How to finish bolsters??

[gs521]

I am almost finished with my first DDR-II knife kit and am disappointed in the quality of stainless steel used for the bolsters!
I now know why all the stainless parts are "bead blasted". At least better quality steel could be used in the manufacturing process - I know, I know it's to cut costs to keep the kits afforadable.
Well, I am in the process of finishing the bolsters(either satin or polished - don't know yet) and am at wits end.
How can I get those killer finishes on the bolsters?:confused: I've seen photos of great looking bolsters others have posted either polished or satin finished - even saw some that were engraved!
Is it a wise idea to throw out the stock bolsters and just make new ones? As I just starting finishing kit knives making new bolsters from scratch this early in the game would be a long process for me and not sure how to go about it yet.
Any ideas out there would help and would be very much appreciated.
When complete I'll post photos.

Guy

[SharpByCoop]

Hello Guy,

THe bolster are a bit rough to start with, but I have seen and finished them VERY nicely. All it takes is time and sometimes equipment. I'd spend the energy geting these in order rather than rebuilding them from scatch.

Keep leveling them with finer and finer grits, and then a buffer can finish (if you'd like). My personal fave is a 600g finish on the bolsters. Easily repeatable and looks good. Nothin unusual about them. They just give you something extra to do!

Coop

[AlphalphaPB]

I knocked off quite a bit of material and there were still pits in there. The drilled holes now have some faint blemishes from the sandpaper grit. It took little chunks out of the side. Next time I shouldn't put so much direct pressure in line with the holes.

[gs521]

Thanks Coop for the reply - I thought as much - nothing like a little elbow grease to make those bolsters look good. I thought I was doing something wrong.
And I'll be cautious around those bolster holes - don't want any flaking like AlphaphaPB had.
Thanks all!

Guy

[SharpByCoop]

The last thing I do on ALL of mine is a little bevel on the screw holes. I use a rounded bur, but you could even do it with an oversize drill. It wll eliminate any unevenness, and it simply looks 'finished'.

Coop

[gs521]

Coop thanks for the tip on the rounded bur - do you use a Dremel for this?:confused:
I hope to post photos when complete.

Guy

[SharpByCoop]

No, I put the burr in the drill press and hand hold the bolster into it. A lot slower than a Dremel. That's me.

Coop

[KNAdmin]

The bolsters are designed to be ground to final shape. The worst kits I've ever seen are when guys bolt everything together, rub a few times on the handles and call it finished. The best one's are fully ground and properly radiused. I've personally handled a couple from Darrel, and Jim, that have been ground into the top of the boster screws, taking several 1000ths off the thickness of the original bolster, to end up with a slightly thinner overall knife thickness in the end. The edges are fully finished and everything looks excellent ... as good as any knife on the market.

I had a guy send one back last week stating, "I thought all you had to do was bolt it together?" So, I think there is a reality check in the beginning. But, those guys that figure out that it's ok to grind the hell out of these, generally find the knife inside that we originally designed. It's in there ...trust me!

Now ... we designed our kit products with several 1000ths of stock on the bolsters that can be removed, and should be removed. This is so you can match it to the handles. For the record, the metal we use in these kits is the highest quality you'll ever see in a product like these. It is MIM'd (metal injection molded) which creates a very homogenous steel. It is the same quality that is used in gun manufacturing for slides, frames and other parts where the finish tolerance has to be high and the steel has to be very homogenous to stand up to the high impact of the product's design. Most of the top shelf gun manufactures use the same process and materials we do in our kits.

For quick removal, take a 120 belt and radius your handle to the bolster, then take a fine 9 hard silicon carbide scotchbrite wheel and hit the bolster a few licks and you will have a 1000 grit finish. From there, just a little buff will mirror it. Or, you can handrub it to 600 grit to get a nice hand rubbed satin finish with paper.

It may be advisable for you to reference the FAQ section of our site or search the forums for deeper info when you have a question. Most of this has already been discussed by other beginning makers.

Please let us know if you have any more questions ...

Alex

[AlphalphaPB]

Whoops, my misuse of the word "pits" must have set off that very informative post. Sorry, I meant that the bolsters came with some small scratches/dents, and I still haven't completely sanded them off. So there's still tiny holes in a few places. Interesting to hear about the MIM though, I've only heard it mentioned once before (Benchmade's titanium balisong handles).

Thanks for the bevelling tip, I hadn't thought of that. As I don't have any large drill bits for drilling metal, I'll be using a small carbide burr. Would that be bad due to the sideways pressure?

[gs521]

Thanks for all the tips on the bolsters - at least I'm more informed now.
I'll try out your suggestions and let you know how I make out.


Guy

[SharpByCoop]

Originally posted by AlphalphaPB
Thanks for the bevelling tip, I hadn't thought of that. As I don't have any large drill bits for drilling metal, I'll be using a small carbide burr. Would that be bad due to the sideways pressure?

The amount of pressure needed is MINIMAL. A burr, I would find easier than a drill (a drill might want to continue drilling! ). Go carefully and experiment on a spare piece of metal first.

Alex: Thanks for the overview. For guys like us it's second nature. I always forget how much I've learned myself! Thanks.

Coop