Nickel silver pins VS brass pins

T

Taximanny

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Jul 27, 2015
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As I'm working on my project I've run into what pin I might use in my slipjoint build.
I have searched but no real answers.

Here is my scenario, liner less slipjoint knife. ( possibly using black paper micarta).
Is a birds eye pivot needed with paper micarta?
If so I'm going to use brass washer with a 3/32" nickel silver pin in the middle.
Would it be right to use nickel silver on the other two pins?
Or should they be brass.

If I use 3/32" brass alone on the spring and spacer will it eventually fail?
Or should I step up the brass to 1/8"

Thanks
 
Nickel silver is white brass. They work about the same as pins.

I'll let the folder guys answer the thickness question.
 
It won't fail and the bird's eye is not necessary with the forgiving micarta, but surely would add strenght and imho looks good, it is used mostly to keep fragile materials from splitting.
All those questions are dependant on the overall knife dimensions.... when you see pin fails usually is related to natural handle material splitting/moving. The real pin strenght is all in the correct peening.
I prefer to use ss pins and surely stainless pivot pin, but it's just my preference; Bottom line is the slipjoint pins most need to withstand shear type forces and brass proved to be able to do it when coupled with the handle. The peening only have to keep the slabs together, and short of trying to pry with the blade no significant forces are at play there.
Use what you have at hand, then make another one...enjoy the builds and share your experiences.
As soon as you start you will have thousands of new questions :)
 
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Almost any metal that can be formed, can be used to make suitable pins, even pivots, and has been.

I use everything from mild steel, to titanium and 18k gold, although with pure gold or silver, I usually build with a bushing where the blade is riding on the outside of the bushing, and the pin simply locks the whole thing together. Until I found 410 pin stock for scale pins, I almost always used silver instead of stainless, when I needed a lighter color, simply because I hated the results from 416 splintering and burning out when peened or spun. Even now that I get great results with 410, unless I'm matching a 410 bolster for color, I prefer silver, because it's so easy to work with, and adds fineness. It's not very expensive in 1/16 and 3/32 sizes either, of which you can easily double that size with a formed head if desired.


The goal for pivots is just to have a concentric surface that's properly finished to avoid galling, which is really the only concern for pivots if the harder surface (typically the hole through the blade tang) has a poor finish. That being said, I've seen tons of old slipjoints with mild steel or nickel silver pivots that were simply drilled through, never reamed, etc. Typically they'd be "broken in" by opening and closing the blade a 100 times or so with grease or oil, and whatever way the pin needed to wear to accommodate smooth action would be accomplished.
 
Hi Javand, in your experience, if i have a stainless bolster (and pin), does the silver pin in the handle differ too much in color?
 
stezann said:
Hi Javand, in your experience, if i have a stainless bolster (and pin), does the silver pin in the handle differ too much in color?
Click to expand...


Well, argentium silver is closer in color to stainless than copper alloyed sterling, but it's still different, silver has a warmer color, it's certainly not a "match" but it can be complementary, or not, depending on the rest of the color scheme. Seems to look fine with pearl, or black colored stuff for example.


Honestly I never find it offensive, but I'm always careful to point out that it's real silver to potential buyers, in case they might mistake it for nickel silver.
 
Thank you, i would like to try it and i was thinking matching it with black ram...should be beautiful, gold would be even better!
 
Stefano, try 18 gauge (0.040, 1.02mm) 18k gold, dead soft. It's reasonably cheap and you can peen a head on it to about double the wire size easily. There is also a standard sized drill bit that matches (#60).


It seems small, but it's sufficient for spring pins as long as everything fits properly, and you don't have the spring overloaded, although 14 gauge (0.064, or 1.63mm) is better for those, and the 18 gauge looks nice combined for the scale pins slightly smaller.
 
I probably install more knife pins than 50 people here combined.
I also have pretty extensive jewelry experience.
I can't recommend either silver or gold for "regular" pivots. Both metals are too soft to last as long as brass, NS, steel, or stainless.
Of course, if the knife is made using precious metal bolsters and fittings, then these metals would be appropriate.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I probably install more knife pins than 50 people here combined.
I also have pretty extensive jewelry experience.
I can't recommend either silver or gold for "regular" pivots. Both metals are too soft to last as long as brass, NS, steel, or stainless.
Of course, if the knife is made using precious metal bolsters and fittings, then these metals would be appropriate.
Click to expand...


Yeah Bill, you're definitely right, I wasn't recommending them either, if it sounded that way, I apologize. As I said, in cases where I'm using silver or gold in the "pivot" section, I do so with a full hard O1 bushing, that is the bearing surface for the "pivot" i.e. the blade tang pivots over this bushing, and the gold or silver is simply the "clamp" that squeezes everything together, and has nothing moving around it's surface.

I haven't and wouldn't use gold or silver for "regular" pivots where it's not constructed with a bushing as described above.
 
Thanks Javand!!
As soon as my skills would be up to the task i'd get some precious material to work with...the slipjoint type of knife deserves sometimes a special gift ;)

Bill, yes of course we don't want the tang galling soft materials.
Galling is the enemy #1 of the slippies!!!
 
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