WIP, Fitting Stainless Bolsters to a Blade

[Stuart Mitchell]

Evening all, I am currently on with building a knife for one of our fellow esteemed members here on SD, this particular build calls for stainless steel bolsters, I have been sending through photos of the process and yesterday we thought that more members here might like a look?

So here they are, I have numbered the photos and I'll add that number to a brief description of what is happening in that particular photo.

001. Bar stock in the vice, Sharpie pens are the second-best tool in the workshop

002. Cut sections.

003. I got one half of the pair drilled when I realised that I needed some new 1/8" twist drills

004. My supplier is down by the River Don, just beside Tommy Ward's old Steelworks, so I lost half an hour sitting chatting to fella who was trotting for Grayling. I didn't see any Grayling

005. Quite nice really to say that you are just on the edge of the city centre there, to anyone who might know the area that large white building you see there would just about be the start of The Wicker.

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

006. Looking towards Attercliffe and Meadowhall.

007. back to the grind, shiny new drills and both sections drilled, there is going to be a lot of dry fitting, on and off etc, hence the quick release bent pins.

008. Now I need to mark where I want the front edges of by bolsters to be, so I use one section and fit it by means of my pins, then mark two black dots, one tope edge and one bottom, strip it and scribe a curved line joining my two dots. If you look carefully, you can see the dots and the line in the photo.

009. The grind both sections to the line and check that front edge is where I want it to be. What I’m aiming for with that front edge is the bottom of the bolster to be just on that protruding tip of the guard and although one is curved and one is straight, I want the angles on the grind and the bolster front edge to be aesthetically pleasing alongside each other, a similar kind of rake.

010. All good so far so it is stripped again and next up is to flat the backs of the bolster sections, these are the faces that will sit against the tang of the blade. I know the tang has flat sides, these need to be the same to prevent any potential gaps.

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

011. Inside faces flatted.

012. Now time for the back edges, here with just a quick rub over the linisher.

013. A bit more grinding, because of the way the steel that I am using is processed, the corners are not sharp as it were, that lack of sharp corners would result a gap if left unattended.

014. There we go

 

[Alantoo]

Have you ever tried the Dormer A108 SS specific twist drills?

I found them very good on the 316L I use...normal stainless high feed, low speed...and once they'e lost their clever split point edge I just grind them as usual and they go into general use.

Alan

P.S. Ahh I have just zoomed in on your photo of the drill box and see they are SS specific...

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

Have you ever tried the Dormer A108 SS specific twist drills?

I found them very good on the 316L I use...normal stainless high feed, low speed...and once they'e lost their clever split point edge I just grind them as usual and they go into general use.

Alan

P.S. Ahh I have just zoomed in on your photo of the drill box and see they are SS specific...

There is an amazing legend about Dormer Twist Drills, so the story goes, which I imagine is BS, a leading foreign drill manufacturer sent Dormer a drill bit, 'here you go' they say, 'the smallest drill bit in the world'.

Dormer sent it back, their competitors were looking at it, wondering why Dormer had returned it, then they noticed that it had a hole drilled through it.

Their factory was just around the corner from my workshop, the skips outside it were full of treasure.

 

[Alantoo]

I heard the version of the tale that the American Waltham watch company sent a minute and perfectly ground spindle over to the Rolex watch company who sent it back with a hole up the middle...a good tale well worth repeating...if it isn't true it ought to be!

 

[Klenchblaize]

An interesting and informative thread. Not least as hopefully it goes some way to explain why the cost of a built from the ground handmade knife commands the prices the top makers charge.

Interesting because I recall Alan Wood’s comment when I commissioned a copy of a Pat Mitchell knife in Damascus & Ivory with bolsters. Something along the lines of they are seldom seen in the UK but all but mandatory in the US.

Alan was however into production serial # ***** of the Ray Mears bushcraft knife so guess his view of the UK knife world and those who commissioned knives from him was somewhat coloured by those times.

K

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

Once I know that the inside faces and the front and back edges are all correct, I turn mat attentions back on to those front edges.

015. I like a nice bevel on those front edges.

016. I start using my anvil as the resting place for the bolsters at this point, works like a bit of a heat sink, my fingers get ever so slightly less burnt.

017. Careful not to grind all the way through to the inside faces, that would make the front edges misaligned, not even.

018. Then polish them.

019. I love the way the polished front edges contrast against the satin finish of the blade.

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

An interesting and informative thread. Not least as hopefully it goes some way to explain why the cost of a built from the ground handmade knife commands the prices the top makers charge.

Interesting because I recall Alan Wood’s comment when I commissioned a copy of a Pat Mitchell knife in Damascus & Ivory with bolsters. Something along the lines of they are seldom seen in the UK but all but mandatory in the US.

Alan was however into production serial # ***** of the Ray Mears bushcraft knife so guess his view of the UK knife word and those who commissioned knives from him was somewhat coloured by those times.

K

Yes, I recall we have had this conversation before, not that I mind having it again of course as I love talking about knives

I recall a time when knives weren't considered proper unless they had a bolster, the only ones that didn't here in the UK were trade knives, kitchen knives, scrapers, mass produced gear being churned out of Sheffield.

Ray Mears and the Woodlore knife changed that.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Yes, I recall we have had this conversation before, not that I mind having it again of course as I love talking about knives

You’ll have to make allowances please as I’m an old bar steward 65!

K

 

[long_range_rob]

I still like a bolster but I had a fashion bypass some years ago

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

You’ll have to make allowances please as I’m an old bar steward 65!

K

It was a similar but different think, I think you are fine

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

So all is back together, again...

020. Next, I want to get rid of some of that excess material top and bottom of the bolster sections.

021. Make it more the shape of the tang, I could do this when it is assembled but I opt to do it now just in case something goes wrong, I'm not destroying them to get them off.

022. Again, I opt to remove material before I fix all together, they are still a bit chunky top view on, the actual pins are now in place too, I don't envisage stripping it again.

023. I like to take them more down to the size they'll be when I shape the handle and the pins are now taken down to the length I'll start riveting at.

024. Over to the 'Stiddy'.

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

025 & 026. It's on, rivetted, tight and I'm happy.

027. Top edge ground to meet the tang.

028. Same with the bottom edge.

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

From there I'll fit the handle, then shape all together, I'll show the knife when it's done, cheers SD

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

I have a matched pair of custom hunters on the go just now and was fitting the bolsters today, I decided to give them a showing as I am very happy with how they turned out, all four sections are exactly the same size and shape, which I know you'd think they should be for a matched pair but being hand made they aren't always, they are always close but not always this close