what material to use for bolsters

T

thedirector93

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Dec 10, 2013
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so i made a post a little while back about bolsters on my tactical knife http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1271561-Do-tactical-knives-need-bolsters. i just have a question about what material to use. since its a tactical knife i want to try and use good material, i want to use either stainless steel (416 or 410) or 6061 Aluminum (from MetalsDepot). im kinda leaning towards Aluminum cause they have a lot more options, but the stainless steel is more rust resistant. also i've found very little info on Aluminum for bolsters so if someone wants to write about that a little, that would be good.
 
I just started using aluminum for bolsters recently and I think I will continue. Most will argue that it is inferior because it is soft and can't be soldered, and this does make sense. Peened pins and light epoxy gives a strong enough bond in my opinion though. It's amazing how strong peened pins truly are. Though Ruana's don't have bolsters but frames so to speak, he seemed to do alright! I say give it a whirl.
 
i was thinking the same thing... i have never seen aluminum rust. that being the case, it is softer than stainless steel so some might twist their faces, but whatever happens to damage aluminum enough to ruin it will likely do more to damage whatever handle material you have on your knife so i wouldn't lose too much sleep on using aluminum at all... and on the bright side it's a fair bit lighter for those watching their weight.
 
Pin material needs to be the same as Bolsters to dissapear>>>
Or do a complete contrast on the pin material IMO
 
Aluminum doesn't "rust" per se, it does oxidize though. Nearly instantly in fact. It forms aluminium oxide, which keeps all the other oxygen out. That's why it doesn't "rust". However if you put steel and aluminum together and allow them to oxidize, they'll more or less weld themselves together. Bad juju! Looks like crap too!
 
Carbon steel and aluminum are commonly used on guns. It would take serious neglect for that to happen.
 
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