How tight should the handle pins be in the knife tang?

S

Superlions123

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May 11, 2007
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How tight do the pins have to fit in the holes you drill in the knife tang? Do they have to be real tight with no play, or can they move a little? I drilled some 1/8 inch holes but the pins wiggle a little bit. This is before I put the handles on.

This is after I drilled the pin holes in the Blade handle, they slide right though real easy. Should they or should they stick tight in the holes?

Thanks!
 
I never worry about the fit in the blade tang. I worry more about the fit in the handle material. Too tight and you'll crack your handle material. Too loose and you'll see the gap and some epoxy.

I drill my holes to the exact size with a slow running drill. I want the pins to barely go through the handle material with a slight pressing. If I have to force them through their too tight. If they slide right through with no effort, their too loose.

The reason I don't worry about the blade tang is because you can't see it once the knife is finished and if you're using good epoxy, it won't affect the knife at all either good or bad. Some people actually drill them to be loose through the tang!

This is just how I do it. I put up to 26 pins in one handle sometimes on my fancy pinworked designs, so I've put a lot of pins in over the years.

Ickie
 
I drill the holes in the tang a good bit oversize. I also drill extra holes to create "epoxy rivets" connecting the two scales. The pins are there to keep the scales from moving sideways. The epoxy resin is there to keep the scales on the knife. Many makers drill the tang to look like Swiss cheese. When using a dense/heavy handle material (Ivory,etc.) This can lighten up a handle heavy knife.
Stacy
 
If you're depending on epoxy or other bonding agents to secure the scales to tang, forget it. If a hidden tang you're okay. For scales a mechanical locking system should be used (bolts, epoxy embedded within scales and through tang, etc.) My most favorite way to contour the hilt portion of micarta scales is to super glue them together. Afterwards I simply use a sharp edge to rap them apart. Mechanical bonding for scales or pinging pins. Hidden tangs okay with just pinning.

rlinger
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If they are tight, they will eventually crack the handle material through humidity and thermal movement.
 
You guys are a lot of help, thanks!
I just don't want to make a lot of dumb mistakes on my first knife. I know there is always a right and wrong way of doing things!

Superlions123
 
I usually drill the holes through the tang to size and then clean them out with a diamond bit on a dremel after HT (making them a couple thousandths oversize). I drill the holes in the scales or handle undersize and then follow with a chucking reamer to make them exactly 1/8, 1/4, etc. I then chuck the pins into the drill press and polish with emory at about 3000 rpm until they are 0.001 - 0.002" undersize (checking with a vernier or micrometer). I polish down corby fasteners the same way.

If you don't have the tools to do this, then you can chuck your pinstock in the press and use it to burnish the holes in your scales, it's not the best way, but it will work. If you use this method, you can put burn marks in light material (light colored wood, antler, bone) and synthetics so go slow and take your time. And make sure to clamp your handle material down securely as their is a lot of friction when using this method - by this I mean that the material can catch and come spinning off the press (learn from my mistakes, not your own).

If you don't own a drill press, get one. A cheaper drill press ($100-200 about the same as a decent cordless drill) will get you started and you won't ever regret having it.

If you have to hammer or force your pins through, then you are asking for cracked scales (it only took me a couple sets to learn my lesson). This place is a great resource and would have saved me a lot of aggravation had I found it a few years ago so keep asking questions, expirement, and have fun.

Nathan
 
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