Need info on soldering 416 stainless to 1095

[RidgebackWY]

I,m new to knife making and am making my first knife with a guard. I'm using 1095 for the blade and I have a guard made of 416 stainless. My question is what soldier to use and what flux. I've seen some post using brass guards but I didn't know if it was ok to use the same soldier with stainless. Thanks

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Stainless is a bit harder to solder than brass and nickel silver. use Stay Brite solder or a solder made for stainless steels. use the proper flux. Clean everything...and then clean it again. Wipe with denatured alcohol after that. Solder with the smallest flame you have .... and use very little heat. Heat from the tang and apply the solder from the blade side. DON'T make the flux burn or turn black. It only has to heat to around 400F to flow the solder. A piece of 1/8" brass rod with a point on it will "help" stubborn solder places flow.

This is the search engine for finding all sorts of things here in BF. Soldering is a regular topic and there are lots of good guides.

 

[elementfe]

I remember from Bob Loveless' video that he used a hot air gun for soldering.
Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it, but Stay Brite and Stay Clean flux don't really need much heat.