Tip of the day (11-9)

Joined
Oct 2, 1999
Messages
834
Have you ever made a stick-tang knife and had trouble with the guard not fitting flush against the shoulders? Maybe you are just having trouble getting the shoulders squared off. I took 2 pieces of D2 steel (1/4"x2"x6")
and drilled 4 holes in each one. 2 holes are for precision ground pins. They keep the pieces lined up. The pins are press-fit into one piece only with the other piece having clearance holes (not too oversize). The other
holes are for screws to hold the whole thing together. You will need to space the holes far enough apart so that you can slide a blade in between. Once you get the pieces made you should harden the D2 to full hardness (no drawback). After hardening, assemble the parts and surface grind the edges. The jig is now complete.

To use the jig, simply loosen the screws and slide your blade into it. Line up the blade to where you want the shoulders and tighten the screws. Once this is done you file the shoulder area down to the jig. You should have square shoulders to fit the guard up against.

I hope that you guys can make sense of this.
E-mail me if you have any questions.

Barry jknives@gamewood.net
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=126319&a=926274
 
A jig like that is usefull for hand filing plunge cuts too.

Do you leave your guards flat, with the square hole for the tang drilled and filed in and fitting flat against the shoulders, or do you mill a slot in the front of the guard so that the shoulders are recessed a bit below the front surface of the guard?

Also, does anybody use David Boye's method of brazing guards on before HT and filing down to leave a smooth radius between the face of the guard and the blade?

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