View Full Version : Pivot pins and bolsters
erm what are they and where they used??
Pivots are normally the point on which a knife blade swivels on a folding knife.
Pins are generally the little metal pins that hold the scales (wood or micarta) to the tang of the knife to form the handle.
Bolsters are normally at the front of the handle closest to the cutting edge, normally made of metal and can incorporate the finger gaurd.
I hope this explains:)
so you dont really need the bolster then??
Nope, no bolster required, some knife blanks come predrilled for them, but there is nothing in the book that says that you hve to use the holes:)
so just the 2 pins then, i take it the brass pins which are male and female just press together, soooo is that all that holds the scales/handles to the blank, also what are good easy to work with woods, that you can recommend, do they have to be dried/cured. or can you just use a piece you find???
We normally use epoxy resin on the tang to hold the scales in place with the pins.
To work with I like cocobolo (although if I am using a belt sander I go orange), striped ebony, Oak, in fact the list is huge so not the best person to talk to about the best wood, but I would say that the denser hardwoods are pretty good.
Generally the wood that is used for scales will be seasoned in some cases they are Kiln Dried.
I wouldn't try just any bit that is lying about as I wouldn't know if it had been seasoned, which in turn could cause warping and shrinking of the scales once fixed to the knife.
cheers for the info leon, so would you recommend to shape the scales then fix them or, fix them then shape them, do you oil before or after fixing,
you know like
1:fix scale
2:shape scale
3:oil or dye scale that knid of thing
If you are doing it with hand tools then shaping the scale to the shape of the tang before you fix it to the tang isn't a bad idea, but you still want it kind of blocky. Once it is attached to the tang you can finish it off and do the final shaping.
If you are using power tools, then get a rough shape fix the scales to the tang and then remove the stock (the majority) of the wood using the power tools so you have the profile of the tang. When it comes to final shaping though revert to hand tools because unless you are a very skilled person with that piece of machinery the chances for messing up are huge.
Once it is firmly fixed in place and shaped to your requirement then you can oil it to your hearts content:)
so what do you recommend for the finishing and smoothing, also what oil do you use??
Eric_Methven
20-10-2005, 16:12
Use finer and finer grades of sandpaper then rub all over vigourously with 0000 grade wire wool. Then give it a good rub over with boiled linseed oil.
Eric
Eric pretty much covered it.
If you don't want to use linseed you can use Tung oil