Has anyone used yellow ochre paint on guards before soldering?

LARRYZ10

LARRYZ10

Joined
Feb 6, 2010
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I have soldered guards the way lots of makers do and always hate the cleanup. I get it done but I would like to paint the top of the guard with something that the solder will not stick to
so I can just brush it away when fluid. One maker even suggested "painting" the guard with a black felt tip pen. I will try it if anyone can verify that it works. I see yellow ochre dry powder to mix with water on some sites that cater to jewelers. Give me your opinion please. Thanks, Larry
 
The problem with ochre, or most any other anti-flux, is that they can easily get into the joint when applying flux. This is not what you want for a seamless solder line on a guard.

What works to some degree is using a soft lead pencil and blackening the area around the solder joint. Some folks do this to the ricasso area of the blade to keep the solder from flowing on damascus. But, just like ochre, it isn't a cure for bad soldering technique.

No matter what method you use, some degree of clean-up is required. The simplest method is not to use any anti-flux, and use good soldering technique.
Eliminating the solder over-flow problem is the best method to deal with this. If you are getting solder all over the guard, it is because you are heating the guard, not the blade, and using too much solder. The solder will flow toward the heat, and across the hottest surface. Heat the blade and guard evenly, with the blade getting a tad more heat, This will make the solder flow down the joint between the two. Apply the solder very sparingly.
Maintaining absolute cleanliness in the joint, proper fluxing, and heat control are the places that people go wrong in soldering guards.
 
+1 for the pencil trick, prep the joint in every other way then 'draw' a thick barrier that you don't want the solder to pass. Heating both pieces evenly and from beneath is also key.
 
Stacy, I will try using less solder and more heat to the tang. I have been using nickel silver for guards and they heat up rapidly. I will try the pencil trick also. One last question please: I have used Stay Brite exclusively for my soldering but I read that many makers use Force 44 and their flux from Brownell's Gunsmithing. Is this a better solder for knife making or is it "six to one , a half dozen to the other" Your thoughts please. Thank you, Larry
 
For best capillary action of solder into the joint , the joint should be 0.003" .That's also the strongest.
 
Most silver bearing low temp solders are more or less the same. Application is the same for all of them. If you want the easiest solder to use, get a tube of Tix and its flux. Tix is advertised as "The hardest soft solder on earth". It is used extensively by jewelers, but not all that well known outside our field. It is more expensive than Stay-Brite and others, but still quite reasonable. It melts at a much lower temperature, which is why I like it, plus it flows very well. http://www.micromark.com/Tix-Solder-Pkg-of-20-Three-Inch-Sticks,6707.html
 
I have used typewriter correction fluid (white out) to impede the flow of solder on non-ferrous metals. I have never tried it on ferrous metals---yet.
 
Thanks Stacy, I found the Tix and flux in a kit on Ebay for not that much . It melts at 275. That is going to be great by itself. Thanks again for the tip. Larry
 
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