bolsters

M

MikeColeman

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
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I am having a hard time finding any information on attaching bolsters to a full tang knife. Is there a good tutorial?
 
Pins and epoxy? I haven't done it yet myself, mostly because I don't care for bolsters on my small fixed blades, but also because I don't have any need to add weight to the handle portion of the knife on a full tang. However, if I had a need to do some, I would think that hidden pins and epoxy would do the trick.

Drill tang holes for pins, drill pin holes in back sides of bolsters and mate everything up, then disassemble and shape bolsters until desired fit is reached in relation to the blade and handle slabs,then final assembly with epoxy and final shaping and finishing.

Hopefully others more experienced than myself will chime in to give you more detail or rearrange my steps, but this may give you an idea of what's involved.
 
Often the size of bolsters makes them a bit of an issue to solder, heatwise. Mostly epoxy and pins are used. Drill at least two pin holes in your tang where the bolsters will go, I often use four pins. I then take one of my rough cut bolsters, and super glue it in place on the tang. I then drill the bolster with the tang as a guide. I use 1/16" holes and pins. After drilling the first bolster, I take it off the tang, super glue the other bolster to the first one, and drill back through. At this point I have two bolsters stuck together with matching holes through both. Then I keep them together with try-pins and grind and polish the faces how I want them to be. At this point I match-grind the backs and dovetail them if I'm going to.
I install them on the knife with a good coat of epoxy. (Cleaning up the faces after gluing with a q-tip soaked in acetone) I leave the pins sticking out by 1 pin diameter on each side. I peen them down sometimes with the epoxy wet, or sometimes I clamp the bolsters on with the pins and let the epoxy cure before peening. Both ways have worked for me.
If you peened the pins in tight enough and they upset well, when you finish grind and polish the bolsters they won't be visible. There are methods guys use to ensure this, some use a pin press and taper-ream the pin holes first, etc. I don't usually find it necessary, but every now and then your pins will just show. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Tracy Mickley has a good tutorial encompassing bolsters on his website, I believe.

The pins should match the alloy of you bolster stock if possible, to "disappear" fully when installed.
 
The only thing I would add to the above is that I counter sink the holes just enough so the pins are rivets, and I don't use any epoxy or other bond under the bolster, as it takes up room, and if a good tight fit I don't believe they need further sealing, but many do recommend a sealer of some sort. If a sealer is used, I would say use one that is very thin.
 
I make sure my mating surfaces are as flat as possible, then drill and pin the bolsters using a taper pin reamer. I prefer to not use epoxy under the bolsters because it makes the seams more visible. If you get a nice tight fit the seams will be barely visible, if at all.
 
Thanks Guys,
Your expert answers are what makes the price of the free membership so very much worth the money. I will be posting the story (with pictures) of the months long ordeal that is my first knife sometime in the next few weeks. I just ordered the supplies for it. I have cheated a little. I have been filing and grinding everything from saw blades to angle iron to develop to the point that I think I'm ready to tackle the knife project. Heck, I even did a little vine pattern file work on a cheap china hawk bill. I just hadn't seen anything talking about bolsters. Thank you guys so much!!!!
 
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