Wooden Pins

[WhiteMountaineer]

About to put a handle on my first knife (about a 7 inch fixed blade) and i've been doing alot of thinking about how I should go about it. The material i chose is bird's eye maple, mainly because that's what i have hanging around. Everything i've read says that i need to make absolutley sure that both the tang and scales are perfectly flat, clean, slightly roughed or gouged, and epoxied. Everything also says that I need to pin it. I was wondering if i could use wooden pins to hold it together. My thought is that the wood in the pins may bond to the wood in the handle material better that metal would. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Chris

 

[CShepherd]

The guy over at North Coase Knives really likes the wooden pins and talks about that being stronger than netal pins, when expoxied in place. One thing I would highly suggest are a couple of holes in the tang that would be hidden under the scales. Make sure you fill those with epoxy and that will make a very strong bond.

Charles

 

[Wanderer70]

I use wooden pins but nothing smaller than quarter inch in diameter. Have fun. Wanderer

 

[ritzblitz]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. Do you have a lathe?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The tsuka (handle) on a katana is held on by a wooden peg. It is called a mekugi. Bamboo is the normal wood. I have used blackwood, too.
Stacy

 

[raylaconico]

Wood pins work fine. They may not be as nice but that's a matter of opinion.

 

[WhiteMountaineer]

Thanks for all the input. I don't own a lathe, but i have access to one, so I think i'll give wooden pins a try.
thanks again

chris

 

[the possum]

Wooden pins may soak up the glue forming a better bond with the wooden handles. However, metal pins should be peened in place so they are held mechanically and do not rely on the glue at all.

 

[GibsonFan]

There's a lot you could do with grain direction and color when using wooden pins.

 

[scottickes]

Wooden pins. What a great idea. I've been putting wooden pins in my woodworking projects for many years. In jewelry boxes, furniture, etc. It never occurred to me to use them in my cutlery. Thank you for beginning this thread Chris!