Tightening up a loose Bowie fingerguard

Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam

Joined
Dec 17, 2001
Messages
1,055
I have a Bowie with a brass finger guard that's a tad loose. It's held in place just fine, not about to fall off or anything, but it rattles a bit. Are there any tricks for tightening these up without disassembling the knife? I'm thinking peening, solder, something along those lines. Any suggesions?

Thanks,

-- Sam
 
No digicam, I'm afraid. Here's a link to a picture of the knife on a vendor site (last item on page), but there's no close up to show the construction.

Knife is full tang construction with a brass guard and stag scales. There's a notch in the blade at the tang which keeps the guard in place in front, and it rests against the scales in the rear. There's just enough play that it can move and rattle.

-- Sam
 
Assuming it's the Russell:
Remove the scale pins by tapping from one side until the head protrudes from the other side slightly. Grind the protruding head off. Now tap the pin in the other direction. Grind off the other protruding head. Continue alternating like this until the heads are completely gone, and drive the pins out. Remove the scales. You will need to solder the guard in place. Should you decide to go this route, let me know and I'll give you instructions for the soldering. Any chance you can return the knife?
Bill
 
Thanks for the info, Bill. Yes, it was the Russell.

As for returning it, not at this point. But it's not really that bad. Just slightly annoying. It doesn't affect function. Thought if it was a matter of smacking it with a hammer I might try to fix it, but I can live with it.

-- Sam
 
Don't want to hyjack your thread but I noticed the Fallkniven NL1 Thor Bowie Knife just above yours. I'm making a canvas micarta handle for one, the owner lives in Vermont and can't grip the handle in the cold. Maybe I'll post a pic when it's done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top