Stacked leather/micarta handle can’t peen pommel on

[Tin.Man]

Besides just epoxy any other ways to do this? Using not a simple tool steel and worry about the steel crumbling or getting brittle if I try and hot peen it since it’s an air hardening steel.

Don’t have the tooling or th experience to do a threaded tang, appreciate any help!

 

[kn4wd]

use a pin thru the side of the pommel. if you had enough to peenall yo needed do was thread the tang and pommel and go that way. all is needed is a die, a tap and the handles for them, in a pinch you can use a wrench to turn either if the handle isn't avalible, that should have been done before hardening it though. on stick tang types I never harden the tang though

 

[Rick Marchand]

It doesn't take much to peen it over. You should have annealed the end of the tang the best you could. Is it already stacked and epoxied? If not heat up the end with a torch and put it in wood ash... do this a few times. Make the butt cap a press fit, so you can tap it all together, once it is epoxied. after it has cured, trim the protruding tang close to the cap and use a small hammer or punch to SLOWLY peen the tang over.

At least, that's how I do it.

 

[JTknives]

If it's air hardening steel I don't think he should or needs to try to fully anneal it by heating and slow cooling. I think if he used a torch but kept it under critical ac1 it would be soft enough for a mild peen. Just a sub critical anneal

 

[Lieblad]

As mentioned, if its a metal pommel and parts fit up tightly, wont take too much peening.
But tang is going to work harden as its peened too. You wont get too many hits before you can feel it harden.

Sometimes as ’something different’, I cut a lengthwise slot into tangs end, then drive in a wedge.

 

[Tin.Man]

Guys appreciate the responses!!

Rick nope just getting a plan before I start. Funny I was looking at your Instagram when I thought I should try a peened pommel

You make a few dimples with a punch right, then when you hammer with ball pein it flares at the punches correct?

Kn4wd Guess I am not ruling out threaded pommel, but trying to give the tang as much meat as possible so say going with a 3/4 wide tang, I would need to round the tang, then use something close to a 3/4 thread pattern?


Jt sub critical as in below austenizing or below tempered temp?

Edit to add most likely pommel and guard will be g10

 

[Rick Marchand]

Sub-critical anneal is easy... well, the redneck version is, at least. Heat it until you just start to see dull red(in low light) and let cool down (to where it won't burn paper upon touching) do that a few times and it'll be soft.

 

[Rick Marchand]

You make a few dimples with a punch right, then when you hammer with ball pein it flares at the punches correct?

I used to do it that way but found it to be too extreme. After a couple cracks, I decided that patience is indeed a virtue I need to work on. Slow and steady.

 

[olymon]

How about a hidden tang. Notch the tang like a key and drill your pommel with some holes at a slight angle so your epoxy locks in good when assembled just make sure you compensate for that leather squish during assembly.

 

[Tin.Man]

Sub-critical anneal is easy... well, the redneck version is, at least. Heat it until you just start to see dull red(in low light) and let cool down (to where it won't burn paper upon touching) do that a few times and it'll be soft.

Rick thank you!


This won’t be problematic with a steel that has high hot hardness say m4 or high temper like cru-wear?

Did you do away with the dimples, just trying to slowly mushroom the tang?

 

[Rick Marchand]

I don't use those steels but I would think that because all you are doing is "excessively tempering" that it shouldn't be a problem. Just stay away from critical as JT pointed out. There should be specs on tempering those steels.

I used a small ball peen or rounded punch to start the edges of the protruding tang. Then I move to an 18oz ball peen to work it down from the center. Sometimes, I stipple it with dimples and sometimes I don't. It all depends on the look I want.

Using a ball peen is risky because an errant strike will mar the butt cap. The safe route is a punch ground to a peen or cupped to dome the tang.

 

[Richard338]

Tin.Man you might be surprised at how easy a threaded tang is (assuming you want a permanent fit).
I have a cheap tap and die set and a printed table of sizes for the threaded rod and corresponding drill for the hole.
I just round the tang roughly on the grinder to about the right size, thread it, drill and tap the hole. Even if things aren't perfect (tang not round etc), it will still grab and then I fill the hole with some JB Weld for good measure.
I like how tightening it on compresses the handle parts and guard into a nice fit.

 

[Hengelo_77]

here's an old/bad pic but it should give you an idea.
Basicaly cut a T-shaped slot in the end of your tang that holds a screw so the thread part sticks out

 

[olymon]

You could make a special dimple tool but putting a drill rod or hardened pin in the head of a small hammer. The small pin sticking out can be ground to the shape you want and glued in the hole drilled in the hammer. The hammer adds weight to the strike of the pin and a way to get an accurate hit. Wish I could easily post a pic of the one we use here at work.

 

[jdm61]

Go to Home Depot and buy a tap and die kit. That and your belt grinder is all you need assuming the tang steel is not hardened. Otherwise, do like Hengelo says or do a clevis setup.

 

[Tin.Man]

Thanks guys! Lot to think about. Jdm what’s a clevis setup?