Stainless for bolsters

[MJORG]

I am an amateur maker and would like to try some stainless bolsters. A review of the catalogs indicate a choice of 303, 304, 316 or 416. Which would be best for bolster on ATS-34 stock removal blades?

 

[Adamantium]

Alot of knifemakers use 303 and 416. So you would be fairly safe to stick with those. I'm not sure about the other two though.

Sincerely,
Adam

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Self improvement is a hobby of mine .

 

[george tichbourne]

Types 304 and 316 are the most common varieties of stainless steel but are a little harder to work with than the 416 I am told. I use 304 and 316 occasionally and do not find them all that difficult. A sharp drill run at a low speed with lubricant takes care of drilling. Running at high speed seems to make stainless sticky and you will break small drills easily.

I use a high sulphur pipe threading lubricant for drilling stainless, smells bad but works well.

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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com

 

[tom mayo]

from what i have seen....the main reason for using different grades is not so much how they work but how they end up....one of the main reasons for using 416 is that it is magnetic and can be put on a magchuck for precision grinding etc...plus it can be heat treated....the engravers like that because a little bit of harder makes it cut cleaner... the 300 series are nonmagnetic but ive used all of them....if you have some laying around by all means use it and dont worry about the grade.....some polish up a little easier etc but i dont think there are a lot of major differences....myself....i have a lot of 416 but i stopped putting bolster on knives so...but thats what i used to use.. more expensive.....one reason i started soldering all my guards on was the blood factor....mostly i make tools...and blood can seep under the tightest fit bolster and then you are dead....rust creeping out from underneath....by the way....rough shape your bolsters down to near finish size before you put the handle material on or you will get the handle material way hotter than you would like grinding the bolster with handle material attached...trust me....ive turned handle material black....and had it peel up from getting the epoxy so hot it let go....

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http://www.mayoknives.com

 

[Corduroy]

316 is tougher to work than 303. I thought 416 was tougher than either of them, but I might be wrong on that. In any case, they're all a breeze next to blade steels.

Whichever you choose, make sure your pins are of the same type. It is possible to spot pins of some grades when set in others, even when ground perfectly flush; this is due to slight color differences. The same goes for bolsters and pins of other metals. I made some folders with brass bolsters where the pins were obvious because they were a darker type of brass!

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-Drew Gleason
Little Bear Knives