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- Feb 4, 1999
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Okay, I read through every thread on stag and peening pins in Shop Talk and the archive, but I have a couple things to clear up still... I made a knife from some of Kim Breed's cable damascus, and I'm putting stag scales and damascus pins on it. It has a FULL TANG. My questions:
1) Is it better to: a) epoxy the scales and pins in like any other knife I make, then grind the pins to sort of match the shape of the stag's surface, b) to epoxy/peen, or c) to just peen the pins?
2) If it's best to just epoxy it all, then shape the pins using a Dremel, which attachment would I want to use? Pins are hopefully going to be damascus!
3) If I peen the pins, to get the pin to sort of match the scale contours, do I use something like a rounded off punch instead of the hammer?
4) I assume my construction goes like this: glue one scale, drill scale, glue other scale, flip over and drill through the whole works to get it all evened up. Then peen or shape pins (whatever the best advice above is), then finish the stag and pins.
Finishing questions:
1) I want the stag to retain as much natural beauty as possible. When contouring with the tang, do I sand it up just like usual (being careful not to burn it of course)? Then buff it to get it shiny? I don't buff anything, so what color compound and type of byffing wheel do I use?
2) For the surface of the scales I'm thinking I want to remove a little of the brown color from the tops of the ridges, but keep color in the valleys. Do I sand a little using a fine grit paper, or do I just buff immediately? Do I use the same compound and wheel as above? Will buffing remove too much color in the valleys and force me to dye or color the handle somehow (I don't want to do this!)?
3) Any idea for the best way to mask off the material around the pins for when I etch them? I assume I'll mask, then use a q-tip to just get the ferric chloride where I want it, but how/what would I use to mask everything off? Or, just dab a tiny eensy weensy bit of FC on the q-tip and dab the surface of the pins?
Sorry for all the questions, but at $20 for a pair of scales and with rare pin material I don't want to screw up! Especially since Kim bought the scales for me because he wants the knife when I finish it! Pressure is ON!
1) Is it better to: a) epoxy the scales and pins in like any other knife I make, then grind the pins to sort of match the shape of the stag's surface, b) to epoxy/peen, or c) to just peen the pins?
2) If it's best to just epoxy it all, then shape the pins using a Dremel, which attachment would I want to use? Pins are hopefully going to be damascus!
3) If I peen the pins, to get the pin to sort of match the scale contours, do I use something like a rounded off punch instead of the hammer?
4) I assume my construction goes like this: glue one scale, drill scale, glue other scale, flip over and drill through the whole works to get it all evened up. Then peen or shape pins (whatever the best advice above is), then finish the stag and pins.
Finishing questions:
1) I want the stag to retain as much natural beauty as possible. When contouring with the tang, do I sand it up just like usual (being careful not to burn it of course)? Then buff it to get it shiny? I don't buff anything, so what color compound and type of byffing wheel do I use?
2) For the surface of the scales I'm thinking I want to remove a little of the brown color from the tops of the ridges, but keep color in the valleys. Do I sand a little using a fine grit paper, or do I just buff immediately? Do I use the same compound and wheel as above? Will buffing remove too much color in the valleys and force me to dye or color the handle somehow (I don't want to do this!)?
3) Any idea for the best way to mask off the material around the pins for when I etch them? I assume I'll mask, then use a q-tip to just get the ferric chloride where I want it, but how/what would I use to mask everything off? Or, just dab a tiny eensy weensy bit of FC on the q-tip and dab the surface of the pins?
Sorry for all the questions, but at $20 for a pair of scales and with rare pin material I don't want to screw up! Especially since Kim bought the scales for me because he wants the knife when I finish it! Pressure is ON!
