Anyone knows of a trick that would allow me to dovetail bolsters without the use of a disk sander?

Also, what is people's opinion reg. dovetailed bolsters? They sure look great, but I was wondering if they wouldn be less resilient than a simple flat fit. The reason why that *could* be the case is that dovetailing basically creates a wedge - if the knife is droped on the floor butt firts, the shock could drive the scale under the bolster... Just wondering.

Thanks,

JD

Joss, handles are more secure on a dovetail fit, since, as you pointed out, they are wedged under the bolster. Dropping any knife on the floor will damage it, and it is impossible to design for that eventuality and still remain comercially viable.

You can make a filing jig, as used for filing the plunge cuts on a flat ground blade, to dovetail the bolsters before attachment. Here's a sketch.
http://www.cowlesknives.com/forumpix/jig.jpg

You can make this from O1 steel, drilled and tapped for a couple of cap screws. Grind or file the desired angle on annealed steel, drill and tap your holes, then heat treat, leaving it very hard. Clamp the bolster material between the halves, and cut on the dotted line.

Thanks a lot! Duh... I use such a jig - well, a flat faced one - and I didn't think of this. Stupid of me.

Say, what kind of angle do people prefer? 45 degree seems to be the logical choice...

JD

45 works fine- but the beauty of custom making is that you can make it whatever you want. By the way, make the jig big enough to accomodate your scales, too- you will want to use it to put the same angle on them.