pins?

J

jon3z

Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
6
Hi,
I'm absolutely new to this and realized that today when I joined I can't run a search because I'm not a paying member yet. I got one of the "microtech" blanks off ebay for my first project. Mostly because it will be a lot easier to start with that and I like the knife. I was wondering if that company uses their own special hardware for the handle or if you can get it at the supply places. At this point its my only real hang up because everthing is already cut for a specific size and I can't seem to find anything that would be a good fit. I'm pretty much stuck here and not sure what I can do. Any help would be great. Thanks.
 
You have picked a difficult kit for your first knife, D2 tool steel is not the easiest steel to work with. I went over to ebay for a look see, the knife is unground which means you will need to grind it, heat treat it and finish it out.
Go to www.usaknifemaker.com for pins. The info on ebay did not give the hole size for pins. I assume they are a standard size, from the pictures I am guessing 1/4 or 5/16 pins. Measure to be sure. Again from the pictures it looks like you will need to use solid or mosaic pin material.
After you have the knife ground make sure you have all the grind marks sanded out because you won't be getting them out after heat treat.
If you have an oven, one that will heat up to 1875 degrees you can do the heat treat yourself. You can find the needed info by doing a google search. If you don't, send it off to Peters Heat treat, you can find them on the net too.
Good luck
 
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As you can see from the pics that the outer hole is a larger diameter than the inner. The inner hole matches the hole in the steel. It is a right at 3/8". The outer hole is a hair under 1/2" but right at 12mm as measure with my handy dandy calipers. That was my plan to grind it and send it off. I don't have access to an oven like that and like I said I'm new so I want to see how this works before I drop too much coin. thanks for the quick replies.
IMG00173-20100321-1726.jpg


IMG00174-20100321-1726.jpg
 
I see now that they are recessed for a corby style rivet, although you may play hob trying to get some that size. Buy some 3/8 hex bolts in stainless or brass and round them to fit if you can't find anything else. You can also check jantz supply for rivets.
 
So I found some screws and round spacers that will need to be modified, but seem like they'd work. I'll post some pics, it may help someone out.
 
For that kit, the bolts that are made for the knife are sometimes sold on the Bay within the same listings as you found the kit. The knife kits are always there, but I've only seen the Microtech bolts available a few times, priced between $25-$30.

Between the challenges of the D2 and the unavailability of the matching hardware, I haven't been bold enough to tackle that project personally.
 
Yeah, no dice on the bolts. I found a site that has the bits for their other stuff in the process though. I figured something out that should work well and look decent without working too hard. Some snake eye pan head screws and have to tap some spacers. So far its pretty simple but I already broke the snake eye bit. I should listen to my dad about using the power tools. O well, get another tomorrow and like I said I'll post some pics.
 
Bill has an excellent suggestion. Just use brass or copper tubing and flare it.

Another easy riveting technique on those handles is to find/make a set of brass or steel washers that fit the larger hole. Chamfer the center hole on the washers. Use a rivet of similar material to fit the washer holes, and peen it to lock the washers in place. This is sometimes called a cutler's rivet, but is not the same as the cutler's rivets sold today ( which are hollow two piece rivets). The look is the same though.
Military swords, bayonets, and knifes have been riveted this way for centuries.
 
Took some pics today of my progress. Picked up some spacers that fit perfectly,
IMG00176-20100323-1730.jpg

then drilled and threaded them,
IMG00177-20100323-1730.jpg

I had to open the hole on the handle scales just a tad, but the spacers fit the blade holes perfectly. These spacers are just a hair shorter than the total distance across. I have to cut the screws down a bit as you can see here,
IMG00178-20100323-1731.jpg

The snake eye screws are kinda cool i guess,
IMG00179-20100323-1731.jpg

and finally you can see that I'll have to grind the head down a little.
IMG00180-20100323-1731.jpg

shouldn't be a problem, just need to mark them. The holes for the snake eye tool go down pretty far so hopefully won't be an issue. Plus I won't need to after its all in place anyway. Sounds ok but again, this is my first time so I guess we'll see.
 
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