Green River Knives

[Ohioan]

I had a green river knife blank I'm wanting to add some handles to. The problem is the holes thorugh the handle are 5/32 in diameter. I'm having trouble finding brass stock that will fit through here, and still be sturdy enough to hold. I've found 3/16 brass so I thought I'd just drill the holes out. Well, I can't find a drill bit that will cut through the darned blank.

Do I need to aneal this then harden it back after I've drilled the holes? Is it safe to aneal then retemper the green river knives???

 

[boar]

I just did one yesterday. I used Osage Orange for wood and grounded down copper ground wire off telephone pole, for pins, As I didn"t want to drill the holes as I figured they would be hard to do. I pushed the wire thru handle and put the wire under handle in vise, peened top of wire, turned over, cut off, peened that end. Filed smooth. Came out good. You might put blade in ground then heat enought to soften handle to drill? Try top hole first to see. Dilly

 

[laffingman67]

Epoxy. Not PC, but it holds stuff together. Go ahead and use 1/8 pins. The epoxy will fill the void in the handle. When you clamp everything together wipe off the excess with a damp cloth.

 

[chipper]

I wouldn't mess with the temper of the knife.
I would use steel pins. I'm thinking regular clothes hanger wire will probably work. I actually use piano wire for pins that I buy at a local hardware store. It comes in various sizes.


Regards

 

[Bob Gular]

Put your 3/16 pin in a drill and spin it against a file until it fits the opening. Doesn't take long with brass.

 

[ameling]

Just use iron/steel pins. You should be able to find a nail that is close enough in size to fit - either regular nail or finishing nail.

And iron pins were much more common on original knife handles. The Brass and Copper pins are more showy, but iron was the simple/cheap choice for most of the production manufacturers.

There are a bunch of people who glue their handles on, then drill in holes on just each side of the blade, and put in brass/copper pins to create a decorative pattern. These decorative pins don't go all the way through the blade - just through the handle material.

Just some humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - yee ol' grumpy German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[J.M.]

I was told you can "spot anneal" a hardened piece of steel. I was told to use a drill press, put in a bit upside down (point up). Chuck it good and tight. Turn on the drill and push the bit against the spot to anneal. The friction is supposed to heat up the spot enough to anneal it for drilling.

 

[Elnathan]

Heh. On the other hand, I know from sad experience that you can polish even soft tool steel too hard to cut if you spin a drill bit too fast with too slow a feed while trying to drill through it...

While you can ruin a good temper with a relatively small amount of heat, I believe to properly anneal steel it has to be heated up red hot.

I say, use iron pins. If you can't find something around the shop music wire will do fine, especially if you heat it up cherry red and let it cool slowly before trying to cut...

 

[Ohioan]

I want to use brass to match it to the rifle i'm building...

 

[jbullard1]

Check a welding supply store for brazing rod in 5/32 just sand off the flux :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

You can anneal the steel enough to drill if you use a propane torch, but first you have to protect the working part of the blade.

You use a can that is just slightly taller than the cutting area of the blade.
Fill the can with water and place the knifes blade into it with the entire handle area exposed above the water.

Direct the tip of the flame from a propane torch at a hole and heat it as hot as you can get it.
After it passes thru the blue temper color it can be drilled but it is best if you get it up to a red heat if you can. Now, repeat this heating at the other hole and let the whole thing cool slowly to room temperature.

This will anneal the material so that it can be drilled but be sure to use a new drill bit (or two). The steels knives are made from can work harden so if you try using a dull drill it may make the steel hard (and the dull drill duller).

By keeping the working area of the blade under water it will keep it's hardness and temper so nothing has to be done to that area when your finished.

zonie

 

[Ohioan]

AHAH! I found 5/32 brass rod last night at a hole in the wall hardware store while searching for tru-oil!

Thanks for the advice though guys!