Proud corby bolts/pins

weo

weo

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Sep 21, 2014
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Hello all. I did a search and found a thread on how to fix this, but I'm wondering if there's a way to prevent it in the first place.

Occasionally, the corby bolts and spine of a full tang knife stick out a little as you get to the final grits of finishing the handle. It's not to the point of being visual, but when I run my fingers along the scales, I can feel a slight bump where the corby bolt is. The transition is smooth, and I know the fix is to sand the pin CAREFULLY so as not to sand the scale any more.

I'm assuming that what causes this is that the scales are softer than the steel, allowing it to get sanded down quicker. This hasn't happened consistently for me, so I'm not sure what I need to change. I know that without observing my technique, it'll be hard to give me advice on what to change.

Thanks

as always
peace and love
billyO
 
Always polish from the metal to the softer handle material instead of polishing the softer handle material on to the harder tang or bolt.

Hoss
 
This is another thing a variable speed disc sander is good for. Depending of course on the shape and contour of your handle.
 
Flat chainsaw file is excellent for this job .That s what I Use .It will cut stainless steel , brass , copper with easy and leave fine finish and in same time barely bite in wood ...............
 
Hi all. Thanks for the replies.
Josh Rider said:
When you sand, your backer needs to be rigid. I usually use a steel bar or g10 to keep them the same level.
Click to expand...

Thanks Josh. I think I've got this down, though. My handles seem to be fine until I get to the higher grits, 1000 or 2000.

DevinT said:
Always polish from the metal to the softer handle material instead of polishing the softer handle material on to the harder tang or bolt.

Hoss
Click to expand...

Makes sense, but how do you do that efficiently when working on the middle bolt (well, all of them I guess)



This may be for a different thread, but my technique for finishing my handles previously was 400g on the grinder (with the hard platen) then going directly to my dremel with a polishing wheel. These last couple (where I'm noticing this difficulty) I've done the grinder to 400g, then by hand 800g, 1200g, 2000g, 5000g. I really like the higher polish on the handle with this technique, but have noticed this issue.

On a mildly related note, on my last wa handle, a block of ebony, I'm getting a pretty polished surface, but can still see some tiny holes/pores/grain. Is it possible to get a completely glass like surface like if you were using a synthetic material (and ths do I need to continue to work on this one) or are these "pores" unavoidable with a natural material.

Again, thanks.
~billyO
 
I had the same issue. It could be a couple things. 1. Is the wood completely dry? Mine used to do it more on wood handles as I would wet it a little to keep from burning the wood when the corbys would heat up. Then when it dried out I think the wood would draw up. 2. I started doing all my polishing on the platen. I take the corby bolts to 800 or so and buff. You can use the shoe polish method to even out the flat spot in the handle left by the platen. As far as the tang goes I use a contact wheel for the spine and a small wheel attachment with a hard rubber coating for the belly. I hope this helps.
 
Thanks Matt. I think I'll try flattening them again on the platen, then round them out with the "shoe polish" method, but that's already how I do the last few grits, putting the blade in my blade vice and doing 3 back and forth passes fore and aft (one with the strip/swipes perpendicular to the handle, one at a 45 degree angle and the last one at a 45 degree angle the other way. I also start at the spine, then rotate the vice 45 degrees each set of 3 working my way around the handle all 360 degrees.
Also, pretty much every handle I do is K&G stabilized maple from my trees.
 
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