All About Pocket Knives

I don't normally use a punch for peening.

For hammers, I have a couple jewelers hammers. I also have a 4oz. ball peen hammer. I tend to gravitate to that one a lot. You don't want a very heavy hammer, as you need to control the force you're applying. However, I think the type/weight of hammer is one of those personal preference things again. You have to find what works for you.

Good to know Glenn! Thanks!

did some tests. using 1/16" NS pins. Alittle discouraged.

Seems I really can't get the pins ends to flare out much and they are tending to bend instead. Maybe not enough softer taps.

Any tips will be appreciated.

Thanks, Jerry

Jerry,

Watch all 7 of Kaleb`s videos

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s43vAbvSSGQ[/youtube]

Pins possibly too long. I also file my pin ends flat before starting to peen them, this will help prevent mistrikes.
Just out of curiosity, what are you using as a backer, do you have an anvil? A flat, heavy surface for backup is a must.

WB

Miller Bro`s wrote:Jerry,

Watch all 7 of Kaleb`s videos

whitebuffalo58 wrote:Pins possibly too long. I also file my pin ends flat before starting to peen them, this will help prevent mistrikes.
Just out of curiosity, what are you using as a backer, do you have an anvil? A flat, heavy surface for backup is a must.

WB

Thanks for the links Dimitri!

Yes Sir WB. I have a small anvil and a 4 oz. ball peen hammer. See the pic below. You were also correct about the pins being too long prior to peening.

Well, success and disappointment all wrapped in one! The peening process went very well. I did get a very, very minor crack in the wood handle on one of the pivot pins. No big thing. Not the finest peening but they were tight with smooth blade action and factory walk and talk.
So pretty happy at this point. Snap the 3 knife pics below.
I move on to some finish sanding and notice an exteremely minor gap between between the center pins and the liner. Being the meticulous guy I am, back to the anvil to peen a bit more. Get that fixed, still good blade action.
Go back to finish work and notice a small seperation on the top of the knife between the wood and the liner. Not good. Stick my thumbnail in there and pull a little and the handle starts to seperate more form the liner. Pull a bit harder and pop the handle off.

Seems, best I can tell, that the tung oil I used, numerous coats (probably 10 or more) I might add, got in between the liner and the wood. Or it soaked down thru the wood to the liner. End result, best I can tell is that the tung oil melted or severly interfered with the glue bond.

I used Gorilla Glue. Maybe not the best to use but always had great results prior. Both sides were roughed and cleaned with alcohol wipe prior to glueing. Clamped for 2 days, etc. Glue squeezed out around all the edges so I definitely used enough of it. No gaps since it was clamped real tight. No doubt in my mind that the bond was very solid at that point. Last pic shows the handle, now with a crack were I popped it off. Also shows not much glue there.

Good news is I learned alot from the process thanks to all of you. Learned alot of good tips and pointers. Also, I got some experience and learned what not to do (my mistakes) along the way.
Not defeated as I will try it again!!!

Regards, Jerry

whitebuffalo58 wrote:Pins possibly too long. I also file my pin ends flat before starting to peen them, this will help prevent mistrikes.
Just out of curiosity, what are you using as a backer, do you have an anvil? A flat, heavy surface for backup is a must.

WB

When peening a pin, I usually have it no more than the width of the pin; e.g., if the pin is 1/16" I leave about 1/16" sticking up to pin, a bit more than that on pivot pins though.
WB is right, too long & the pins will bend, the same is true of spinning. When spinning a pin I only leave about half the width of the pin sticking up to get a tight fit. If I am spinning a 3/32" pin, I only leave about 3/64" sticking up to get a tight fit and prevent bending.

Also to prevent bending when peening and to start the pin spreading, use the ball of the hammer and hit on the edge of the pin to help it mushroom.

gorrila glue is not a good choice for a wood-metal bond go with a good 2 ton epoxy like devcon and degrease well prior to gluing.