Handle/scale attachment

S

steelerfan88

Joined
Feb 16, 2015
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Am I in the minority of folks who simply HATE the look of handle pins ? I just doooooon't like'm....NOPE ! especially the love-lace type. That big, ugly fish eye starring at me ?......NOPE ! Anyway, I am going to be designing some knives soon and was wondering what is your method of attaching the handle/scales without those HIDEOUS pins showing through. Can one simply apply a good epoxy and call it a day or is blind pinning really needed ? I would love to hear your opnions on this one :thumbup:
 
I made a knife without pins once and it was not much trouble. I drilled two 1/4 inch holes in the tang in the normal places and lined up the scales and traced the holes. I used a "Forstener" type drill which is a drill with a sharp tiny center point and the bit is square. I drilled two shallow holes about 3/16 deep in the scales where I traced the holes and then I used a trapezoid shaped Dremel bit to enlarge the inside of the holes at their bottom. I then cut two 8/32 machine screws to a length of about 3/8. When I epoxied the scales on I filled the holes with epoxy and stuck the screw threads into the holes. It doesn't matter if they stay straight up and down. I then made sure the scales lined up at the front and lightly clamped them. I also cut some slots in the tang with a Dremel cutting wheel to help with adhesion. The knife set up hard overnight and looked good. I finished the scales on a belt sander and by hand and sold the knife. I must admit that even though it was easy to do I have not made another because I happen to like the look of pins. Larry
 
LARRYZ10 said:
I made a knife without pins once and it was not much trouble. I drilled two 1/4 inch holes in the tang in the normal places and lined up the scales and traced the holes. I used a "Forstener" type drill which is a drill with a sharp tiny center point and the bit is square. I drilled two shallow holes about 3/16 deep in the scales where I traced the holes and then I used a trapezoid shaped Dremel bit to enlarge the inside of the holes at their bottom. I then cut two 8/32 machine screws to a length of about 3/8. When I epoxied the scales on I filled the holes with epoxy and stuck the screw threads into the holes. It doesn't matter if they stay straight up and down. I then made sure the scales lined up at the front and lightly clamped them. I also cut some slots in the tang with a Dremel cutting wheel to help with adhesion. The knife set up hard overnight and looked good. I finished the scales on a belt sander and by hand and sold the knife. I must admit that even though it was easy to do I have not made another because I happen to like the look of pins. Larry
Click to expand...

Well done Larry. After much thought, I have a great solution in addition to your great idea. Here it is:
1. Drill (3) 3/16" holes in tang.
2. Tap those holes to accept a machine screw
3. Drill matching "female" holes in both left & right side scale blanks as you suggested (being careful NOT to go completely through the scales)
3. Apply RED Loc-tite to the machine screws and screw into the tang.
4. Cut off screws being sure to leave 1/8" (or a little more) protruding out of both sides of the tang.
5. Rough up, clean, degrease tang and scales and apply epoxy to all mating
surfaces.
6. assemble and clamp and allow to cure.
7. Shape, sand and finish off handle.

I think this method should be rock solid due to the fact the epoxy will form a mechanical lock bonding/filing in the screw threads. I think this will work VERY well for me:thumbup:
 
^ that's pretty much what I do here:

a.jpg~original



It sounds complicated, but it's actually easier than grinding a bunch of pins flush.

I don't think the red locktite is necessary. I use allthread as pins and cut some oversized threads in the scales that get filled with epoxy. I figure once the epoxy cures and you have cast in place threads, everything is pretty much screwed together.
 
Nathan do you have a WIP thread of that knife? I thought I've seen it before but can't recall. Looks fantastic though!

On pins I wasn't keen on them at first but the more I play around and try to design things that differentiate what I make the more I've come to appreciate them. That said I do think some knives look better without pins.
 
Just make a hidden tang knife. You can secure it at the rear...or not.
 
With good epoxy, the pins just keep the scales from moving laterally. Could you not just use hidden pins? Drill holes in the back of the scales, cut the pins, epoxy on. Seems simple but I haven't tried it. Personally I like the pins.
 
Augus7us said:
Nathan do you have a WIP thread of that knife?
.
Click to expand...

No, I haven't WIPed these. I'm doing some of them now that I was going to WIP, but after some ruckus last year I decided it maybe wasn't a good idea.
 
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