Fixing Guard?

etp777

etp777

Joined
Aug 12, 2002
Messages
2,259
OK, figure the answer on this is no, but have to ask. Is there any way to fix a guard that I filed out too much? Gurad is on full tag knife, flush with spine ont hat side, the part that's a little too wide(like 1/32" or something probably, though I haven't measuered it. IT's not much though) is on the edge side. Any way to fix this before I just start over tomorrow night?
 
Depending on how much and the type of material, you could possibly put it in a vice and "crunch" it down a bit. Then re-sand it flat again.
 
You can always peen the face of the guard a bit, give it some texture and it will close up the gap a bit too, then just resand the edges and you should be good to go. Sometimes the contrast between a smooth ricaso area, smooth sides and a textured face on the guard really add to the apeal of the knife too.

Alan Folts
 
Good one, Alan. I always say that I don't make mistakes, I just have design opertunities.
Lynn
 
Originally posted by Lynn
Good one, Alan. I always say that I don't make mistakes, I just have design opertunities.
Lynn
Click to expand...

Yes, Alan, that's a good idea. I never thought of that one.

Lynn: Some of my finest knives have come from mistakes to the originally-intended design. I scratch my head, because I don't know why. Maybe I spend much more time on the knive once I bugger it up - you know - just to make sure its right. Good one!
 
Originally posted by Alan Folts
You can always peen the face of the guard a bit, give it some texture and it will close up the gap a bit too, then just resand the edges and you should be good to go. Sometimes the contrast between a smooth ricaso area, smooth sides and a textured face on the guard really add to the apeal of the knife too.

Alan Folts
Click to expand...
I have done the oooops too, and the squeezing usually does the trick,unless you have some uneven filing.When I do what Alan suggests,I call it"punching the dang thing in the face."
 
Back in the old days when I made bowies with brass guards I used to pin the guards on and if there was any gap I'd just use a little bigger hammer after piening and beat the crap out of the side of the guard till the gap disappeared. :eek: Have to be careful or you'll distort the guard so much it'll be shot but if you watch what you're doing, with a little clean up sanding you can end up with a fine looking knife.
 
yes crunch and punch :cool: we did this one a while back:)
just hate to make two guards for one knife, it just seems like a waste of time don't it:) I never had to do that :rolleyes: :) :D
 
hahah Dan. Well, if it does end up at those dire straights, bleieve I have another one partially profiled(same design) but out of the thicker stock, as I couldn't find the other bar of 1/8". SO wouldn't be total loss. NOw if it didn't fit on that one either then I'll start to get pissed. ;)
 
I HATE MY GUARDS!

I make a brass guard like the ones that Ed Fowler places on his knives but I have yet to do it correctly.

I started out soldering them into place, and then I switched to JB Weld, now Im back to soldering them onto the tang again.

My biggest problem is that I can file the brass to fit the knife tightly, but that when Im done the blade does not line up with the up and down of the guard. The guard always looks like it is on the blade a bit sideways.

The way I fix this is to file a wedge into the brass and make the hole in the guard wide enough to twist the blade until it lines up better with the guard. Of course this makes a HUGE hole in my brass guard that I now have to fix.

The way I fix this problem is to use a massive amount of silver solder and put big wads of solder to fill the gaps, then when the solder is cool, I file the face of the guard flat then buff the crap out of the joint. I end up with a slope where there is no true nice line were the guard stops and the blade begins

I know, I know, this is NOT the way a professional knife maker does his guards, but I kind of like the look of it for now.
 
DaQo'tah,
Try filing the slot before you do any shaping of the guard. After you've cut the hole if there are any gaps now is the time t fix them. put the hunk of brass with the hole in it on the blade then beat the crap out of it until the gaps disapear. Now file the face so it's square to the blade then shape as you normally would.
 
I think you are talking about a half guard (to be flush with the spine and open at that part of guard). If you have a good vise, place a piece of steel about the same thickness as the slot in the open end and a little close to the center of the guard slot. Squeeze the hell out of the vise to help close the bottom portion of the guard. The heck of it is you have that solid metal finger guard that does not want to give. The purpose of placing a piece of steel at the open end is to keep that area from closing; and it would.

RL
 
Originally posted by DaQo'tah Forge
I HATE MY GUARDS!

My biggest problem is that I can file the brass to fit the knife tightly, but that when Im done the blade does not line up with the up and down of the guard. The guard always looks like it is on the blade a bit sideways.
Click to expand...

DaQo'tah ...
you're saying you can file the brass to fit the knife tightly.
so why not
do that first then place it where you want it
then drill your pin holes,
and use a dummy pin to hold it in place
then do your shaping? :confused:
this way you can remove it any time to shape as you like.
once you're close to what you want you replace the dummy pin
with the real one then finish the job.

if you can file the brass to fit the knife tightly
then in this order of things you should be AOK..
I got to do a tutorial on this.:)

edited because I can't spell:grumpy:
 
Ummmm....


All I do is what I saw Ed Fowler do in his movie.

The guard fits all around the tang of the knife. The brass at the top end of the tang hole is still about 1/4 inch thick.

From the lower end of the tang hole to the lower end of the brass is,,,about 1 &1/2 inches.

Now, the brass is 3/4 inch square. I mark the position of the tang onto the brass, I drill it, I file,,I fit it, I bang the last bit of the tang into position, ,,,and then I notice that almost every time the "up and down" of the brass, is not the "up and down" of the tang/knife.

Now I did try once to just use my grinder to trim the top area of one side, and the lower part of the other side, but it gave me mixed results.
The guard ended up with an odd shape



Here is a question:

as I start grinding a blade, I 1st grind the outside lines, the profile.

next I use the platten and grind the blade flat.
But......But I hold the knife by the tang as I flat grind so Im not actually flat grinding, I really putting a taper on the blade as the point area gets a bit thinner being more on the platten than the tang areas due to the tang is where my fingers are while I hold onto the knife.

The problem is that when fileing and fitting the guard onto the tang,,,,and slideing the guard up the tang and into position, The tang is tapered in what seems both dirrections.

the tang starts out near the butt end thin, it gets thicker as you move up the tang, but then I hit the area that was sanded on the platten while flat grinding and that area starts to taper in the other direction to the point of the knife.


So this means that my guard slot has to be big enough to fit the tang, but then the tang gets thinner right where the guard will seat and so there is a gap.

How do you flat grind the blade and the racasso and yet not grind the tang taper in the wrong direction?
 
I think see you're problem

you need the aria under the guard flat and no tapers at all for a guard.
if you taper only taper to the guard not up under it
I see you have been in a nightmare
 
Dan...

Im looking at the knife in your ad under your post.

How do you flat grind so that you dont get a taper?

All I know how to do, all I have ever seen done is what Ed Fowler does in his movie, so thats what I do. Ed holds the blade by the tang with one hand . The tang is held off to one side of the platten. The other hand pushes on the blade into the belt. What I always end up with is a taper. The natural effect of grinding the point and not very much on the tang will give a taper no matter what i try.

How do you grind ? so that your handle scales fit? now my knives are always sub-tang so I dont have to have the tang too close to anything, but still the tang just under the 3/4 brass guard is always tapered in the Wrong direction....
 
DaQo'tah
I haven't seen Ed's Video :o so he or someone that has, can comment on that.
but under slotted Guards the steel should be flat and parallel
to make it easy on yourself.

any forged steel I use I grind flat and parallel normally...
then grind the bevels leaving a racarso in front of the guard.
if using bolsters you just need two flat surfaces.

if you are using a stick tang you can build a file jig
and file around the whole tang (4 sides)making room
for just the guard
and it butts up against everything tang side of the racarso. excuse my spelling...are you bringing the edge bevels back too far?
 
Dan, dan, dan.....Did you say file 4 sides?


Now I did get one of them fileing guides, the type used to make the tang even so the guard fits tight. but as far as I have ever known, it was just for fileing the 2 sides...

Is that the type of guide?...how would I use it to file all 4 sides?
 
I'm not sure what you have but it sounds like something close.
I made mine out of O1 flat stock welded them together like an L
I milled a slot on the face for the tang to protrude through and milled it square then heat treated it.
yes you can file all four sides then the guard will butt up all the way around.:)
 
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