tips, tricks, hacks

H

HSC ///

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Nov 7, 2012
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Recently I spent a few days improving my skills with handles and guards
you can read about it here - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1420037-a-few-days-learning-with-an-ABS-Mastersmith

I walked away with a few pages of notes on methods, tips, and hacks, some of them worth a million dollars!
well not exactly but they are valuable

I'd like to share a couple here and see if others would be willing to offer up some tips.

regards
Harbeer

hidden tang clamp - saw cut out the top to create a fork.

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pin vise clamp
take two plates and make a pin vise clamp
you can form the head of the presentation side first using this tool.

clamp in your vise and use it to peen and then buff (cut with black)
You can use the same two plates for various different size and diameters. Just mill drill or grind out as required

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i like that idea, because you can change the length of the pin. this is what i have been using, i set the drill press depth stop 1/16" from the bottom of this big 1 1/8" tall nut and drilled 1/16", 3/32 and 1/8" holes and use it to dome pin heads before installing.
 
Harbeer and John, I think the most successful knife makers are the ones who take note of hundreds of little ideas on how to accomplish small tasks in a professional way. I am always interested in new ideas on how to tackle certain jobs. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas. Larry Lehman
 
no problem larry. sometimes you can come up with something totally new by viewing the way other people do things. i guess everyone else is keeping theirs a secret :D
 
That hidden tang clamp trick is solid gold, and I'm about to try my first knife of that style so thank you! I'd offer up some of my own, but I'm so new that mine would be rudimentary stuff that's already covered everywhere in the forums.

Though maybe I can bring in some tips from the woodworking/music instrument world, I'll wait till I have pictures though because the proof is in the pudding.
 
Most of my jigs are off-shoots from nick wheelers concepts. If people are interested I'll be happy to share.
 
Fine, I'll play.


Sanding or chamfering the end of pins can be tricky. The disc or belt wants to pull it out of your hand and it heats up very quickly which makes it hard to hang on very long. So, I use an artist's pencil lead holder. I use this larger diameter lead holder for 1/8" pins.



This smaller diameter holder I use for narrower pins or with a toothpick seen here for clean up work in tight spaces. These can also be used with a pointed brass rod as a scribe, etc.



I do a lot of work in the basement of my house. I try to keep that part of the shop clean. This is because I am a closet neat freak and more importantly because my cats go down there. I don't want any sharp metal shards or chips ending up inside my babies. So, to help keep chips and other debris from getting tossed around my shop I use this makeshift drill guard (from an old bucket of potato salad) when drilling. Shavings stay mostly on the drill press which I can clean up quickly.



This one I've mentioned before. To help get my handles fairly symmetrical I use a contour gauge. I think it's pretty self explanatory but people have asked me how it works. So here are a couple of pics with one of my handle broaches. Press the gauge into one side and flip it over to compare to the other side. Adjust one side or the other until they match. 'Nuf said.



 
Golf balls make good file handles. This one little trick made a huge difference in my carpal tunnel symptoms, and allowed me to do filework again.

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When making a full tang knife with hidden pins, drill and tap your pin holes in the tang do you can use screws with the heads cut off as your pins. The threads are great for holding the epoxy when you glue your handle scales on.
 
PaMtnBkr said:
When making a full tang knife with hidden pins, drill and tap your pin holes in the tang do you can use screws with the heads cut off as your pins. The threads are great for holding the epoxy when you glue your handle scales on.
Click to expand...

good one, what size screws do you prefer to use?
 
nice stuff guys ! i like the drill press chip guard, i use something similar. the pencil for holding pins, golf balls. groy87- same here. i got lots of ideas from nick. i made a cheesey version of his domed pin jig i will post later. i do not weld so i made simpler versions.
 
HSC, on the metal plates for each size pin, I have just gotten by using 2 pieces of soft wood with the pin clamped between them in a vise. The wood forms around the pin, and will hold it, and it'll work for any size pin. Then you don't have to worry about making the groove too large.
 
Here is my pin vice. I clamped a piece of pop can between it, then drilled a few common sizes of pins. 1/16" 3/32" and 1/8"

Here is some leather lined angle iron pieces that I use to hold blades i dont want to scratch.
 
"NO Weld knife Vise" i was shopping for one of these a few months ago. the cheapest one i could find was $50. i didn't like it because it had a piece of angle iron welded to the bottom to be clamped in the vise, which would get in the way if i turned it on its side in my bench vise and limit the number of positions i could hold it with. then i noticed the only reason it needed to be welded was because of the "up" pressure on the bolt that tightens the jaws. i realized if the nut was inside, it would push against the body of the vise and welding would not be needed. so i bought the rectangle body off ebay for $12, bought a nut, bolt and knob/handle at the hardware store for $8. i drilled a hole, set the nut in the right spot with a few drops of crazy glue, clamped it in the vise upside down, and applied JB weld around the nut. put some jbweld on the bolt before screwing it into the knob. 2 pieces of wood, contact cement some leather on them. its been working great for a few months now. most people use a 2"x2", but i went with 3"x2" in case i want to do a 2" wide blade.

 
When using epoxy I squirt both epoxy and harder in the corner of a plastic bag. The epoxy can be mixed easily by kneading the bag then to dispense cut a small corner of the bag and squeeze it out. Works great for filling the cavity in a hidden tang knife.
 
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