Damascus Bolsters Question

Sean O'Hare

Sean O'Hare

Joined
Jul 24, 2003
Messages
1,183
I've got a knife that I want to use damascus for the bolsters. My question is how do I shape the bolsters accurately and then etch them without affecting the blade steel and rest of the handle? Can I use a small amount of epoxy to hold them in place for grinding and shaping and then use a heat gun to get them off once I am done shaping to etch and reglue the whole thing again? Will this also work to remove a wood handle without damaging the wood? Would cyanoacralyte (spelling???) work to temporarily hold them on instead of epoxy, ie. is it easier to get it to release than epoxy?

Also to hold the bolsters on I was thinking of using some threaded rod for aligning the bolsters and then epoxying them in place once done so there will not be any visible pins. Any better idea for attaching the bolsters with a hidden pin?

Okay I guess I asked more than one question there!

Thanks for any help you can give,
Sean
 
Hi Sean,

I have been using 2-56 screws and pivots to do this (though I would like to find something smaller).

What I do is drill the holes and attached the raw material. The bolsters are then removed and roughly shaped. I then re-attach, add the handle material and shape down to a near final fit. I then hand sand to the desired finish then remove and etch. This process take some iterating to get down to the final shape...lots of removing and re-attaching..

hope this helps

Take Care
Dean
 
I agree with Dean, go ahead and pin them in place, hidden pins will work great. Then add a drop or 2 of super glue just to keep them attached to the pins and shape and finish. apply a little heat and clean up the glue residue, etch, permanately attach.

Bill
 
Fit the bolsters on temporary pins using either superglue or double sided tape.

Grind bolsters to shape and then fit handle scales on temporary pins using superglue or double sided tape.

Grind scales to shape and hand sand to finish required. Finish the edges of the tang at this point as well.

Lift scales and put them aside.

Refinish bolsters to remove scratches from sanding scales flush to bolsters.

Lift bolsters and etch them.

Final finish edges of tang.

Re install bolsters, if pins show either dome finish the pins or flush finish the pins then re etch the area around the pins (axle grease will act as a protectant on the blade during this step in case of leakage).

Re install scales with a little wax on exposed surfaces only to help release epoxy squeeze out.

Finish pins and refinish scales as usual.

Darned tedious process but worth it in the long run
 
I attach them with damascus pin stock in opposing patterns. Hidden pins use 1x72 screws counter sunk. This way customer cannot knock them off.
 
Thanks everyone, this is definitely going to be tedious but if I can pull it off will look good.

Sean
 
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