I can't Figure It Out.

R

ricky_arthur

Well-Known Member
I can't figure out why I'm so enamored with Bowie knives right now. In all honesty they serve no practical purpose when it comes to what I actually use a knife for. There are certainly more practical hunting knives and I would probably never use one for that.. I carry a Small EDC folder for everyday tasks. They are much more difficult and time consuming to make just based on sheer size. Yet here I am making not 1 but 2 Bowies at the same time. And loving every minute of it. It's 1 am and here I am trying to decide what I should use for the handle. The first ones handle is finished just have to clean and polish the guard.
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But what to do for this one?
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here are my Options.

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I don't even know how to attach a guard for this type of knife, which is why the first one became a hidden tang. I ordered some silver solder as I suppose that is the only way to do it, but how do I use 450 degree silver solder and not take the temper from the blade. Clamp the knife in a vice with a wet rag?

What is it about a Bowie knife?
 
Nothing wrong with making bowies and in fact I think its everything right! Fullsize bowies 9.5 to 10" blades are fast becoming my favorite knives to build. While I dont sell as many of them as smaller EDC's I am not into forging knives to make a living as I have two other jobs so I say make what you like.

This is how I learned it and I am still improving.For the guard I use JB-weld and two pins going into the ferrule on either side. There may be an easier way but Dan Graves does it this way and its how he taught me to do it so its what I do.
 
R_A,
I attach my guards with 2 3/32" pins and JB weld. The JB isn't intended as a gap filler for a bad fit, mainly a moisture barrier. Peen the pins as you would on bolsters but watch out for deformation on the face of the finished guard. You may want to reconsider the solder, although its a good thing to know. It looks like you have a lot of real estate to do where the guard is positioned. If you do solder, keep your flame under and on the guard moving all the time. Let the heat bleed into the tang through the guard. A wet rag wrapped around the blade does help but it looks like a tough spot since your guard is against the heel of the blade. Years ago when I did solder, I'd heat a piece of steel rod in the forge and let that heat bleed into the guard and tang, no direct flame is good. Good luck.

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Bad pic but the only one I have, no visible sign of pins or JB. The crud in front of the guard is from the silicone rag.

Rudy
 
Ok, since I already heat treated the blade, and I don't have any 3/32 pins to use, I will try the silver solder. If I feel I got it too hot and tempered too much, I will anneal and drill hole to use to attach the guard, then re heat treat. Thanks for the help.
 
ricky_arthur said:
Ok, since I already heat treated the blade, and I don't have any 3/32 pins to use, I will try the silver solder. If I feel I got it too hot and tempered too much, I will anneal and drill hole to use to attach the guard, then re heat treat. Thanks for the help.
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Use a potato on the blade, it will help keep things cool. Run the knife through to potato close to where you're going to be soldering and it will server as a barrier and allow things to remain relatively cool.
 
well, the solder was a failure. The potato and wet rag kept the blade cool, but the solder simply would not flow where I wanted it. I tried 2 different types of flux. So right now the blade is cooling in my bucket of ashes to anneal it so that I can drill for the guard.
 
I annealed the Blade, drilled holes in the guard and then the blade and re heat treated, It is now in the oven @ 400. 1 step forward 2 steps back sometimes...:)
 
Beats having to start over from scratch:wink:. You're not the first one who's had to take things apart and go back a couple of steps to do something that was overlooked. It's all part of the learning curve.

Doug
 
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