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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 03-27-2018, 09:51 PM
KevBooth KevBooth is offline
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Bolsters

I’ve been practicing attaching bolsters to scrap of blade steel, and I’m getting pretty good and consistent results. I’m to the point where I feel like I can attach them to a blade and end up with a presentable product.
My question is this. What if anything is everyone using to attach the bolsters to the scale besides the peening of the pins? I’ve seen epoxy used, solder, nothing... I’m just curious what those with experience have used with the best results.
Thank you
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Old 03-28-2018, 08:59 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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You couldn't pay me to put bolsters on a knife but that's just me.

I assume you meant to ask about attaching the bolsters to the tang and not the scales. Yes, they are usually pinned. Most people put some epoxy under them because there needs to be something under there to keep moisture from collecting there and causing trouble. Solder is the super professional way to do that but there's hardly anyone these days that has really mastered the proper way to solder a bolster....


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Old 03-28-2018, 11:50 AM
KevBooth KevBooth is offline
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I just like that way that a metal bolster finishes off the knife. To my eye it just adds another level of craftsmanship, and finish to the overall knife. But I do harbor some concerns about moisture and other things causing problems under the surface, hence the questions.

Yes I actually did mean to say, "attached to the tang", my fingers can't type as fast as my brain can think. My concern with using epoxy is the cosmetic affect of a visual line between the bolster and tang, that would appear as improper fit. I take all precautions to insure flatness on both pieces, and I would hate to ruin that.

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Old 03-28-2018, 04:58 PM
Bob Hatfield Bob Hatfield is offline
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You can use Q-tips and alcohol, or acetone to clean up any epoxy that may squeeze out on to the blade ricasso.


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Old 03-28-2018, 05:28 PM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
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Kevin use a clear epoxy and clamp the bolstered down hard when you peen it and there will not be a line of glue visible. If you use JB Weld it's hard to not have a visible line because it's blackish.
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Old 03-28-2018, 06:59 PM
damon damon is offline
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keep the surfaces flat, and clean. The pin holes as well. Keep fittings and pins tight. peen thoroughly. when done properly the pins will not be visible, and there will be no place for moisture to reach between bolster and tang.
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Old 03-29-2018, 08:25 AM
dtec1 dtec1 is offline
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i tend to agree bolsters just look great AS long as the rest of the knife is good too....as ray says no sense in putting lipstick on a pig....but what i do is go the peening route so you need to make sure you have the same material like 416 stainles for bolsters AND pins....360 brass for bolsters and pins if you just use any brass for the bolsters and any brass for the pins you run the risk of having visable pins once ground flush....however i use 2 differnt epoxys acra glass or gflex... They are both clear so if done right you want have the line like you would with jbweld so what i do is get the bolsters ready and put a little epoxy on the inside put the pins through there holes....what i like to do is stop and wait a minute not long enough for the epoxy to fully set just long enough that it starts to stiffen then i peen the pins in at that point the excess epoxy will come out and by that time it should be thickening up where its a lil bit easier to clean off the excess get as much of it off as possible then some people like to take a brass rod and put a point on it and lightly use it to pop off any epoxy left after it hardens...personally yes brass is softer than steel so it shouldnt scratch the blade but what i use is a wooden rod (not sure what kind of wood it is but i do know its a hardwood not soft) or what you could do is get a rod of micarta g10 or carbon fiber and use that just use the point to "chisle" off the excess in front of the bolsters...just remember when you put them on the longer you sit there and take it off with a qtip and acetone the more you take off now the less you will need to pop off after its hard....i have a vise to hold the knife right between my tv and laptop so as it dries i dont get bored while wiping it off every couple mins as it dries (i get bored quick lol) ..OR you could make a folder and just put them on with screws :-)
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a, bee, blade, bolster, bolsters, ca, clean, collecting, epoxy, flat, glue, knife, metal, pins, question, scale, scales, solder, steel, surface, tang, tips, weld


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