Where to get pins for handle.

S

syvmn

Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
169
I bought some carbon fiber scales and am looking for some pins or something for the handle. I have no idea what i should be looking for.
 
I just use 1/8" - 1/4" brass rod for mine. Just get a 3 ft stick of it at lowe's for a couple bucks. Once you do that, work your way up to the more expensive stuff.
 
I was thinking silver pins would look nicer with carbon fiber though. Would lowes have that too?
 
Get some Corby bolts from Pop's. He is by far the cheapest on them ($2.10 a pair).
 
A silver would be nice, would be more pricey than cheap steel stock.
When I did my first knife, I went to a welding supply place and asked for a welding rod with a solid 1/8" stainless core. I broke off the shielding at home with a vice and a scraper. Nickel silver would look nice too.
 
Plain steel rod will rust easily. Nickle silver or stainless pins stay looking good for a long time. I priced them out and figured it costs me about $0.25 per pin. Both those and brass are available in many sizes at the various online knifemaker's supply places. Some have black micarta rod, too, but I'm not sure I'd trust the strength of those. Just keep an eye on the shipping costs.
 
One thing I just thought of is you might be able to get stainless steel rod at rural king. I think I recall it being there. Just make sure you aren't getting zinc coated, because when you cut it, it's no long zinc coated!
 
syvmn said:
I was thinking silver pins would look nicer with carbon fiber though. Would lowes have that too?
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You can get aluminum rod at lowes/home depot it would look nice with carbon fiber me thinks.
 
You can get brass rod at your local OSH or Home Depot. It you prefer stainless, you can get it from from any knifemaker's supply store. I bought 416 rod from trugrit. The one I prefer is 1/8 is just $0.60 per foot and I use it for handle scales and for bolsters.
 
I will assume that since you asked this basic question, you are not very experienced in knifemaking. All of the knife supply catalogs sell pin and rivet stock by the foot. Try Jantz, K&G, Texas Knife Supply, Pop's, or Sheffield. Local hobby shops, and many hardware stores, have a small rack of brass, nickle silver, and stainless rod and tube for hobby work.

More of an important issue is your choice of handle material.
Carbon fiber is nasty stuff - if you don't respect it.
It is an irritant to skin, eyes, and lungs. You need a good filtrate mask, eye protection, and long sleeves. The dust needs to be vacuumed up from the work area -and off of you - before leaving the work area. Don't work CF in any living or cooking area (bedroom or kitchen). To be honest, you should only work it with a dust removal system. definitely not a starter material. I would get some stabilized wood or Micarta.
With any handle material, wear a filter mask when sanding and clean up the dust.
Stacy
 
You can also get carbon fiber rod from hobby shops. I just picked up a couple of sticks 1/8" x 24" for a few bucks.
 
I have a full face dust/mist respirator if I need to use it. I will be doing the work on the carbon fiber outside so I don't have a mess in my workroom. I think I'll look for some aluminum rod at ace hardware or Menard's later today. That should look pretty good I think. Thanks for all the help guys!
 
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