I love my customers but why don't they listen to me

W

Will Leavitt

Joined
Jul 28, 2006
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So I'm working on finishing up this father son knife set... for the son it's a small version of my normal hunting knives and the father's is a matching version of my "deer zipper" necker. He want a thick 1/4" SS guard on both and them soldered on.. well I'm soldering and even with wet towel and all the freaking heat crept up and now I may have to reheat treat the blade. :(

Another knife odered by a friend that I'm forging tomorrow, he wants a 4" fighter but it has to have a ring guard on it, plus he doesn't wear a belt and the knife has to be concealable so I'm having to make a pancake type sheath for it. I've tried to convince him not to have a ring guard but he wants it because he knows I hate doing that kind of thing. I pull a lot of jokes on him so I guess it's payback.
 
If the blades are SS try the potato trick. If not go to the welding store and get some heat paste.
 
1084 blades... yeah shoulda used heat paste... where do you get this low temp solder? is it the stuff they use in those 'cool touch solder irons?
 
normal silver solder is fairly low temp. I uses Stay Brite and it goes at 430f. keep the flame below the bolster/guard on the tang side. heat hit with flux and keep touching the solder to the joint until it flow, go around joint with solder and maybe hit it with the end of a piece of stainless wire to help it fill any void. After initial flow move torch away and back as needed. Very little should get to edge. But I have a couple pieces of 1/2" thick aluminum about 3"x 4" I clamp that on the blade and if you snug up the edge side bolt first they angle to met the edge. Then it is hard to overheat edge. Touch plates with wet sponge if you are worried. I now get great solder joints.
 
man, that sucks. This is one reason why I make what I make and if the customer wants something I dont feel comfortable doing, I recomend someone for them. Havent had one leave because of that conversation yet.
 
Make sure you use a good quality flux. That is just as important as the solder itself. Check out a welding supply. Or you could get some from on of the knife suppliers.
 
Will,

Maybe it's time you learned to tell your customers "No." They aren't always right and you can turn down the job. Unless you like challenges and pulling your hair out.

Gene
 
Gene, I keep a high and tight so I can't pull my hair out. ;) I will tell a customer "no" and suggest another maker if it's something I really really don't want to do. The main thing about the ring guard knife is that I know he's mainly asking for it to give me a hard time, I guess it's payback for all the jokes I've played on him. I've got it figured out and it's going to look cool but I'm not letting him know that I've figured it out and that he'll get a little appearance bonus on it.

I got him on the phone and explained for the 9867908709th time about how a solder joint isn't better than the press fit I'm using. He finally understood when I told him it may be another week if he insisted on a solder joint :)
 
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