Tips for Stainless Bolsters

[SLC_Blades]

So I’m about to attempt my first knife with stainless steel bolsters and I’m looking for some tips. I’ve only done one knife with bolsters before and they were brass, which is obviously much easier to work with. Is the sequence of operations from attaching them the same as brass? I’m mainly concerned about countersinking the holes and peening the pins— because the stainless is so hard, and therefore much harder to peen (I assume), how long do I want the pin to be on each side before I start peening?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

It is better to use a tapered reamer on the holes than just a countersink.
The ends should be proud half the thickness of the pin. For a 1/8" pin that would be sticking out 1/16" above the surface on both sides.
You want to use 416 stainless and pins for bolsters.