How I dome and polish pins

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
9,437
Well, after talking to a few friends I realized that me removing the videos was not sending the message that I wanted to send... so it will be less of a mess if I just put them back up.

This is just one way to dome and polish a pin in a knife handle. The stuff in the videos is a combination of Mastersmith John White teaching me his method over the phone, followed by 4 years of me doing it in my shop with my tools.

It will take a lot longer to watch all 4 videos than it takes to actually do the work. It usually takes me about 20 minutes or so, including set-up and polishing. The actual hammer work is very quick.

So I'm not saying this is the best way... it's just one way. ;) :)

Here's the knife I was working on in the videos---
medium800.jpg


medium800.jpg


Part 1-
[video=youtube;ULWxdqEZqDg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULWxdqEZqDg[/video]


Part 2-
[video=youtube;X0A_63OwdVM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0A_63OwdVM[/video]

Part 3-
[video=youtube;7YRZjM7ZqAM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YRZjM7ZqAM[/video]


Only 3 videos allowed per post, so part 4 is below....
 
Last edited:
I havn't watched them yet, but I'm goin to right after I post this,, just wanted to be the first to reply on one of these famous Nick Wheeler threads :D lol Also thanks for doin all these vids man, you are really helping so many of us out cause your info and tips are Golded brother! Thanks and PLEASE Keep it up! :)

-Paul
www.youtube.com/Lsubslimed
 
Part 4-

[video=youtube;oQwcTroKL2U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQwcTroKL2U[/video]
 
Last edited:
Thnx Nick, I'm saving these for a quiet moment this weekend.
Looks like these will answer some questions that run around my head
 
Thanks nick

The video quality and editing are quite good


I have never had to nerve to dome a pin, taking a hammer to a finished handle - never appealed to me yet.
 
Nick,
Thanks for posting this! It gave me a lot of ideas. I am in the process of designing and then making a drilling jig to hold the knife horizontally while I drill the pin hole. I am going to make it double duty so I can dome the pins also. Or do you recommend 2 jigs, one for each?
Thanks again,
Fred
 
Great videos, but it shouldn't take more than 3 minutes to finish a pin.
Here's how I do it:
Peen the pin heads with a 1.5 oz. flat faced hammer -flaring and tapping the edges down. Use a smooth, hard anvil for the rear of the pin.
You can use a cupped punch if you need to be really careful, or you can skip that part and simply buff the pin head. Tap one side with the punch, turn the knife over and place the rounded head on your anvil, and punch the other side. Using the cupped punch can help keep the head nicely rounded but it still has to be finished on the buffer. It helps if you have 3 hands.
Most of the knives I restore use 9-10 pins each.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Great videos, but it shouldn't take more than 3 minutes to finish a pin.
Here's how I do it:
Peen the pin heads with a 1.5 oz. flat faced hammer -flaring and tapping the edges down. Use a smooth, hard anvil for the rear of the pin.
You can use a cupped punch if you need to be really careful, or you can skip that part and simply buff the pin head. Tap one side with the punch, turn the knife over and place the rounded head on your anvil, and punch the other side. Using the cupped punch can help keep the head nicely rounded but it still has to be finished on the buffer. It helps if you have 3 hands.
Most of the knives I restore use 9-10 pins each.
Click to expand...


Thanks Bill, I figured there was a better way to do it. I didn't mean to be spreading bad information.
 
Put the vids back Wheeler, I haven't had the chance to watch them yet!:eek:
Edited to remove the unhelpful comment, and thanks Nick for putting them back up.:thumbup:
Darcy
 
Last edited:
I didn't get a chance to check out the video. I watch all of Nick's stuff.....even if it showcases tips and tricks for things I don't normally incorporate into my designs.....domed pins being one of them.....but at least I learn from them and appreciate them. If someone went to the trouble Nick does to put together a video and post it....I doubt I could critique it...regardless. That's just me tho.
 
Before anybody accuses me of having a bad attitude like I'm taking my ball and going home--- that's not it.

I'm always quick to admit there's probably a better way to do anything that I know how to do.

It takes me about 20 minutes or longer to do a domed pin the way I do it. If Bill's method takes 3 minutes, it's obviously a lot better method.


There's no reason for me to be showing something that is that far off from what's optimal.

Hopefully Bill will make a video of how he does it, because I'd really like to be able to shave that much time off the process. :)
 
Nick,

I for one am glad that I watched your videos before you took them down. Thanks for posting the info, and if I ever get brave enough to try the domed pin approach I will probably try it your way first.

Hopefully Bill will take the time to post some video of his process and let people decide for themselves which way they want to approch the process.

Thanks for all the info you so freely share!

Jeff
 
There is a BIG difference between "good enough" and "as good as it can get".
There are lots of people who are satisfied with "good enough".
But it takes having pride in your work to want to do things as good as it can get.
Takes a bit more time too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top