416 stainless question

[GTAsteel]

I'm in the planning stage of my first balisong. Im thinking about using 416 for the tang pin. If it's instaled before the heat treatment of the blade, is it going to take any temper? If so how much? Ofcourse the kind of steel is going to make a big differance here. Let's say I use A2. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[RARanney]

You don't have to, nor should you install it before heat treat. The blade rotates around the pins. The press fit you want is in the handles.

 

[GTAsteel]

Im talking about the pin in the tang that acts as a stop, not the pivot pins. It should not move at all in the blade.

Like this one that has 2 tang pins....
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172136

 

[RARanney]

The stop pin, make it a press fit also, slightly tighter than the handles. You don't really want the tang/stop pin to be too hard, or it will wear the handle pockets rapidly. It's easier to replace the stop pin than it is to repair handles. I doubt that a mild press fit (freezing is kind of overkill) will crack the tang.