Corby bolts...aren't the centers supposed to disappear and blend when sanded?

G

GrizzlyBear

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Dec 5, 2009
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I've seen several pics of knives here lately using corby bolts and you can distinctly see remnants of the center part of the bolt after it's been sanded. Aren't they supposed to disappear and look like one solid piece?

Are the folks using these sanding too much or not enough?

Been thinking about getting and trying some of them, but I don't care for seeing the centers.
 
If you do not calculate correctly, and grind/file down the "screw" and "nut" side enough before installation, you will grind though to expose what you see.
 
You will still see the drive slots on corbies if you don't grind them down enough- you might be thinking of Loveless bolts, where you'll always see the 'ring' between the nut and bolt on one side.
 
I have used the Loveless style and the Corby. The Corby if used properly like Carl stated will not show the bolt, but the Loveless type will always show the bolt. I have never been able to grind any through bolt and nut to where the line between the bolt and nut can not be seen.
 
I'm not sure but you may be confusing Loveless bolts with Corby bolts. You will always see the center of the Loveless bolts. Some makers even use 2-tone loveless bolts (brass over stainless). Corby bolts should appear solid. You have to account for blade thickness, depth of the shoulder drilled in the scales and the depth of the hole in the female side of the corby. Do it wrong and this is what happens (middle knife):
IMGP1119.jpg

I sanded through the female side and ended up filling it in with tinted epoxy.

randy
ETA: Stag and Steel types faster than I do, I think. :)
 
You have to "do the math" (read: just do it by eye; you've got some room to play with) to grind out the slot, but not go into the threads.
 
Correct those are loveless, birdseye,etc., how ever there are variables with corbys and who you buy from, some shafts are bigger, some have more material on female side, i have a good supply from one source, if you havent found a good source try pops, good price, quality corby. I like to use them whenever i can, or any kind of mechanical fastner to back up epoxy.
 
You can use a burnishing tool in a flex shaft or dremel to help get rid of the line and blend the two pieces better.

You can buy them from jewelers suppliers or make one from a drill bit or other hard shaft pretty easily. Just grind a 1/32" or so off one side of a 1/8" shaft then polish the crap out of it.
 
Here's a good example of why there's no one best way to make a knife. Most makers hold Loveless in very high regard, but you don't have to like something just because he did it- nothing wrong with looking for a way to do it that pleases your eye, and no one can decide for you what you like.
Andy G.
 
I love Corbies. You have to do some pretty fancy talking to get me to make a full-tang knife without them. I admit they can be a bit boring-looking, though. More importantly, you have to be carefull the female side isn't drilled/threaded too deep, or you may end up grinding into the hollow like Randy showed. (cool way of fixing that, btw... I just cussed, drilled them out and put new ones in) I use a very high-tech method of calculating the depth of the female part... a toothpick :D

I know some folks like the "bullseye" look of Loveless-style bolts with dissimilar materials, but I don't care for them simply because you will always have a gap somewhere along the inner perimeter when grinding down to a threaded surface. Like in the examples GrizzlyBear showed... freaking beautiful knives with nasty, cheap-looking gaps in every bolt :barf: No one would accept gaps like that along the tang or where the guard meets the blade, why is it OK in the bolts? :confused: I suppose that gap could be filled with super-glue and fine dust of the appropriate metal to hide it, more or less.

If a person wanted the "bullseye" look, I imagine they could use normal Corby bolts, drill partway into the shoulders and insert a short, contrasting pin. (brass into a stainless bolt, or vice versa.) It would be like any other inlay, purely decorative. Then you would have a seamless/gapless "bullseye" and the reliability of a threaded fastener.

EDIT again: if you want to see some really cool "Bullseye" looking thingies, check out some FiddleBack Forge knives. He often uses disparate tubing to make striking, handsome, seamless "ringed" thong tubes and pins. Sort of like mosaic pins, only concentric... sure wish I'd thought of it :thumbup:
 
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