How I prepare a Buck 110 for attaching the stone scales -

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I have often post what I am doing in the shop but today I was prepping the knives and thought that even this aspect may be of interest to some of you.

So to start I though I would just put out the basic tools I use for getting the scales off and in pinning the pins and peining the center pins. The very most important tool I use is my folding knifemaker's anvil (stiddy). I could not do what I do with this incredible stiddy. It is heavy for its size as it is solid D2 steel. It has a great ring to it when hit with a hammer which I do at times just to hear the ring in the shop. It was custom built with extra long front extensions to accomodate deep welled knives like the Buck 110.
 

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The next step involves getting the scales off without bending the liners or rolling the edge of the spine. First I use a Dremel and cut off wheels to grind off the heads of the scale pins and the rocker arm pin. I thn use a punch to punch the center pin most of the way through and then I use a sharp pocket knife to "grab" the wood scales and pull it off far enough to grab and pull the scale off. Some scales do not come off easily so I slide the knife under the scale and hammer the pin throgh the scale with light blows so that I do not put dents into the liner edges at the spine or blade well.
 

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Occasionaly I drive a pin too far through and get it out of line for the rocker arm and liners to line up properly. It is a really easy fix as I turn to the vise and use two pieces of a bamboo stirring stick (knife scales work too). A couple of twist to tighten and the pin will often just fall through. It takes maybe two minutes with getting the bamboo pieces and opening the vise included. I like the bamboo as two pieces work perfectly for a Buck 110 and one piece for just about every other knife I work with.
 

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The next step is pinning the pins in place. I used to use tape over the holes but still a lot of adhesive gets past the tape and really can gum up the rocker arm and blade well. So I eventually figured out how to "pin" the pins in place. I use a punch pin with a tiny dimple on the tip. I put the liner over the stiddy arm and then cut off the pin I am working on, leaving about 1/32 inch of the pin out. I then hit the pin with my hammer a few times to flatten the top and then I use the punch pin to hammer the pin all around the edge until it is very tight in place. This is a bit of an art as I need to keep a finger against the liner to hold it flat against the stiddy arm or the pin will stick out a bit into the blade well. That does still happen occasionally and I use a warding file to just file it flat. That is a bit of work I do not want to do so I really work dillegently to try and get them flat in the first step.
 

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The two pins that the rocker arm passes through are really tricky as the spring blocks them from using the stiddy arms for pinning the pins. So, I need to use the rocker arm as the backstop while pinning. I just partially close the knife and cut the pins off to the right length and then I hammer them flat to the liner. I then pin them in place.
 

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The center pin is next. I first pein one side to a dome. Note how peining swells the pin well below the domed head.

I then tap the pin down firmly, turn the knife over and cut off the pin on the 2nd side, leaving it up a couple hundredths of an inch. I then carefully pein it flat to near the height of the liner. Care is needed to ensure that the edge of the spine is not hit or a wide adhesive line will result as the dent needs to be tapered out to keep it from really showing badly. I almost never have any spine dents now after doing over 1,300 knives!

This is a really important step as the peining pulls the liners in very tight at the middle which helps keep a very thin adhesive line along the spine.

The last part of this step is to use the cut off wheel to grind the pin to just a bit below the level of the liner on both sides. I grind down the center pin and liner pins all at the same time when I am doing a group of knives to be efficient.
 

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There are up to three cast in lines that stick up on the inside edge of the bolsters. They are probably only up 1/1000 to 2/1000 of an inch but that is too high for a tight fit of the stone so I use a modified warding file to flatten the face of the bolsters. I sand off the filing pattern that is on the edges of these files so that I do not gouge out the corners where the spine and knife well meet up to the bolsters.

Note how I hold the file as holding it by the handle will result in cupping the bolster which defeats the intent of getting it flat and straight.

So, all this needs to be done after tuning up the knives and all of these steps before I even get to working the stone. I bet there are at least two hundred steps I take from start to finish on a knife...... :eek:
 

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Mike,

It is absolutely amazing all the critical steps that you go thru to end up with the GEM knives. Your professionalism and artful talent is simply outstanding. This is why I only buy knives from you. I don't bother with any other knife makers as there is no comparison to your quality of craftsmanship. Also, I really appreciate all the time that you take to find the rarest and most unusual stones to produce the most beautiful products.

Dennis
 
Cathy,

Beautiful carving you are doing and I do appreciate how much time and effort goes into doing this..... :cool:
 
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Good Thread Michael! Your attention to detail is likely unsurpassed!
 
Hi Mike,
I was a tool and die maker and appreciate the steps you take to make the piece the best it can possibly be. I know what it takes and fitting the male and female parts of the die take exacting precision. You do things that take a steady hand, Which I have bad arthritis from pushing and filing to match so the pieces cut the steel without a burr and for endurance and not breaking. I wrote to you yesterday and I will keep track of the beautiful knifes that are one of a kind that you work with.
Michael Szczepanski
 
Thanks Michael,

What I do not mention as it does not always work is I center the blades in the well of the 110"s too. This works fine on about 90% of the knives but occasionally fitting a tight scale will very slightly move the bolsters enough to move the blade off center slightly. I am dealing with just a few thousandths of an inch or so in the fitting and centering of blades so it is a challenge with just eye hand coordination for all of the work I do.
 
Hi great Post/ tutorial thanks for sharing your knowledge Michael
I have been practicing Lapidary for 30 years and was looking for a new project, so bought a Buck 110 and had a go with a few scraps of Tiger Iron I had lying around.While not completely happy with the result but I will definitely do another one. I have bought a Dremel and might go with a piece of Mookaite next time.
Sorry can't work out how to attach a photo, thanks for sharing you knowledge MM
 
Marra Mamba -love that stone! It has become too expensive to use for knife scales now but the Mount Brockman from the formation above the one the Marra Mamba was found, remains affordable and looks almost as good. :)

Good luck with the Mookaite too as it is a very good stone for use for knife scales. I prefer the Minion Yellow version.

There is some good Jade and Actinolite coming out of Australia too so you could consider doing all of the top Australian stones as a theme.......
 
Hi Michael
Yes the original Marra Mamba - the red with blue/multiy color & magnetite waves in it is probably the best in the world IMO
I hold one of the "Claims" as they say in USA but have not dug it since 2010, but hope to get some red when I do this year or next. Only have small cabbing material left but still enjoying it when I do cut some. Will pursue the rescaling of knives as I have a creative urge that can't be cured but this certainly is satisfying again thanks for sharing your knowledge most people don't. MM
Ps will post some photos when I can work out how
 
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