Knives with bolsters

[Grumpy Old Man]

 

[w]

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[LimpCroissant]

I'm also a HUGE fan of bolsters. I just love them. They go good on all type of knives. Here's a few examples of mine.

 

[jfk1110]

I do love a nice bolster on a knife handle. It adds so much to a simple knife design.

That gitano is such a great knife...No fear of closing on the digits....
Just beautiful lines too!!!!

 

[chacapa]

 

[chacapa]

 

[patrickguignot]

Bolsters in damas steel.

 

[cutchu]

 

[VorpelSword]

I made a few (very few) shop crafted knives many years ago. All were fixed blades. I made several with bolsters and several without. Crafting a knife with a bolster is defiantly more complex than just slapping on a couple of handle slabs and calling it a day. Particularly if doing it with minimal tooling or experience.

Each type of construction has their own esthetic.

It is all in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Horsewright]

I tend towards traditional knives, partly because I lover bolsters and since I have a tendency to drop knives bolsters protect the rest of the knife.
I love the looks of them too!

If bolsters have a function, as on folders, fine; on FBs I don't see why bolsters are used, other than aesthetics. The knives with bolsters in the photos displayed by Horsewright are beautiful, I have to admit.

Alberta Ed, I suspect that the handle scale material on a fixed blade knife may explain why bolsters may be used. I suspect using a bolster on a knife with something like stag or even wood scales with protect the front edge from abuse during cutting activities.

I am not an expert and I admit that it is speculation on my part but it does seem to make sense.

Thanks Ed!

I think bolsters do have a function. I believe that they do protect handle material from life, drops and oops. But, perhaps more importantly I feel that it makes the knife stronger and longer lasting. The weak link to any knife construction is the front of the handle. Moisture, blood, gunk etc seeping under the front of the handle is the bad guy. A bolster at least how I do them allows me to seal off that weak point better.

Here's a purty one. Joe Kious folder. A good friend of mine sent it to me to reattach a scale:

A few more of mine:

 

[Slice-and-dice]

Bolster are I think an evolution of something that was intended to hold the knife together.
Ötzis knife, ~5000 years old....

Condors version

In many cases even today the bolster is an integral part of the handle.....

You must have an amazing collection, thanks for sharing images of some of the "oldies"

 

[Horsewright]

If anyone is interested in the process, at least how I do it, of putting a bolster on a knife: here's a lil tutorial I did over in the Shoptalk section>

Horsewright's Bolster Process

Recently there's been several threads on bolsters, how to attach , peening etc. Thought I would show you how we do it. Do want to mention that this is not the only way to do this step its just how we do it but it has evolved over time and with experience on many knives. Had a good size batch to...

www.bladeforums.com

 

[LimpCroissant]

Here's another bolstered son of a gun. This is the smoothest, most free falling shut, yet locks up super tight bearing folder I have.

 

[powerslave]

Yeah bolsters are cool

 

[gooeytek]

 

[Hashishiin]

I do love a nice bolster on a knife handle. It adds so much to a simple knife design.

What is this?? Love it! Looking for a 3.5-4in knife to pair an Espada with.

 

[Pirate63]

 

[Boattale]

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[jfk1110]

What is this?? Love it! Looking for a 3.5-4in knife to pair an Espada with.

Here's some thoughts on it...

Thread 'lionSTEEL Gitano GT01 UL' https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/lionsteel-gitano-gt01-ul.1739245/

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

Left is a Chuck Gedraitus custom with patinated copper bolsters. Right is a William Henry Monarch, with Mokume Gane bolsters by Mike Sakmar.

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