- Joined
- May 7, 2010
- Messages
- 1,066
I'm going to be getting some flat wrought iron pieces in the next week.. and instead of using them exclusively for hidden tang guards... I thought maybe I could try using them as bolsters for one of my KITH knives.
One problem comes to mind though... when do I FC etch them? It seems to me that I would have to etch them BEFORE attaching them and then make sure they already fit 100% because any sanding to fit would just take the finish right off.
I plan to do a hidden pin method to avoid peening anything (not like I have any wrought iron pins to peen anyways
).
So if I attach them without etching them first... how would I go about etching them while ON the blade? I know I could use nail polish to protect the blade portion, but as for the stabilized wood handle scales, I'm not sure if I want to slather that up with any amount of nail polish and wipe it with acetone. I'm not quite sure how stabilized wood is affected by acetone...
So it seems I could try and figure out a way to do the above method... OR, perhaps temporarily attach my scales/bolsters, do all the finish work... take it all apart to etch the bolsters and then permanently attach everything? The problem I can see with that is the pins for my handle slabs... how the heck can I epoxy and finish those in without disturbing the rest of the finish.
Since my bolsters won't be dovetailed, would be it be a viable option to attach only the scale portion permanently, do all the finish work and then remove bolsters.. etch... and reattach them to be permanent?
Any help is greatly appreciated. I have never done a bolster before... I'm not 100% sure how to do it properly even without an etched component... stop me now if this seems too ambitious/impossible... I could also be greatly over-thinking something that might just be really simple
Thanks
One problem comes to mind though... when do I FC etch them? It seems to me that I would have to etch them BEFORE attaching them and then make sure they already fit 100% because any sanding to fit would just take the finish right off.
I plan to do a hidden pin method to avoid peening anything (not like I have any wrought iron pins to peen anyways
). So if I attach them without etching them first... how would I go about etching them while ON the blade? I know I could use nail polish to protect the blade portion, but as for the stabilized wood handle scales, I'm not sure if I want to slather that up with any amount of nail polish and wipe it with acetone. I'm not quite sure how stabilized wood is affected by acetone...
So it seems I could try and figure out a way to do the above method... OR, perhaps temporarily attach my scales/bolsters, do all the finish work... take it all apart to etch the bolsters and then permanently attach everything? The problem I can see with that is the pins for my handle slabs... how the heck can I epoxy and finish those in without disturbing the rest of the finish.
Since my bolsters won't be dovetailed, would be it be a viable option to attach only the scale portion permanently, do all the finish work and then remove bolsters.. etch... and reattach them to be permanent?
Any help is greatly appreciated. I have never done a bolster before... I'm not 100% sure how to do it properly even without an etched component... stop me now if this seems too ambitious/impossible... I could also be greatly over-thinking something that might just be really simple
Thanks
