First knife! Ready for bolster pins. Why not thread the pins & holes?

B

BFrancios

Joined
Jul 9, 2012
Messages
65
Very first post here.

Finally have my first knife to near completion. Getting ready to pin the bolsters but have a question I can't find anwered anywhere. Why not thread the pin and hole, screw in the pins and then preen? Do the threads make hiding the pin more difficult? Do the threads strip out during preening?

Seems that threading the pins/holes would add another level of security to the connection.

I am using nickel silver bolsters and have them ground, polished and attached to the knife with JB weld (tried solder but need a lot more practice before attempting a clean solder on something with this much time investment). something for a near future knife, may need a smaller torch... Anyway, not the issue I am asking about here. The point is the bolsters are positioned and should stand up to the tapping process. Why isn't threading pins a common practice?

I plan on testing with some brass and mild steal but wanted to ask here to see if I am missing something.

I've been lurking these forums for several months, thank you for all the help and thanks in advance for any help with this issue.
 
Welcome to Blade Forums.

Be cause the fit between the male and female threads is only about 60%,you could never hide the pins.Also getting them threaded to make a perfect match to tighten down would be tricky.
Much easier to just taper the hole and peen the pin.

Stan
 
Forget trying to screw them on and then riveting, it won't work.

If you want to use screws, put threaded inserts in the tang and make the bolsters a take apart style with recessed screws ( like a folder bolster).

Hopefully, the hole you already drilled through the tang is a tad larger than the pin, or it may lift the bolster up when peening. If it is the same, make sure you chamfer the pin holes and peen gently to spread only the top.

BTW, You should leave final shaping and polishing until after pinning the bolsters. Just do the front faces before assembly. T

Also, the JB Weld should be wet when you peen the pins, as you want it to compress as you snug down the pins. If it is still possible, I would suggest that you heat it up and take it apart, re-drill the tang hole a little larger than the pin ( just a few thousandths), and then put on fresh resin and peen the pins.
 
Thanks Stacy,

I did end up removing the JB Weld, but I drilled the holes for the pins before removing the bolsters. I had used the JB weld first b/c the bolster are contoured to stand just below some rope filework I put onto the "thumb hold" at the top of the blade. I glued first because I could not get the precise bolster placement I wanted/needed while at the drill press. My clamps kept slipping.

Anyway, drilled the holes, removed the JB weld and this also gave me a chance to completley flatten the tang where the bolster go. I noticed a slight angle on one side while glueing that was missed during the dry fit. This allowed me to fix that imperfection.

Have not reattached everything yet but will widen the hole through the tang before I do. What you said about lifting the bolsters makes sense.

I may use the glue first, drill holes and remove glue technique in the future if the bolsters require precise placement like these. However, I will use a glue that's more easily removed like super glue. Will also try a design that is not as exacting, this was a little fancy for a first knife. I am having fun learning as I go.

Barry
 
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