Pommels?

[VaughnT]

How are you guys sticking a flat piece of metal on to the handle for the pommel? I have a bit of antler I'm thinking of using for a handle, and would like to have a more finished look than the pith end presents.

I was thinking about using some 1/4" wrought iron I recently purchased, but don't see how I have any room to drill and tap it. Can you solder wrought iron? Can you weld to it? Epoxy?

Would I want to attach a nut to the inside that matched to a bit of all-thread welded to the knife tang?

 

[12345678910]

I expect that epoxy won't hold by itself, but would use it to seal it all up at the end.

You can silver braze ( high temp silver solder) and probably weld it too.

Look for coupling nuts - they are extra long

 

[DAMNENG]

Here is what I use: Take a 5/8" long flat head screw (use a non plated plain steel screw) , #10 to 1/4" coarse thread, sand the top of the head flat and silver solder it to the center of the pommel. Drill a hole slightly larger in diameter than the screw and deep enough to hold the entire screw. Counter sink the hole to accept the taper on the flat head. Test fit and adjust the hole until you can align the pommel with the handle. Once you get it aligned, I suggest you hold it in place and make it with a Sharpie or something similar so when you go to glue (epoxy) it in place you don't have to figure out which way to turn it to get it to fit. A figer spacer between the pommel and the handle helps keep thermal expansion differences from poping your glue joint.

Jim Arbuckle
ABS JS

 

[sunshadow]

drill 2 small holes through the wrought iron plate that are the same size as a piece of steel wire or a nail shank use those as guides to drill matching holes in the end of the antler. Stick the wire through the holes and peen the visable ends into a decorative rivet mushroom. Trim the wire on the handle side to fit in the holes in the antler. Scribe your outline and trim the plate to match. Finish and polish the plate, then use 2ton epoxy to attach it to your antler

-Page

 

[Salem Straub]

You could drill and tap it, if you were careful. I've done this before with 1/4" stock for a buttcap, I used a 1/4x28 tap and since I had no bottoming tap (gets the threads all the way to the bottom of a blind hole) I ground a plug tap to have a flatter end. If you put a depth stop setting or piece of tape on the bit to where you can at least see when to stop drilling, it should work. You can even test out the depth stop in mild steel of the same thickness for a practice run.
However, I too would recommend brazing a coupler nut onto the buttcap. Grind the zinc coating off first, then grind the bottom of the nut where the braze joint will be nice and flat for maximum mating area. Use a 120 belt or so to give it some "tooth." Make sure the nut is totally perpendicular to the plane of the buttcap, otherwise the fit will look bad. I made a jig out of some square tube that allows me to get it perpendicular and clamp it there with screw pressure from above. I prefer to use a fine thread coupler nut on the buttcap and braze a fine thread bolt section with a "V" joint to the end of the tang. The v-joint gives the tang-end braze joint more mating surface and more strength. I use fine thread because I get more adjustment for fitting with it (greater number of turns to snug towards the grip end.) Also, I figure the more threads the less likely to strip out.