determining pin/rivet locations in odd shaped handles

Fletch Helical

Fletch Helical

Joined
Sep 29, 2009
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I seem to be having a bit of brain fart moment here trying to nail down pin locations on a few knives I have that need to be drilled. Seems like when I'm measuring the width of the tang at one part and finding center, then doing it at another part the pins would be visibly out of line. I'm basically dealing with the pins going in say a narrower part in one spot and a wider part of the handle in another spot. Is the correct thing to just find center wherever they're going and that's that. Or is it something done more by eye? Or is there some kind of secret handshake I need to learn so the shop gnomes will make it look right?
 
I struggle with this myself sometimes. Most handles are going to have a flow to them rather than be a rectangle that you can easily find centers on. Usually what i do is take calipers set at half the width of the handle where I would put the front pin. I'll scribe a line down the tang from the spine then measure out my holes. After that I take a sharpie and carefully put a dot where I think the pins should be. Of course the goal is to have a nice linear flow. The sharpie mark helps me see if it looks "right", and it's generally pretty close, but you can adjust from there if necessary. I mark out the front and rear pins first and use a center punch. Then I'll take the calipers set to half the length of those marks and intersect the scribe line from each of the pin locations on the tang for the center pin (if it has one).
 
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I measure for center, the pins curve with the curve of the spine, yet still look centered top to bottom even though the bottom of the handle might have a finger groove or more depth at the butt. So I guess for the most part my answer would be measure top to bottom center, step back and look at the marks, and adjust if you think it needs it. IMO if the spine of the handle has any curve to it then the row of pins should have curve too.
 
Follow the visual center of the handle. This is the curve that divides the handle in two balanced halves. Just like when you draw the spine or the belly of the handle, draw a third line that bisects them. I find that locating that center line is easier than just trying to randomly place dots on the drawing until it looks good.

If it looks right, it is right.
 
Any one who has done designing will tell you that the eye findes things more appealing when things like pins are put just above center.Look at a picture frame for example, most borders are wider at the bottom than at the top, it just looks better.So when i place my pins i finde center of width and go 1 mm higher and make my punch mark.This is a little tip that Peter Delraso gave me. Thanks Pete.
 
PARKERKNIVES said:
Any one who has done designing will tell you that the eye findes things more appealing when things like pins are put just above center.Look at a picture frame for example, most borders are wider at the bottom than at the top, it just looks better.So when i place my pins i finde center of width and go 1 mm higher and make my punch mark.This is a little tip that Peter Delraso gave me. Thanks Pete.
Click to expand...


Ditto :thumbup: I place my pins ~ .030-.040 above CL, a tip Bob Loveless gave me ......... in the book, How To Make Knives ;)



:cool:
 
Don't get me wrong, I love my calipers, but... when placing pins, the calipers stay in the drawer.

This is how I do it... your mileage may vary. :D It's a fairly complex formula, so I'll outline it in sequence:

  1. Take your template drawing and...
  2. draw pins on it. Then...
  3. get a center punch and...
  4. transfer the pin locations to the steel.
Quite honestly, I believe that better visual balance can be achieved with the naked eye of a discerning designer than with any sort of measuring device.

Note: I will qualify that statement above by saying that this is only true for asymmetric handles with 1-3 tang pins. If you are making a symmetrical dagger, you'll want to use some sort of measuring equipment and a straight edge to ensure that pins are centered. If you are using a number pins around the perimeter of the handle, you'll want to use some sort of measuring equipment to ensure that all pins are spaced consistently in relation to the edge of the handle and each other.

:DErin
 
I never measure when I am marking pin holes for tang/scale mounting or thong hole. I simply eyeball them, punch and drill them.
 
I only have 8 knifes done or so, but I find that my grinding of the handle material down to the knife metal… sometimes the top line shrinks and the perfectly aligned pin “floats up” a bit from design center.

So for this class, I have made a conscious effort to minimize knife metal shrinkage due to handle material removal. Could this be contributing to your pins non-centering?
 
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