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Best way to work with pearl?
- Thread starter TDE
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2002
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- 12,297
Hi Paul,
I use lots of pearl. It is different from most material. You can drill it, cut it and grind it with normal knife making tools BUT your drills must be sharp and I put a piece of wood or micarta under the pearl and go slow. Your belts must be sharp, pearl will burn and may crack if to hot from dull belts. Also I use a sharp fine tooth biemetal blade on my bandsaw to cut it. And yes you can use a dremel to work it. It is a fine handle material, very stable and will last indefinitely.
Regards, Don Hanson
PS- Wear a respirator when grinding or sanding pearl.
I use lots of pearl. It is different from most material. You can drill it, cut it and grind it with normal knife making tools BUT your drills must be sharp and I put a piece of wood or micarta under the pearl and go slow. Your belts must be sharp, pearl will burn and may crack if to hot from dull belts. Also I use a sharp fine tooth biemetal blade on my bandsaw to cut it. And yes you can use a dremel to work it. It is a fine handle material, very stable and will last indefinitely.
Regards, Don Hanson
PS- Wear a respirator when grinding or sanding pearl.
- Joined
- Feb 15, 1999
- Messages
- 11,566
Don: Do you have a website????
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2002
- Messages
- 12,297
- Joined
- Oct 6, 1998
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Don,
I gotta tell ya, I love your friggin Avatar
Not much to add about what you said about working with pearl. I'm working on 5 pearl handled ones for the Guild show.
I gotta tell ya, I love your friggin Avatar
Not much to add about what you said about working with pearl. I'm working on 5 pearl handled ones for the Guild show.
- Joined
- Feb 15, 1999
- Messages
- 11,566
COOOOOL!! Like the shop tour.sunfishman said:
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2002
- Messages
- 2,959
I would say pearl works more like stone. It can chip if you try grinding it on a coarser wheel, or if you drop it. Sharp files are good to have.
Also, I've found it's good to file/grind it to the nearly finished dimensions, and then use sandpaper (working down through about 400 grit) on a flat surface to get the edges perfectly flat & smooth. Peal is very unforgiving of a poor fit. A tiny gap by bolsters or around pins measured in thousandths of an inch will look like a big black line. If this does happen to you, there are a few additional tricks that may just help. Always leave the metal (guards, bolsters, pins, escutcheons, etc.) stand higher than the pearl at first. This way if there is a tiny gap, you can *carefully* peen the metal shut with a small punch & chasing hammer. Or, use a coarse file to file down the metal flush with the pearl, and push the file toward the direction of the gap. A fine burr will usually hang off the edge of the metal and fill in the gap. Of course, you shouldn't have to do these things; get a perfect fit the first time!
Also, I've found it's good to file/grind it to the nearly finished dimensions, and then use sandpaper (working down through about 400 grit) on a flat surface to get the edges perfectly flat & smooth. Peal is very unforgiving of a poor fit. A tiny gap by bolsters or around pins measured in thousandths of an inch will look like a big black line. If this does happen to you, there are a few additional tricks that may just help. Always leave the metal (guards, bolsters, pins, escutcheons, etc.) stand higher than the pearl at first. This way if there is a tiny gap, you can *carefully* peen the metal shut with a small punch & chasing hammer. Or, use a coarse file to file down the metal flush with the pearl, and push the file toward the direction of the gap. A fine burr will usually hang off the edge of the metal and fill in the gap. Of course, you shouldn't have to do these things; get a perfect fit the first time!
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2002
- Messages
- 12,297
Thanks IG, Shop tours are cool. I think every knife maker site should have one.indian george said:COOOOOL!! Like the shop tour.
Hi Kit, I've had lots of fun with my avatar - Taquila Cat
All the best, Don Hanson lll