drilling hidden tang pin?

MarkJeffrey

MarkJeffrey

Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
262
I have a couple blades I'm working on that are both hidden tangs, but I've never done one yet, so my question is.. how do I go about drilling the pin hole? If it's done before heat treat I suppose it would be impossible to find once the handle goes on, but after heat treat it wouldn't drill anyway. I can temper the tang down with a torch? I'm not sure how to go about that without ruining the blade, do I just start at the end and make sure the discoloration from the heat doesn't pass where the bolster will be? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks
 
Suspend the blade in a tube of water. You can put a c-clamp on the ricasso area and let the clamp hold the tang out of the water.
Or don't harden the tang to begin with.
A zillion different ways to skin this cat.
 
Thanks for the replies

No it doesn't really neeeeed a pin it's just the look I had in mind I guess. I'm using a piece of antler with a brass bolster and thought the pin might give it a nice touch. Thoughts?

And on what Karl said, is there one way or the other that's better? Not hardening the tang at all seems it would be the easiest option
 
I like to fully harden the whole thing then draw back the tang. I hold the blade between my fingers on the bevel near the edge and hit the tang with torch. When I feel any heat on my fingers I will dip in the water up to about half way up the ricasso to keep it from drawing out the temper on the blade. This softens the tang and ricasso so you can drill the pin hole and file the shoulders to fit the guard. There are pics on one of Nick Wheeler's epic threads showing how he does it. My way and his look exactly the same cause I adopted his method (stole it). I usually do it until I get a nice blue color then sand off the color and do it 2 more times.
 
I just completed my first hidden pin handled knife. It has a Micarta handle. No matter what material is used I would use the same process. I drill pin holes before hardening just as if I was making a standard pin handled knife. To drill the holes in the handle scales I just clamp the first one in place start the hole and drill it to the depth needed to give it strength without being visible. I then repeat the process with the second scale.
 
One way is to get your handle mostly ready before you heat treat, drill/carve/burn/broach the tang hole, however you do it and make sure its a good tight fit. Find where you want to put your pin, take the knife out, drill the pin hole in the handle. Put the knife back in and make it tight again, then just put the drill bit in enough to mark, then drill the hole in the tang alone. Leaving it in the handle you can risk making your hole to big in the handle, or even going off center and making another hole altogether.... yes it happens.. once, twice if you don't learn the first time hehe. Thats how I do it, there are other ways.
 
You can stick the tang through a raw potato and heat away . Heat wont go past the potato . A old metal smith told me that when you want to keep heat away from a spot on metal .
 
I am digging the potato idea! (no pun intended.. well.. maybe a little) Thanks for the info guys, I'll see how it goes and hopefully it will turn out. I'll post some pics either way
 
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