Knife rehandle attempt. have ??

[Kentuckywindage]

Im going to attempt my first knife rehandle attempt. I ordered 1/4"T x 1 1/2"Wx5 1/2"L Black Buffalo horn slabs and plan to rehandle a knife i bought off ebay. What kind of pins should i use? I noticed TOTW sells rivits but i was unsure if that was the correct way.
I just want something that will look nice. Im not very handy when it comes to building this type of stuff so.......

Im not into brass that much, i like a silver color better. I think silver looks better on black anyways.

Any ideas on what i should use to?

 

[jasontn]

i use nails mostly for mine. all the knives i make are reworked old butchers or table knives. i buy mine in bulk at wal mart and find a drill bit to match the nail size.

 

[Kevin Bywater]

I used a 1/16th metal rod from Lowes. Taped the scales to the handle and drilled. don't leave the rod too long or when you peen the end it just folds to one side instead of swelling to hold the handle together. you are only talking a whisker longer than the width of the handle assembly. Stay back from the blade when locating your holes because if you get into the hardened steel you can burn up your drill bits before ever seeing a hole, I hope that helps
a little epoxy doesn't hurt either

 

[paulvallandigham]

Drilling tangs for pins can always be a challenge. Some blades are hardened completely. If you clamp the blade in a vise, using soft jaws( made of copper, brass, or aluminum sheet metal- not plastic!) to protect the finish of the blade, The vise acts as a heat sink. Then heat the tang up red hot( or hotter) and drill the hole while the tang is still hot. This works on the toughest steels, and your standard high carbon Steel Drill Bit will cut through the tang like it is butter, or soft wood. Remove the heat, and cool the tang with a very wet rag. File off any burrs on the back side of the tang, and its ready to be fitted to the slabs. Use the tang as a guide for your drill when drilling the tabs.

If you use a piece of antler, or something else that is whole, then drill the hole for the pin(s)through the antler FIRST, and use it as guide to mark the spot on the tang where you need to drill the hole there. Remove the handle from the tang, and then heat the tang as I indicate above, before drilling it.

As for pin material, I have used brazing rod, which is about 1/8" diameter, and made of nickle copper. I simply stopped by a local machine shop and bought one of the rods he buys by the dozens for his shop work. I may even still have a piece of it left in my tool box. Its hard stuff, but softer than using steel pins. The brazing rod peens over easily, and does not rust easily. When I install the pins, I put some epoxy resin glue in the pin hole, use a file to put a couple of notches in the sides of the pin to give the glue somewhere to hold, and drive the pin into the hole. Clean up the epoxy glue that comes out the back side, and set the knife aside to let the glue set up. Peen the ends( you can use a bit more material at first, and simply use wire cutters to cut them off close to the slab, or antler) and then polish or finish the handle.

Bone needs to have Oil soaked into its pores to help it stay strong, or it will become brittle with handling and washing and crack, and then break. Antler is actually mineral deposits, and has no pores. Just put a good finish of some kind- like paste wax on the handle, and enjoy.

 

[omarick1948]

Im going to attempt my first knife rehandle attempt. I ordered 1/4"T x 1 1/2"Wx5 1/2"L Black Buffalo horn slabs and plan to rehandle a knife i bought off ebay. What kind of pins should i use? I noticed TOTW sells rivits but i was unsure if that was the correct way.
I just want something that will look nice. Im not very handy when it comes to building this type of stuff so.......

Im not into brass that much, i like a silver color better. I think silver looks better on black anyways.

Any ideas on what i should use to?

I don't know if you realize it or not, but MOST of the so-called Buffalo knife slabs on the market are actually imported Water Buffalo from India. This is no big deal for cosmetic purpose's, but only wanted to bring it to your attention, if you might be thinking yours is American Bison! :hmm:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Sure was under the impression that they were bison! But no big deal, i liked the color so it will do for now.

Also, this is a patch knife/fish gutter. Blade is very thin so i dont think i'll have to worry much about burning up drill bits :haha: I'll get some pics of what i have.

 

[Kevin Bywater]

It is not the thickness of the steel but the hardness that creates the problems My blade was less than 1/16 inch thick and we burned three bits up because we were sure we were almost there. tried drilling half inch lower on the tang and drilled right through without a problem.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Got the handle blanks in today! They should look really nice once i get them finished.

Couple questions,
How do you polish a horn? I was thinking of using a mix between 400 grit wet/dry sand paper.

Weird blade

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

Water buffalo is nice to work. I've used it a lot. You need to remember that horn is the same stuff as hair: keratin. It can be beastly about taking glue, so make sure that all mating surfaces are clean and actually do mate.That way the glue doesn't have to fill gaps or struggle with warping.
Polishing is easy and the results are worth the elbow grease. Just rough it to profile with a scroll- band- or coping-saw once you have it glued on. Then use a file or drum-sander to get the profile right down to the metal. After that, use progressively finer abrasives to get the shape and finish you want. I must recommend wearing a dust-mask when doing this, though. Horn dust is kinda nasty to inhale for some folks.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

I used 220 grit sandpaper on a palm sander and man this horn is beautiful. I still have a lot to do but i wanted to get a head start on it and i'll start shaping the handle in the morning.

Seeing how the blade only goes through half of the handle, Should i either Inlet the blade into one side of the handle so both pieces fit flush, or should i just shim the part that doesnt have any steel between it?

 

[Nifeman]

If you only inlet one side, you'll have to sand the oppsite side more so the blade is centered...Bud

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Well, I did quite a bit of work on the knife today and roughed it into shape. I still have a lot to take off on top to get the shape i want but its coming along nicely and it fits my hand good too.

 

[windwalker_au]

looking good.
bernie :hatsoff: