How would I do this????

B

Bailey Boat

Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
56
I'm at the mercy of suppliers blades and would like to drill a few of them for a thong hole but the steel is way too hard and carbide bits are way too expensive (plus they break easily)
How could I soften the steel on the butt of the blank so it can be drilled with "normal" bits??? I do have a propane torch but that's about it..... Help???
Thanks......
 
Thong hole? Are these knives just for female carry :-). Sorry couldn't resist. I don't know the answer to your question and was going to suggest a carbide bit but there may be an easier way. I would think many fixed blade blanks would have a lanyard hole in them already. Many smart folks on the forum, someone will come up with a non smartass answer.

Mike
 
Now, I'm no expert, but if it's a full tang knife I would think you could anneal just the butt of the knife by heating it with a torch and letting it cool slowly without screwing up the heat treat on the blade. You'll still need a good drill bit, but they won't break near as often.
 
Stick the blade in a can of water leaving just the last inch or so of the tang sticking out and heat it to go past the blue colors. Don't heat it for too long moving the flame around to both sides and you should be OK without affecting the heat treat of the blade. You may have to do it a couple of times to get it soft enough to drill.
Change the water out if you need to do it a second time. Also, make sure you use a cobalt drill bit and you should be able to get it soft enough to drill. Let it cool slowly after heating it by just leaving the blade in the water with the tang cooling slowly exposed to the air.
 
I would see if you can find somebody with a waterjet cutter to do the job. No bad effects on the tempering, and an industrial waterjet leaves some of the cleanest, nicest cuts you can imagine. There is almost no need for further surface finishing...
 
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