All About Pocket Knives

Hi guys,
Ok! Its a given that most of your knife work will be on US made knives with imperial sized pins.
From what I am able to understand, most of the manufacturers have played the game and use standard sized pins in their folding knives.

Tonight I was sizing pins for use in a blade and they would not fit. 3/32 pivot brass pins and they were a bit big to go through the hole.
I turned over the blade and what did the tang stamp say. Japan !

Give yourself a forehead slap Ozwelder! It's a bloody metric hole.

Therefore 3/32" (2.18mm) into a 2mm hole will not go.

Nearly will, but not. Ok! then! Some of you fellas must work on them "furren" knives once in a while.

Is the trick to put the pin in the Drill press (poor mans lathe) and polish them down to 2.00 mm? Is this possible ?

Or perhaps you have a cunning trick you may wish to share with me?

I ask, because I am refurbing a Japanese Barlow pattern I bought on theif bay.
I know I paid too much as I bought it knowing there were bits missing off the scales.The intention was to simply re scale the knife.

I got a shock when I opened the package the vendor did not disclose that one end of the knife had been subject to a heavy blow and the liners and pins were pushed 30 some degrees off square into a diagonal shape.The photo that should have showed this defect was blurred.

I left comment that he was a cheating bar steward and would never purchase from him again.

Anyway I will make lemonade out of the lemon.

You advice on resizing pins will be valued.

Thank you in Advance

Ozwelder

For this particular project you can put the pin in your drill press and get it to the size you need. You could also resize the hole in the bolster to use the 2.18 mm pin as long as that pin fits through the blade hole (or the spring hole).
For future reference, you can buy pins in metric sizes. Jantz sells pins in 1.8mm and 2.0 mm sizes (as well as other metric sizes).
Jeff

THANKS Jeffin,
I shall go and have a look see in at Jantz's website.
In the meantime I'll chuck up a few pins tomorrow and give them a polish.

I tried a 3/32" drill by hand and it screwed itself through along the flutes. I reckon I would break it if I tried to drill that minimal amount out.
You might not but I certainly would.

Thanks again

I've drilled out quite a few of those out to 3/32. My trick is to start with a 1/16 bit in the drill press and work the blade up and down by hand on the spinning drill bit, slightly enlarging the hole on all sides, so that when you go at it with the 3/32 it doesn't catch or grab. Also, I use cutting oil and start slow, letting the drill do the work, and have the blade clamped down very securely.

Oz,
If you find sand papering the pen after checking it in the drill press a little bit on the slow side, I have also used a file to take them down a little faster.
The fastest method of reducing the size of a pin that I have found is to chuck a length of 3/32" pen stock in a cordless drill and spin that against a running belt sander with about a 122 to 220 grit belt. It takes it down a lot faster than using sandpaper or a file and chucking the pen stock in a drill press.

I regularly have to cut pins to fit knives.
If you only need to remove a little, you can file it by twisting the rod in your fingers while filing.
If you need to remove more, chucking in a drill, lathe or flex shaft works well.