Soldering

E

Ellison

Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
47
Im a fairly new knife maker, Ive made a quite a few but Ive always pined and epoxied my finger guards. Im currently making 7 knifes and for something dif I decided to solder theses ones. The problem is that no matter what I do when I scrape off the excess with the brass scraper I made I uncover pits in the solder. I cant seem to get rid of theses pits or bubbles unless I scrape all the solder off and just leave a sharp corner between the blade and guard.......PLEASE HELP IM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!
 
Sounds like your are getting the metal and solder too hot. Don't keep cooking the solder once you apply it.

I'm sure the experts who solder guards on a regular basis will have better info.

Good luck.
 
i have never soldered guards but i have years of soldering copper pipe and copper to brass with my plumbing background. the trick to soldering is that once it starts to melt pull the heat source away and run your bead of solder. i dont know if that is the right way or if doing it like you would electronics. and with electronics you heat the other side and run your solder until it starts to melt and then pull your heat source away. are you using any flux when your soldering? also if you fill in your profile more, mainly the location, we can help you find a maker near you to assist you with it. i hope some of this helps.
 
another method i just remembered is that you start heating up the area to solder with the heat source for about 5-10 seconds and pull it away and touch the solder to it. if its not hot enough then go for another 5 seconds and repeat the process until its hot enough to melt the solder. also remember you dont need too much solder. and dont forget the flux and to make sure the surfaces are clean.
 
All of the above and use a sharpened 1/16" welding rod and run along the melted solder seam to pop all the air bubbles. A solder brush will do the same thing. It also helps to have a very small gap (tight fit)
 
OR, if you are making hidden tang knives, slip/press fit the guard and use JB Weld instead of solder:D There is a very good tutorial on this by Terry Primos.
 
I think you hit the nail on the head Bruse, I did one more and it worked great, I got a nice tight radi connecting the blade and the guard lets hope it was that and not just luck
 
I use little pieces of solder flatten with a hammer and cut into 5/32 inch square sizes and lay them around the joint on top of the flux. I heat the guard and blade, not the solder. The solder will melt and flow when the blade and guard reaches the right temperature and will flow into the joint and come out the other side as a bright silver line without the danger of overheating. I think the soldered joint is meant to be as invisible as possible so ideally, there should be no solder seen in the joint.
 
Soldering .....I hate this step.

Sometimes I solder my guard and it's great...I walk into the house to show my solder joint to my wife as if I always do it so good.

Other times I have a nightmare on my hands, nothing works, no advice helps, I wish I never made my first knife...
 
Clean everything twice.
Use the minimum heat necessary to melt the solder.
Make sure it is clean first.

Did I mention cleaning the joint?
Place the heat source below the solder and it will draw the solder toward it.
Stacy
 
I Had A Hard Time Soldering Guards Until I Had A Top Shelf Maker Teach Me The Trick. Clean The Joint Good. Heat The Joint Slowly.
Brush Flux Around The Joint Where You Want The Solder To Flow.
Wipe The Tip Of The Solder On The Joint Until The Heat Comes Up Enough To Melt The Solder, Wipe The Tip Of The Solder Around The Whole Joint (dont Melt Too Much Solder). Then Dip Your Acid Brush Back Into The Flux & Brush The Joint With The Flux. The Solder Will Then Flow All The Way Around The Joint Nicely. Clean Excess Solder Of With A Brass Graver & Polish On The Buffer.
 
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