To B or Not to B?

William Schrade

William Schrade

Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Messages
631
Bolsters. I've noticed a lot of fixed blade knives for sale here and on other forums have no bolsters. Personally, I like the look of bolsters and guards. I've been using more Nickel Silver than Brass lately because someone told me brass has no class. It takes more time and adds to the cost of making the knife plus it adds to the looks and protects the handle. Not to mention your hand.

What do you like?
 
I like bolsters, but I don't think they belong on every knife. I also don't limit myself to metal bolsters and guards. In the past I've used ivory, G10 and musk ox horn for those pieces. Are they the best choice? Not necessarily, but I like to change things up.

I also like steel for bolsters and guards. Something about continuity appeals to me.

Brass... never been all that fond of it. Nickel looks a little off color to me. I suppose it would work well on a damascus blade.
 
I really like bolsters. I think they certainly add to the complexity of the work but they add so much to the character of the knife. I was just watching a Walter Sorrells video the other day and one of his knifemaking take-aways at the end was "Bolsters are a pain in the ass".

Bob
 
I rarely use metal bolsters, and then only by request. I see no need for the extra weight. But if you want to sell to high-end collectors, it seems like they're pretty much required. Certainly if they want them engraved.

G10/paper micarta bolsters look cool and don't mess with your balance.

Regardless of all that, getting a good fit with "dovetailed" bolsters on a tapered tang definitely shows off your skill :thumbup:
 
I like them. On most knives having bolsters is not going to protect your hand more than the same handle without bolsters would, so I just add them if I think it'll look good and I want to make a dressier knife.

It does add to the weight and to the time spent making the knife. It does add complexity but after you've done it several times that's not so bad.

Guards are cool too, but I'll often keep them or bolsters off of a knife that I'm trying to make at a lower price point, and that I feel has a good enough finger notch up front to prevent the hand slipping forward.

Soldering really adds to guards or bolsters being a PITA- I'll solder a guard now and then, but bolsters always get epoxy in my shop, and guards that fit nice and tight really only need epoxy to seal the joint, rather than solder to make it look finished.

Integral bolsters are of course a lot of fun, and in combination with a tapered tang look impressive. People like them on chef knives with a hidden tang, too.

Speaking of chef knives, those really offer a lot of possibilities for bolster types. I've put all kinds of micarta, G10, stainless, even wood bolsters on chef knives and cleavers. It just makes them look nice.

I've used bolsters on frame and liner locks and I kind of prefer the balance and weight of them without bolsters. A TI bolster on one side of a framelock doesn't screw up weight/balance too much though.

As far as durability I prefer stainless, as NS scratches pretty easy. NS is a lot easier to work with though, and has that nice warm color next to a wood handle.
 
Bolsters can actually improve balance on certain knives by bringing the weight forward a bit, backward a bit, or whatever. They bolster the knife in the blade/handle junction, add more mechanical hold to handle scales if dovetailed, improve aethestics, provide a place for the thumb to rest on the spine, protect the handle by protecting one or both ends.

To put it simply-they bring the knife up to an entire new level and certainly makes them stand out more. They probably wouldn't be good on small knives, but larger knives greatly benefit from them.

As for brass-imo it has its place. The contrast between polished brass and dark handle materials like ebony and/or blued blades just looks awesome. I'd prefer S/S bolsters for anything else though.
 
Personally, I don't care for them. But I'm weird like that. Be it a knife that I buy, or one that I make, I like the simple look of all wood or all "insert handle material of choice here". To be totally truthful, I have never made a knife with bolsters, as fitting them has me slightly intimidated. One of these days I'm going to have to learn, but cosmetically I prefer no bolsters. (Dodges incoming tomtatoes as he exits stage left!!!!)
 
If you are really trying to shift the balance backward wouldn't a pommel be better? Adding mass near the center would be pretty ineffective at that.
 
ponderingturtle said:
If you are really trying to shift the balance backward wouldn't a pommel be better? Adding mass near the center would be pretty ineffective at that.
Click to expand...

Pommels without bolsters or a guard look pretty odd. On larger blades sometimes that bit of weight right on the index finger is exactly what's required to even things out.
 
I pretty much agree with James on this one. When I hear "Bolsters" I picture metal bolsters ie; brass, steel, copper etc.

I believe bolsters only belong on high end folders and slip-joints. Very rare they belong on any fixed blade, as it takes a lot of skill to make bolsters look not just out-of-place, but good.

I don't like the added weight they give to a fixed blade in most cases, nor the added trouble of putting them on. If you are going to go through the trouble of adding bolsters, why not just do an actual guard or half-guard, that way it actually provides some added function, and imo requires a bit more skill to accomplish.

I don't view G10, micarta or other non-metal material as "bolsters", but I don't know what else to call them in this situation.
 
Many things you can do to "balance" a blade.

- Tapered tang
- skeletonized tang
- weight forward blade
- larger butt
- some simple design/physics knowledge

Don't need bolsters or a pommel to balance a blade
 
Bolsters are a pain in the ass, but they look nice on Chef's knives, either integral or attached. As with any aesthetic endeavor, you can "overdo" it.
 
james terrio said:
Pommels without bolsters or a guard look pretty odd. On larger blades sometimes that bit of weight right on the index finger is exactly what's required to even things out.
Click to expand...

So you can hide it in the handle easily enough. A small amount of lead hidden in the handle will shift the weight a lot more than metal at the mid point. If you are shifting it forward remove mass from the tang and handle. As it is all about the torque and moment arm you are doing more to make the whole thing heavier with out much benefit.

My inner physics geek can not stay out of these kind of discussions.
 
ponderingturtle said:
So you can hide it in the handle easily enough. A small amount of lead hidden in the handle will shift the weight a lot more than metal at the mid point.
Click to expand...

If you need to add lead to a knife to balance it, there's something seriously wrong. I'm with Dave on this... it's just not that complicated :)

Dave Behrens said:
Many things you can do to "balance" a blade.

- Tapered tang
- skeletonized tang
- weight forward blade
- larger butt
- some simple design/physics knowledge
Click to expand...
 
james terrio said:
If you need to add lead to a knife to balance it, there's something seriously wrong. I'm with Dave on this... it's just not that complicated :)
Click to expand...

A little lead shot mixed with epoxy hidden under a scale. Why is the metal placed inefficiently as a bolster better? You are making the whole thing heavier by the inefficient placement of the mass. This gives you no effect on the aesthetics and a lighter over all knife. There are other ways sure but if you have a specific ergonomics for a handle so you can't play with mass in that, lead is a very traditional way to add mass, wheel weights for example.
 
I'm only a fan of metal bolsters on hidden tang knives and folders. I absolutely adore micarta/g10/other non-metal bolsters on most fixed blades though. My next knife will almost certainly have them.
 
I may be the odd man out, but I like brass and bronze, but know a lot of people see these metals as "tacky" or "classless." For my own personal use, I have some knives with brass guards. Make what you like. If its a knife for the exchange, I would stay away from brass unless it is a specific design element you are going for.
 
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