Soldering vs. Brazing

S

steveba

Joined
Jan 7, 1999
Messages
89
How many makers braze instead of silver solder their guards and bolsters to the knife? I have soldered copper plumbing and such but have never brazed. Is it more difficult? It would seem easier to finish a brazed blade as you can clean up the joint before the heat treat. Can brass bolsters and guards be brazed or will these melt along with the rod? What point does brazing rod liquify? I have access to both equipment but would like some input before I ruin a blade trying it out.
 
Brazing is stronger than soldering, however
it requires much more heat(@1000dgs.F).
It will produce a very durable effect compared to the solder but it is much more
difficult.Practice is advised.Make sure you
use Pre-fluxed rods too.
Bolsters and brass guards will not fuse to
the blade without signifigant heat and effort....often in vain!
I have been experimenting with arc welding with great results and would advise research in that area.
 
Brazing is how I have been attaching guards and butt caps for many years, but it is time consuming to clean them up. I usually build up quite a bit of brass to make sure of good coverage. One major downside to brazing is that sometimes you will get pits that are not visible until you are nearly flush and finished. Sometimes the pits can be fixed and sometimes, it's just better to start over. In my opinion, a brazed guard is more pleasing to the eye, so the hard work will pay off.
Cat_x29 is right about one for sure, this takes practice, practice, practice. I have botched more times than I care to remember.

Don't give up on it! It's frustrating at first, but you'll get the hang of it! Email me if you have more questions, I'll be glad to help. Let me know how it turns out.

[This message has been edited by Scott Park (edited 27 April 1999).]
 
Thanks for the info. I'll practice on scrap until I get comfortable then go for it. Are there any circumstances where soldering is prefered? It sounds like once you learn how to braze you don't go back to soldering.
 
Actually Steveba, I'm going to silver solder guards on this weekend with a new approach. I think it will be lots quicker, but the last time I tried to solder, it I wrecked my heat treat(my first time soldering guards). Darrel Ralph replied to my post couple of months ago and explained how to solder. I still like the looks of a brazed guard though.
 
You can soft solder the guards on with ease .. Silver or silver brazing is a bit hot for my taste. IF you fit the guard real tight to begin with you can get by with Jb weld. Many knife makers use this method also.

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Web Site At www.infinet.com/~browzer/bldesmth.html
Take a look!!!




 
There is no real difference in the techniques of soldering or brazing in my opinion. The difference between the two is in the melting tempurature of the joining material, i.e. soft solder, silver solder or brass brazing rod. With any of these methods, the important thing is to make sure everything is spotlessly clean, you have a good fit and that you protect those things you don't want to get hot from the heat. I just reread the question.....!!!! You cannot braze snything to a blade and then heat treat, unless you are only selectively hardening the blade. For example, brass melts at 1975F about the same tempurature that you need to heat Ats-34 up to heat treat.

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Ron Ruppé
www.ruppe.com/Knives/index.htm
 
Just the warning I needed Ron. I was under the impression that the brazing could be done before any heat treat. That seems to limit the usefulness of brazing to asthetics and personal whims.

I'll keep experimenting and have yet to try soft soldering. That may be next.

Thanks again for the info.

Steve
 
I use a method I ran accross on Knifemakers Bar and Grill. I use a large 750 watt soldering iron. I milled a slot in the copper tip and inserted another piece of copper into it. The second piece has a slot in it also. I put the guard and blade, point up, in the slot. I flatten out my solder (soft solder) until it's very thin and I place a very small piece of solder in the joint. When the solder starts to melt I DIP my solder in the flux and sweep the solder around the joint, then I use and old scribe in the joint to remove any air pockets. I let it cool and use a piece of brass to clean up the solder joint. I have tried many different ways and this works the best for me.
Tom

[This message has been edited by T. Militano (edited 29 April 1999).]
 
WRT brazing, the last time I read about it was in David Boye's book "Step By Step Knifemaking" If you are using Carbon steel, you can Brass or Nickel braze before heat treatment. With Stainless or other more alloyed steels, I am leary of heating the blades any more than necesary, even when heat control paste is used. I have used the low temp-Silver bearing Eutectic 157 solder for quite a while, and it works better than others I have used.

RJ Martin
 
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