Scale attachment hardware

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panzerjunky

Joined
Aug 13, 2022
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134
Hello Again
I am getting closer to the point to where I can start getting stuff together for my scales. I am good to go on the pin ad epoxy got 5 feet of 1/8 and 1/4 round stock and 5 bottles of G flex. What I would like some help with is, I am making a few military type fighters and heavy bush knives. and I like the hex head counter sunk fastener look. Can someone tell me what they are called (Trade name) where to get and what size (my holes are 1/4 inch in my blanks my blanks are 3 /16) I looked at Corby but those end up looking the same as a pin also do I use a stepped drill bit any direction and help would be appreciated. I tried to search but all I got was knives for sale with the above-mentioned features.
Thanks Jerry
 
Funny, i wrk in aerospace engineering in the UK and here “hex head” strictly means external hexagon head, the kind you use a socket wrench on. These are not used on knives. I think you probably mean what we call socket hex head, which you use an Allen key to tighten.
The screws are the easy part. Many industrial supply companies sell cap head, pan head, or counter sunk head screws with socket hex and Torx socket heads. Harder to find threaded tube of the right size to work with the screws.

I think McMaster Carr probably sells all you need. I bought some from a place here in the UK called Accu fasteners, but they don’t have threaded tubes.

A 10-32UNF thread fits nicely in a 1/4” tube. I like the fine thread. More common is the use of a 8-32UNC, I think this is what Nathan Carothers uses , and his knives are something of a benchmark for the style.

I like Torx better than hex. Tx20 is good. Torx is Torx everywhere in the world, but hex can be either metric or Imperial, some sizes fit each other badly, some don’t fit.

good luck

Chris
 
Look at some of the knife supply companies. Knifekits has a lot of fastener types.
 
C_Claycomb said:
Funny, i wrk in aerospace engineering in the UK and here “hex head” strictly means external hexagon head, the kind you use a socket wrench on. These are not used on knives. I think you probably mean what we call socket hex head, which you use an Allen key to tighten.
The screws are the easy part. Many industrial supply companies sell cap head, pan head, or counter sunk head screws with socket hex and Torx socket heads. Harder to find threaded tube of the right size to work with the screws.

I think McMaster Carr probably sells all you need. I bought some from a place here in the UK called Accu fasteners, but they don’t have threaded tubes.

A 10-32UNF thread fits nicely in a 1/4” tube. I like the fine thread. More common is the use of a 8-32UNC, I think this is what Nathan Carothers uses , and his knives are something of a benchmark for the style.

I like Torx better than hex. Tx20 is good. Torx is Torx everywhere in the world, but hex can be either metric or Imperial, some sizes fit each other badly, some don’t fit.

good luck

Chris
Click to expand...
you are 100% correct I meant countersunk socket. Thanks for your help now i have at least some narrowed down options when you say 10/32 fits inside A 1/4 tube . do you tap the inside of the tube or simply epoxy the screws in ??
Thanks jerry
 
The simplest way to make removable scales is to use standoffs/inserts fitted into the tang and whatever bolt you like. If you drill the tang carefully you can press fit the threaded insert (also called a spacer). A drop of superglue will hold the spacer/standoff in the tang. There are dozens of bolt choices. The images below are from knifekits.com
One faux-pas that new makers do is use screws/bolts that are way too large. A pair of 2-56 screw screws will attach a handle scale quite securely. 4-40 is the largest you would likely ever want. #6 is overkill.

If I get a chance one day, I will make a tutorial on how to do a removable scale handle the easy way.

1661250509484.png1661250558001.png
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
One faux-pas that new makers do is use screws/bolts that are way too large. A pair of 2-56 screw screws will attach a handle scale quite securely. 4-40 is the largest you would likely ever want.
Click to expand...

I'm struggling to visualize this. Could you show an example of what you mean?
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Look at some of the knife supply companies. Knifekits has a lot of fastener types.
Click to expand...
Love Knife Kits for some stuff, even if shipping to the UK is robbery (USPS fault), but McMaster is the place for Female Threaded Round Standoffs and screws.

If those Gulso Bolts were available in the UK I would probably be all over them!

panzerjunky said:
you are 100% correct I meant countersunk socket. Thanks for your help now i have at least some narrowed down options when you say 10/32 fits inside A 1/4 tube . do you tap the inside of the tube or simply epoxy the screws in ??
Thanks jerry
Click to expand...
Sorry, when I said "tube" I meant a 1/4 rod that has been drilled and tapped. Once tapped you could call it a threaded tube. I tried drilling and tapping using my drill press as a guide and was spectacularly unsuccessful. A little lathe does the job. Better still would be to buy spacers or stand-offs ready threaded. As per my comment above about McMaster.

I picked up about 800 Mortorq socket head 10-32UNF screws some years ago, scrap from a project at work. The heads are relatively small compared to the thread, so that might be why I suggested 10-32. I think 8-32 is probably a better size. Being in the UK I have ended up buying metric, where M4 heads come in around 7.5 to 8.5mm diameter and the thread fits nicely in a 7/32 diameter rod (mixing units is great fun for finding just the right size matches). I use just two such screws on knives with 4.75" handles and 3.5 to 5" blades.

I have used a couple of methods, both using threaded tube that was about 1/4" longer than the thickness of my tang, so it would stick out about 1/8th each side. These projections fitted fairly snugly into holes in the handle material. Last few I actually reamed the handle slabs for fit. This gives shear resistance and location control with the screw just providing clamping. The only difference between the two methods was whether the tube-diameter hole went all the way through the handle, or whether the tube fitted in a counter-bore on the underside of the scale, with just a smaller male thread clearance size hole going through to the counter-bore or countersink on the outside of the handle. Depends on the diameter of the screw head vs diameter of the tube. Drilling your own tube and sourcing your own screws gives more choice, but if I could get the convenience of a ready made solution I would probably save myself teh trouble. Screw head sizes can be funny. I ordered a whole bunch of different M4 screws from Accu fasteners, some pan heads, some button but most were countersunk, and among the counter sunk there was a significant difference in head sizes depending on which length and socket type I selected.
 
item-round-female-standoff-ss__89403.1595011259.jpg
 
this is what you are looking for yes ? they are a Threaded Stand off mostly used in electronics .. there is literally every size/thread style you could ever want..
some places want like .50cents each when you buy lots..
 
I was referring to folks who use #8 and #10 screws with large heads to attach handle scales. If the stand-off stud is properly fitted into the scales (just like a hidden pin), it only requires a moderate amount of strength for the screw to retain the scales.
I don't do a lot of removable handles on fixed blade knives, but the few I do have #4 screws.
 
I simply use 1/8” or 3/16” folder pivots now.
 
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