Cutting slot in finger guard

R

rashid11

Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
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Making a-la Loveless design. After seeing a few in person,
one can not get inspired by clean lines, simplicity and beauty.
Gotta try to make me something like this :)

So, got a design from his book, 1095, cut, profiled.

Scary moment - tapered tang. After practicing on some
scraps, figured the magic and easily got it done on my
home made grinder. The keys are:

- scribe a center line, both edges of the handle area.
- starting at the very end of the handle area,
grind off bulk of material, 1 - 1/5" long. And then slowly,
progressively, advance the grind lines up the handle area,
toward the bottom edge of the finger guard.

I used HF magnet to hold the blade: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=36904 (I think I got a smaller version of it,
picked it up @ local store for something like $5).


Got some 304 stainless for guard (3/8 thich x 3/4 wide). And
here's the rub: with all that chrome in it, it is very hard to mill.
I need .150 slot. Even drilling it is rather tough.

Ended up blueing one side of the guard-to-be, scribing lines,
slightly undersized, drilling proper OD hole @ the end point
and using my metal cutting bandsaw to do the rest. Uber-quick
and effective. Some filing required, of course. Still 100xtimes
faster than milling with 1/8" end-mill, 2-3 thou @ a time.

Any better ways to get this done ? Didn't want to use brass for
the guard.
 
You might want to consider 416 stainless steel for guards. 300 series sucks and it's almost impossible for most makers(myself included) to solder.

Using an 8" wheel, hollow grind the center of the tang after you have the parallel marks scribed(hollow grind almost to the rearmost scribed lines stopping just shy). You will have to hold the blade of the knife away from the wheel so you take off more material toward the rear of the handle than the front, as in a taper, but not much. Makes it a lot earier to taper grind the tang that way and the small remaining hollow in the tang, when finished, will allow epoxy to form a better bond.
 
Mike Hull said:
You might want to consider 416 stainless steel for guards. 300 series sucks and it's almost impossible for most makers(myself included) to solder.
Click to expand...

MUAHAHAHAH! MUAHAHAHA! ;)

Mike, you old dog, that 303/304 is my bread and butta! :D
 
I have been using 416 for quite some time now after using 303/304 for years. I believe I like it a little better and I now shy away from 303. The 303 is pretty darn difficult to solder. It convinced me to start using JB Weld instead of solder!

The 303 isn't too bad except I don't believe you will find too many engravers that will want to engrave it, too gummy. The same with nickel-silver, which I do still use on occasion.

I 'spose it depends on what you're going to do with it.

Craig
 
Mike Hull told you right on the taper tang! I take it that you have a mill. If so, you can use a slotting saw. At around 240 RPM, it will cut the 416 just fine, I too have stopped using the 300 series stainlesses and happily switched to 416. Miss Ann at Sheffield Knife makers Supply carries the slotting saws and required arbors in a number of sizes. Her # is 1800-874-7007. if you like the Loveles Style as much as I do, take a look at this! Mike http://www.lovettknives.com/
 
Guys, thanks a bunch for the good advices.

I just did a soldering excersize with 304 and carbon (1095) steel.
Seemed to work rather fine, Bernzomatic + acid-smelling flux I use +
food-safe solder I got from McMaster.

The blade's is being tempered, finger guard slotted (and drilled ),
got me some black linen micarta, the weekend is still young :)

The slitting saw advise sounds interesting ! I do have a mill and bunch
of slitting saws, so I will give it a try . Of course, the R of the saw (minus the R of the adapter) should be large enough to make a deep
enough of the cut into the finger guard . not sure if I have them that
big.

For now I used bandsaw trick - some filing was reqd to get nice tight fit.
And one MUST use some lube when drilling stainless (304) - I was getting
terrible chatter when dry-drilling, using CoolTool did the magic .
 
BTW, on filing the cut to proper size/fit - you can use the slack belt of yer grinder. Do it close to the platen, where belt stays nice and flat,
get a smaller grit on, check often. Give the flat bastard a rest :)
 
I was not talking of plumbers food safe low temp solder, but silver solder that melts in the area of 400-450 degrees F. it's the common solder knifemakers use and it has way more holding power than soft solder.416 guard, or bolster material matches the color of the blades somewhat better that the 300 series also, plus you can get pinning rod most anywhere, though I like to get my barstock and pinning material at the same place.


Eutectic, Sta- Brite and a few others are popular solders used by knifemakers. Get the matching flux to go with them.
 
Also you will find that soldering stainless to carbon, not such a big deal. Stainless to Stainless is where the fun starts!!! I use a 4" slotting saw for the guards. mike
 
One more tid-bit. Switched to Tix solder and flux years ago. Stays nice and bright, the flux is less acidic, and the great part, it flows at 275-300F. Staying away from most tempers!!! Yea!!!
 
I feel that strength of the solder is less important here, with 2 of 1/8 rivets in there the guard aint going nowhere. It is to mask out the joint
and to seal it where no moisture can go in. The lower the melting temp
the merrier. Every time I put my Bernzomatic to the guard on treated/tempered blade it is no fun. I have a smaller nozzle on it, BTW.

Does any1 know where Tix can be purchased ?

And do you use any technique to protect the blade's cutting area from
tempering (heat paste, wet burlap, massive metal heatsinks of some sort ?)
 
rashid11 said:
..................
And do you use any technique to protect the blade's cutting area from
tempering (heat paste, wet burlap, massive metal heatsinks of some sort ?)
Click to expand...


I wrap a wet, but not dripping washcloth around the blade above the guard area and wrap mecanics wire around it to hold it to the blade.
I've had problems in the past with heat absorbing paste pitting the blade and such and will not use it anymore.

It's no trouble at all to use medium temp silver solder(400-450 degrees) if you take the proper precautions.

You should be able to get Tix solder at most knifemakers supply houses. Make sure to get the matching flux.
 
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