Looking for Stainless for Guards/Bolsters

A

Augus7us

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Oct 9, 2014
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I'm trying to find some stainless stock for a bolster on a paring knife but figured I would get enough to do some guards and such also. However I can't seem to find any from the usual suspects Jantz/USA Knife Maker/ Texas/ etc. Its possible one of those guys has it but I'm not looking in the right place.

Since I'm asking, I was looking for 410 or 420 because if I recall 416 was a pita to work with, am I off base here? I'd also like to get something I can find matching pins. My thought was get something like 1"x1" square so I can forge down smaller stuff but still have stock large enough for a bowie guard if I wanted to go that route.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

-Clint
 
I get my 416 SS from TruGrit and their rod stock is also 416

With a belt grinder I make all stainless steels bend to my will
 
I use 416 for just about everything guard and bolster related. It's just fine to work with. I get all my 416 from Tru Grit, mostly 3/16"and 1/4" , occasionally 3/8" bar stock. For pins 1/16", 3/32", and 1/8" round stock. It all matches color so no problems with hiding preened pins in bolsters.

Steve
 
416 is the preferred SS for most for this application. The problem of late has been that you can't get thin stock anymore, but that is not an issue for most guards or bolsters.
 
416 is the 410 stainless with some added sulfur, which is what makes it machinable. It's not a PITA to work with - it's a joy to work with.
303 stainless also has the added sulfur, and is just as easily worked with as 416. I've made many, many guards from 303. Down side is that it's expensive, but pretty easy to find.
304 is cheap, but gummy and breaks end mills and bits. Stay away from 304.
And, being austenitic, 300 series stainless is non-magnetic, meaning it's difficult to use on surface grinders. For that reason I driftec entirely away from 303 and now forge my 416 to size.
 
I should have clarified in the original post this was for a hidden tang knife. The bolster is around 5/8" x 3/4" so I figured 1"x1" would suffice and allow me to use it for other projects like a bowie guard or shave pieces off on the saw for full tang bolsters. I did some more looking around and still cannot find square stock in this size from any of the well known suppliers. I did end up ordering 1" round stock from Amazon, but I am still curious if folks are getting it from a knife supply shop or some place like online metal supply. I needed some other stuff that is fairly common and would have liked to order the steel with it from the same place.

-Clint
 
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