Pin or Not to Pin

C

CocoMonGo

Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
16
Hi guys, I am going to start making my first knife which is essentially a full tang bush knife about 4.5-5" long. It might see some batoning when in use. However I am wondering if I should have handle pins installed in it. There is one 8mm OD tube for lanyard installed at the end of the tang, but I have space for 2x 4mm/5mm pins in the handle. Personally I do not like the looks of pins and thinking of excluding them, relying on the epoxy to hold everything together.

Assuming I do a proper cleaning and surface prep, what is your opinion on using just epoxy and a single tube to hold the scales (cocobolo) in place? I have access to 3 ton epoxy, but will most likely use a 1 ton/sqr in. black epoxy if I decide to do any filing work.

PS I did some search here and google on this topic, none were specific or gave a conclusive answer. Thanks in advance! :)
 
Personally I do everything I can to make a knife /handle
Stronger. That includes pins, and domed even better. Especially if batoning.
 
The only epoxy I would use is West System G-flex. It has a minute amount of flexibility which will help absorb shock from batoning. Rough up both the wood and metal with 220 grit sandpaper, wipe 2 or 3 times with acetone to clean and remove the oil on the surface of the wood, and put on epoxy. Don't squeeze to tight - leave at least 1/64 thick layer. You should be good to go. I wouldn't bother with pins.
Tim
 
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Epoxy does a great job at holding things together; however, it doesn't typically survive shearing forces well. Since you plan on hard use and batoning, I'd say it's a very good bet that you would experience a failure. If you are relying on a knife in the bush, you don't want it to fail. You need pins at a minimum, and corby bolts would be better. If you don't like the look of pins, you can always do hidden pins within the handle.

--nathan
 
My 2 cents, function over form with any knife you plan to use hard. Even if I was 100% sure that the epoxy won't fail, I would still use pins of some type. Think about wood, G10 or Micarta pins, or think about hidden pins as another option.
 
CocoMonGo said:
Assuming I do a proper cleaning and surface prep, what is your opinion on using just epoxy and a single tube to hold the scales (cocobolo) in place?
Click to expand...

I'm dead-set against it. Even in a perfect world, epoxy is not enough. Especially when using cocobolo! It is notoriously oily and difficult to glue up.

I'm a "belt and suspenders" guy when it comes to building full-tang handles. By far, the majority of my knives have a stainless steel thong tube and two stainless Corby bolts, as well as epoxy to keep everything sealed from moisture.

You really only need one more pin; the lanyard tube will provide shear strength at the back of the knife. You could even use the same tubing you've selected for your lanyard hole as a hidden "pin" near the front of the scale. Two tubes and good quality epoxy will make the handle very strong.
 
42 is definitely the answer :thumbup: I would at least have some holes maybe halfway through on the underside of the scales and matching holes through the tang to allow the epoxy to create a pin-like structure when it sets up. If you go that far you might as well do hidden pins though.
 
James beat me to it. Cocobolo is very oily and will reject the epoxy. Not only use 2 pins, but peen them on the ends
 
Thank all for the great advice!

Sorry but what do you mean by "is it 42" and "42 is definitely the answer"?
 
42 is an insiders joke for old TV fans...and other geeks.

In the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", the super computer "Deep Thought" takes 7.5 million years and ultimately discovers .... " 42 is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything".

It is based on the fact that 42 has many unique properties in math and sciences. 42 is called the perfect number for reasons too long to go into here. There are huge formulae that have 42 as the answer. The 3X3X3 math cube ( like 3D sodoku with 1-27) has 42 as the solution to all connections of three numbers .

There is a theory called The Gravity Train, which is a theoretical tube with no friction bored through the earth. When an object is dropped into one end and free falls to the other end, no matter where the hole is bored, how long the tube is, or even if it is not through the center of the earth, it will take exactly 42 minutes for the object to reach the other end.







This answer adjusts for the shorter one yesterday.
 
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LOL and here I thought 42 was some secret code here. I should go watch the Hitchhiker's Guide again.

I think I will go ahead and pin the handle. I have already found a supplier for some 316SS rods anyway. Better to have the pins there than or it to fall apart in the field. Thank guys.
 
I just turned my teenage son onto HGTTG this year. 42 is now an inside joke and universal response between us. "42" can also take on any grammatical role in a sentence - verb, noun, adjective, adverb, explicative... you name it.

And we always take a towel with us when we travel.

TedP

P.S. - I like hidden pins. They keep the continuity of the wood grain intact.

P.P.S - DON'T PANIC!
 
bladsmth said:
It is based on the fact that 42 has many unique properties in math and sciences. 42 is called the perfect number for reasons too long to go into here. There are huge formulae that have 42 as the answer. The 3X3X3 math cube ( like 3D sodoku with 1-27) has 42 as the solution to all connections of three numbers .

There is a theory called The Gravity Train, which is a theoretical tube with no friction bored through the earth. When an object is dropped into one end and free falls to the other end, no matter where the hole is bored, how long the tube is, or even if it is not through the center of the earth, it will take exactly 42 minutes for the object to reach the other end.
.
Click to expand...

OH NOW YOUV DONE IT!!!!! my mind is going in circles!!
 
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