Full Tang Bolster Tutorial

Making bolsters on full tang knives can be daunting to the uninitiated. I found very little info online to help the
newbie figure out how to do this, so I with some trial and er ror and came up with a way to mak e great looking,
perfectly aligned bolster pieces. This is, of course, not the only way to do it, but a way that I have found to be
reliable when one is careful and patient.

The bolster is not only stylish, but it adds weight to the middle of the knife and protects the
end grain of wooden handle scales. The thickness of the bolster will usually be the same as your scale thickness. I
like 1/4" thick stainless stock and find 1/4" or 5/16" scales a good match. 416 or 304 stainless mak es a nice bolster,
but bolsters can be G10, bone or whatever tickles your fancy.

Although you could make bolsters entirely with hand tools, files, hacksaw and so on, a drill pr ess would be
considered an asset when making the pin holes. Start with the m ost powerful tool in your shop, the per manent
marker.

The left and right pieces must mir ror each other to preserve symmetry. I normally sketch the bolster out on the knife
and determine how it will look and wher e the pin holes will go.

Lay the left and right pieces out on the material you wish to use as a bolster .

Be sure to leave enough space between the pieces for your hack saw or band saw blade to get thr ough when you
separate L & R later on.

I like to do the bulk of the removal while everything is still on the bar . Then cut the pieces out once you get close to
the lines.

Clamp the two pieces together with vise-grips and shape them as a single piece. P ay careful attention to the fronts.

Now drill the holes in the tang. Typically I drill two #30 holes for pinning the bolster with 1/8" pins. K eep the holes at
least 3/16" away from the edges so we can r ound the bolster and not be taking too much pin off.

With the left bolster piece positioned e xactly where you want it, clamp with vise-grips and drill the pin holes.

Drilling the first bolster piece while clamped on with vise-grips.

If you want to make a block like I use for the drill press see my page on Drill Press Block #3 for instructions.

Here I like to put a temporary pin to hold the L bolster piece to the tang. Insert it into one of the holes. When the L
and R pieces are perfectly lined up, clamp with vise-grips and r emove the temporary pin. Drill thr ough the L piece,
and tang all the way through the R piece.

Unclamp the pieces and finish the fr onts.

After drilling (if your drill pr ess is nice and square) you can put some temporary pins and finish the fr onts. I use plain
old 1/8" rod from Home Depot.
Remember that the bolster fronts will be nearly impossible to finish once pinned to the knife.

Finishing means, shaping, sanding and buffing. Her e are the two pieces after some work on the buffing wheel.

Although there are no rules about what pins to use, generally the same material is used for pinning. E.g. brass pins
on brass bolster pieces. Ther e is nothing to say that you cannot use pins to contrast or use mosaic pins.

With the pins cut about 3/16" longer than r equired for a flush finish, clean them with fine
sandpaper so they shine. Clean the pin holes on the bolster with acetone so that no cutting oil or debris is in the
holes. Clean the tang with sandpaper and sand the mating bolster pieces. The aim her e is nothing remains which
may be visible.

Banished list:
No flecks, filings, dirt, fibers or hair is allowed between the metal pieces...period. Brush, blow, clean 100%.

Cleaning detail:
You will want to scuff the interior surfaces with coarse sand paper, (I use 60 grit) and clean all surfaces with acetone
or high-test rubbing alcohol.

Sealing detail:
This is where I like to use a small amount of A craglas to seal the bolster pieces to the tang. This pr events moisture
migration and ensures the joint is easy to keep clean. Be careful not to use too much epoxy. Also be careful not to
allow the epoxy up into the pin holes. Epoxy in the holes can appear as a ring ar ound the pin when finished.

Ready, Set...Press!

A hydraulic press the your friend when it comes to squeezing th e bolster pieces on to the
tang. But how do we squeeze them and pr ess the pins at the sa me time?  The trick is to pr ovide some precise
spacers. Two pieces of 1/8" steel with a 3/16" slot cut into them for allowing the pins to stick thr ough. This type of
plate will let us squeeze the bolster pieces tightly to the tang, and squash the pins a tiny bit. See my picture, as a
small stack of flat washers will work for this as well. If you can figur e out a way to do this with a hammer, please let
me know.

Once we have the bolster pieces pr essed firmly to the tang and the pins squashed just
enough to hold everything together, it's time to put the big squeeze on. A hammer on the anvil works at this point
too. We need to squash the pins and leave zer o space in the pin holes.

After the big squeeze, work the bolster pieces with the belt grind er and the pins should disappear. Here I used a 60
grit belt, but the 120 looks even better .

Shaping the bolster from here is academic. I use the files, small wheels, drums on the drill pr ess or whatever is
needed to shape and clean up.

Be careful about heat. Too much grinding will bur n the Acraglas. If you are using regular 50/50 epoxy you'll smell it
burning and it's not pretty.

Well there you have it. One way to attach a fr ont bolster. Again, not the only way to do it, but one that I can say that
produces great results. Please let me know if you have tried this and if you have any suggestions on how to impr ove
the process.

2 comments:

Unknown July 7, 2017 at 6:12 AM

Do you think that a vise could be used in place of the hydraulic pr
ess?
Reply

Replies

D. Comeau July 12, 2017 at 8:02 AM

I have experimented with using a 5" mechanic's vise and yes it can be done. It's a little fiddly to get the washers or
spacers to stay put as the jaws are vertical. If your vise is able to move to the horizontal position it will be easier.
Sufficient force is available with a larger vise.

Dan

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D. Comeau
Modern day Renaissance Guy, D.I.Y. and re-purposing Jedi, crafting knives and tools and finding new uses for old junk
along the way. Passionate about making things and sharing knowledge.
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