you need and then sand flat. Make sure the pin is against a hard metal surface on the opposite side from where you are punching.
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Old 07-19-2016, 08:55 AM
WNC Goater WNC Goater is offline
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Okay so maybe I'm doing this all wrong. I epoxy the scales on and the pins in leaving them a little long. After the epoxy dries, I grind the pins down to the wood surface taking care not to get them hot and burn the epoxy. Then I continue to sand down and contour the handle. The pins get sanded down along with the handle. When I get it amost to where I want it, I then peen the pins. This just kind of mushrooms them and locks them into the wood. I then continue to finish the handle down and usually just the peening marks are removed from the pin, it isn't ground down past the actual mushrooming.

I'd love to leave a peened pin a little proud with it slightly domed and the peening pattern on it. I suppose I could finish the epoxied handle and add the pins at the very last taking great care not to mar the wood or get epoxy on it. I would think this is the only means of using domed pins as described by damon above by leaving the pins domed before peening. It would necessitate finishing the wood handles down before inserting the pins I would think.

I also take my pins and with a wire cutter, make several significant grooves at the center point around the pin. This gives the epoxy something to "bite" into and lock it in place. Maybe overkill but I don't figure it would hurt.


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Old 07-19-2016, 09:07 AM
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Old 07-19-2016, 09:54 AM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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hey guys i have no electricity and the generator only powers light and tv on the main floor so i have been quite bored but i think there are probilly many ways of doing this thats why i said i will have to test a couple different ways you guys sugested but i would think ray is right if it works it works
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Old 07-20-2016, 08:09 AM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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Something to add about oily woods.

Some woods epoxy doesn't want to stick too, also I had the experience once of the epoxy not getting hard because of so much oil in it, Padauk was the wood. Best to use Corby bolts or loveless. Here is a link to an article on gluing oily woods and identifying them by name. I always have used solvents like alcohol or lacquer thinner to wipe the scale off anyway and this article confirms that as the way to go.
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...cal-hardwoods/
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Old 07-20-2016, 01:14 PM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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Yeh i have always used corby's or loveless bolts, acorn nuts a couple times. i think they are easier quicker and hold i think i will continue to use the but i was putting a bolster on the front made from handle material (not steel or brass) metal bolsters i have used pins mainly cause they blend in. i ran out of the small corby bolts and the bigger ones couldnt fit on that little area so thats why i wanted to know and also its also good to know other ways of doing things....however this may not be a problem the knife handle was going to be pink with white in the front (and maybe back) well.....i cant find the white stuff lol i been looking for it for 2 days i dont know where it went and i am not going to make a order for just one pair of scales (when i do that i always spend a bunch of money on stuff i dont need and dont have the money for ) so the handle may end up being all pink maybe white liners. oh well i think that the girl its for will like it either way the 2 things she really wanted was a mirror polish and pink handle....she actually asked me if i could put the logo from the kids character "hello kitty" on it somewhere that was a big no obviously....and yes this girl is 28 and is still in love with this hello kitty stuff she wears a bunch of pants with the logo on the butt haha crazy i will say she does look good in them tho
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advice, anvil, art, bee, bolsters, brass, canvas micarta, epoxy, hammer, handle, handle material, hobby, home, knife, loveless, material, micarta, pins, retention, rod, screw, silver, steel, video, white


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