Messed up my bolsters

T

Tll6

Joined
May 14, 2016
Messages
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Hey guys. I am building my first knife from a kit and I have run into a problem. After peening on my bolsters I noticed they are not the same size. I took a file to the larger one and ended up rounding it up. I decided in the moment to round the other one up to match it. It doesn't look necessarily bad, but in all the pictures and videos I have seen, the edge of the bolder meeting the handle is a straight line.

I don't have any form of machine grinding, so I am at the whim of my hand tool skills. Should I try to straighten them out, leave them be, or try to cut them back straight with a hacksaw?

I'll post pictures tomorrow

Thanks!
 
Drill out the pins and take off the bolster.

Fix the problem and then pin them back on
 
Some photos of the problem would help greatly. There may or may not actually be a problem.
 
Yes, Drill the pins out and take the bolsters off for correction. Once you get the boltsers off put pins in them so you can keep them together and make them the same dimensions front and back. Do your finish work on the front of the bolsters before putting them back on, That way you don't damage the blade trying to finish them on the knife. Hope this helps, Craig.
 
I think you can even them up with just a flat file on the scale- handle side and then shape them so they are the same removing the peined part of the pins.
Frank
 
I agree with Frank, Leave them on and you can even them up but take your time and try not to cut into the tang.
 
Here is the finished bolster after sanding to 800 grit. I might take it up higher once I start the handles, but for now it is about done. I evened them out and they are pretty much identical so thank you all for the advice. There are still some tooling marks that I didn't quite manage to get out. In they true I might also work those out as well.
 
Will do! Is filing the best way to remove the marks from preening? They can be felt when I run over it with my finger nail, is that too deep to remove?
 
Well if the marks are deep, start with a file and then go to sandpaper. I forgot to mention the reason the bolsters change size was because of the over peining. However hard too tell how much to do.
Frank
 
Ah okay over preening would explain it. One of the boslers was lifting up and I decided the best solution was to hit it harder. At least it is fixed now. I will fix the marks and post another picture tomorrow
 
Also, I am a little worried about filing down the pins too much. I countersunk them but how much actually needs to be present for the bolsters to stay on?
 
You should be able to clean them up without a problem, use the file but clean it often. Depending on the finish you are wanting once the heavy marks are gone progress from coarse to very fine paper, If you want a satin finish like the blade you could stop at 220 - 320. If your doing a satin finish do straight pulls to get out the hooks from the paper.
 
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