Pinning material for handles

[lonepine]

I make full-tang knives and usually epoxy the handle scales to the tang and pin them in place using bronze welding/brazing rods from the hardware store. Lately though I have been changing to something that looks like a pin when installed but something that will hold better. I've been using small brass or stainless steel bolts.

I drill a hole that is not loose enough for the bolt to slip through but only just tight enough so that I have to use a screwdriver to get the bolt through. The hole can't be too tight though or screwing the bolts in might cause the wood, or whatever I'm using for handle material, to split. My thinking is that with the slight thread contact along with epoxy in the holes the bolts will hold the scales to the tang more securely than a relatively smooth pin will.

After cutting the head of the bolt off and filing it flush with the handle material it looks like a pin. Any thoughts on this?

Paul Meske, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

 

[Frank Niro]

I never was able to finish off the screws well enough to not show they really were not pins , and went to blind bolts in the end. Frank

 

[12345678910]

I've been using small brass or stainless steel bolts.

My thinking is that with the slight thread contact along with epoxy in the holes the bolts will hold the scales to the tang more securely than a relatively smooth pin will.

After cutting the head of the bolt off and filing it flush with the handle material it looks like a pin.

Any thoughts on this?

Did you do any like this yet, or just thinking about it.?

As you file it flush with the handle, especially as you contour it;
some parts of that thread will be exposed vs others.

The "pin" that shows will not be round.

You could file half round scallops into the centre of the round pin material for epoxy grip.

or just use Corby's
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/...0.html?zenid=5c52fa40d44a6170f95c2d348e19b3b7

 

[Bill DeShivs]

You could just peen the pins. It was done that way for hundreds of years before epoxy.

 

[tattooedfreak]

I used threaded rod for one handle. I tapped the tang and scale and put some epoxy on in the hole and just threaded it through, once the epoxy cured I cut flush and finished the handle like normal. I only did it the once though, too much work.

 

[lonepine]

I have used this method on a half dozen knives or so. Here is one example:

Quote: "The "pin" that shows will not be round."
Quote: "I never was able to finish off the screws well enough to not show they really were not pins..."

I understand what you're saying but this has not been a problem for me. I agree that heavy contouring could be problematic. Maybe it has worked for me because they've been in places where there wasn't much contouring or rounding over of the ends.

Quote: "You could just peen the pins. It was done that way for hundreds of years before epoxy. "

I would be afraid of splitting the handle material in the peening process. When I use normal pins I always rough it up with something like 220 grit sandpaper and make sure that there is epoxy on it when I push it into its hole. Isn't this the normal way of doing it? I never read about peening the pins used in the handle material. On a METAL bolster or finger guard, yes, but not with wood when using epoxy.


Quote: "I tapped the tang and scale and put some epoxy on in the hole and just threaded it through, once the epoxy cured I cut flush and finished the handle like normal. I only did it the once though, too much work."

I think that tapping the tang and scales would be a lot of work rather than just drilling an accommodating hole.

I'm not saying that this is a great thing to do in all situations. But It seemed that it could be a system that would grip the handle material better and still look good. The threads can certainly be a problem on heavily contoured areas and this would be a place where it should not be used.

Is it worth the extra effort and expense? Not if it doesn't look good. And even not if it doesn't work any better than a normal pin.

I appreciate the feedback. You all ROCK!

- Paul Meske, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

I've been in love with 4-40 cap screws lately. Tap the tang and bolt the scales on. I like the look that it gives. Plus, if you want flush, you can grind the top of the cap off and have a smooth top on.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Handle pins have been traditionally peened since handles were first put on knives. Properly peened handles don't need any glue at all. Gluing handles on is a relatively new phenomenon. Peening pins just requires a little finesse. That is the only way I install handle scales. I use a lot of different materials-bone, ivory, stag, mother of pearl, Micarta, horn, wood.
If you have never read about peening handle pins, you need to do a lot more reading.

 

[Fox Creek]

I have used Copper, brass, nickle silver and mild steel for pins. All peened. just counter sink a little relief and peen away. I have never split a wood or stag handle. Always anneal the pin stock, Commercial brass pin stock is work hardened as are nails. Nails are very low carbon steel and make great pin stock if drawn a bit. It is all in the technique. You have to cut the pin stock to just the right length so it protrudes a bit on each side of the scale, and round it off, dome it a bit, and use the right kind of tool, a small dome faced hammer to work it down.

 

[lonepine]

OK, I hear you telling me that peening pins is a good thing to do. Do you shape your handle material to its finished state and THEN fasten it to the tang with the pins or do you glue the material to the tang, shape it with rasps, files, and sandpaper and THEN drill the pin holes after the handle is shaped and ready for a final finish (if you apply one that is)?

How necessary is it to peen the pins if they are epoxied into the handle material?

Zaph
You said that you tap the tang for the 4-40 cap screws. Does each screw have its own hole on the tang or does a single tapped tang hole accommodate two cap screws? What metal are your cap screws made of? What is the thickness of the tang that you tap?

I feel sooooooo dumb asking these questions.

- Paul Meske