Recommendation? What size pin stock?

[Uncle J]

Never made my own knife before. Looking to start small & simple, with a ground & hardened blank in 1075 carbon, some yellow corian or delrin, and brass pin stock. Listing says the blank has .266" holes through the tang for fasteners. I can't figure out what size pin stock (fractional SAE or metric) would work here. Am I missing something obvious, or do I need to drill out the holes to a larger size, e.g. 9/32", 5/16", 7mm?

Suggestions from anyone with experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Stang Bladeworks]

I would imagine its for use with .250 pins. They likely leave the holes slightly oversize to allow for some epoxy to fill in. You should be fine with that. You can always drill your handles at .250 to avoid any gaps. 16 thousands slop in the tang holes is negligible. I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Uncle J]

I suppose that makes sense... Hopefully a bit of acraglass between scale and tang will prevent any movement anyhow.... thanks for your help.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

You could use any size from 1/8" to 1/4".
I use tang holes that are 50% larger than the pins. The excess gets filled with epoxy as you glue up the scales.

 

[Horsewright]

Use an #F bit to drill your holes in the scales. 1/4" pin stock won't go through a 1/4" hole easily. An F is just the right size.

 

[William Schrade]

Holes that size might be for Corby Bolts.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I think the .266" and similar 1/4" plus 5% to 10% holes are used in pre-made blades as "universal" holes. Most any pin of bolt can go in it. The excess space allows for simple fitting and adjustment at the handle front during glue-up, and the epoxy fills the void with shock absorbing cured resin.