Slip Joint Construction

[Don Hanson III]

That is some beautful work Don! Question about the washers, are you punching them out, or are they available commercially. Thx

I punch most of them, but do buy some from USA Knife Maker. They have a good selection. But if a 3/32" pivot pin is used you have to punch them.

 

[Don Hanson III]

Most older manufactured slipjoints solved the problem of lube and perhaps scratches (mostly) by using brass liners instead of harder material.
You hardly see brass liners used these days, I'm not sure if it's a fashion thing or something else, I've always meant to try them and see how bad the tang scratching would be- still seems like an easy place to have grit build up, but that could happen with an .005 washer, too.
Any thoughts on that? Anyone out there use brass or bronze without a washer or relief?

I made the first 100 or slipjoints with brass liners & nickel silver bolsters, no washers & no relief. The tangs got scratched up quickly, but these were cheap users & no complaints... Most folks buying custom slipjoints today want SS liners & bolsters and no scratches on the tangs, actually they are a picky lot, but I love em.

 

[kuraki]

I noticed that too. My favorite slip joint is actually a slipjoint and a liner lock Old Timer that belonged to my father. The liners are brass. The locking liner included. Of course, I wouldn't be able to tell if there were any scratches from the liners with the patina that thing has developed anyway.

 

[Steve Beckwith]

So here is where I am at this point. I have heat treated both the blade and spring at 1480, quenched in Parks 50, and tempered at 400 for 2 one hour periods, water quenching in between. I know the spring is still too hard but I would really prefer to temper to a little more exact temperature than to heat past blue and water quench. What is the proper temperature to temper a spring? Thanks, S

 

[HSC ///]

I'm going to say in the 575 dwg F range...
curious as I've been thinking to try a Tempilstik for this spring temper until I get the hang of it

 

[elementfe]

Odd- I find a lot of data in Machinist's Handbook on tempering for hardness, but none specifically for spring tempering. Anyone got chapter and verse on that one?