I was searching for a place to buy brass pins when I ran across Jantz Co. Brass round stock seems real inexpensive there [1/16" x 12" brass round stock $.65] Is this a good company to buy from? They also have 1/16" x 12" brass in a 260 alloy for $.75. Is that better to use than regular brass round stock? Or is it more difficult to work with? I've never re-pinned a knife and I don't need any unnecessary hurdles to jump. Thanks in advance for any advice or recomendations. Al

Jantz is a great company to buy from, always ship fast, never a problem.

Not familiar with the alloy brass you mentioned, but I can tell you you'll definately want a selection of sizes, and nickel silver for the bolster pins. (on most, but not all knives)

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I have bought from Enco Tools and their prices, product and shipping are excellent too. Their 1/8" rod in 6 foot lengths is 2.92 each. They have other sizes too but no nickel silver. Here is the link to their 1/8" rod.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PART ... XNO=940317

In 6 years of knife mechanic-ing I don’t think I have used 3 feet of 1/8” brass rod, but I mostly work on smaller folders.

I try to stock as many sizes of brass & nickel silver as I can find, so I can get the best fit possible on a knife.

I get a lot of brass rod at my local hardware store. Most Ace & True Value stores carry a selection of brass rod and some carry other metals as well, like stainless steel & mild steel rod. Nickel silver is hard to find in hardware stores, at least in my area.

I use Jantz supply for some sizes of nickel silver rod and brass that I can’t find in my local Ace Hardware, but if Ace carries it I usually buy from them because it is much cheaper & I don’t pay shipping. My Ace sells 2 three foot lengths of 1/16” brass rod for $3.95 and no shipping charge.
Jantz carries four sizes of nickel silver in metric. I find the 2mm (.078”) & 2.5mm (.098”) to be especially useful. In addition they carry it the English sizes as well. They carry more sizes of nickel silver than I have found at any other supplier.
http://www.knifemaking.com/category-s/9 ... =50&page=1


Recently I found some odd sized brass rod from Otto Frei, a jewelry supply house.
I bought 2 of these packets listed below and it contained some sizes that I had been unable to locate elsewhere. There were 2 sizes smaller than 1/16” that are great for handle pins for smaller knives. There are also a couple smaller sizes that are smaller than I can use for knife pins, but it was worth the price for the other sizes they had.

http://www.ottofrei.com/store/product.p ... 467&page=1

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Dale thanks for the information. I'll definitely check those places out. I live 20 minutes from Smoky Mountain Knife Works and bought some brass rod from them initially. Their 1/8" rod was 3 dollars and some change for a foot. I found Enco and bought several different sizes of brass rod in 6 foot lengths at a very good price. I guess I'll be stocked up on brass rod for years!!

Thanks to all of you, I got some real good advice here. I want to try pinning on new handles to see if it's something I enjoy. I'm going to check for the brass rod at Ace Hardware. Later when I need the nickel silver rod, I'll go to Jantz. It would cost me $10.95 for shipping on a $.65 piece of 1/16" brass rod from Jantz. If I ever get involved enough to order large quantities, The shipping would seem less significant. Thanks, Al

X2 on Jantz. I have done a lot of business with them - no issues. In a pinch your local home depot or lowes can provide brass pin and thong hole tube in their hobby supply drawers

I buy a lot from jantz, get what I can locally, what I can't get locally I get from jantz. If jantz doesn't carry it then I have to look elsewhere at places like texas knifemakers supply, knife kits, USA Knifemaker supply, K&G supply ect but there is very little janzt does not have, one of the best selections around, I just wish they still carried 3/16" tube stock because it's about the only thing I ever need that they don't carry.

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Hey MM, Jantz doesn't carry N/S tubing in 3/16" but in brass the cat# is CP510.

WB

argh, last time I looked it wasn't even in their catalog, wish they'd make up their mind.

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Hobby Lobby carries many sizes of brass tubing. They have some that is so small that you couldn't put a pin thru the end

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I just bought brass rod at Ace Hardware in one foot lengths for a little less than double what Jantz gets. But I saved the $12 minimum shipping & handling charges from Jantzi got (3) pcs 1/16", (3) pcs of 3/16" and (1) pc of 1/8" for about $8 and no shipping. Also, I discovered there is quite a difference in the prices charged for this same brass at other Ace Hardware stores (almost 40% more). Now I need to find a local source for nickel silver rod. I am going to check some hobby shops and a couple of places that sell welding supplies. It seems like 30 or 40 years ago I did some gas welding (hobby stuff) with nickel silver rod. Does that sound right? The price of nickel silver at Jantz is way cheaper than anyplace else I have found but if you only want a couple of feet, the shipping makes it quite expensive. By the time I find the stuff I will likely have spent a hundred dollars on gas trying to save a $12 shipping charge. Anyone got any new leads? Al

Al,
I have not had a lot of luck finding nickel silver locally.
You might find some at an Ace or True Value Hardware if they carry the full line of metal products from K & S Engineering Inc.
If you have a good hobby store that carries all the K & S line they might have it too.

So far I have had the best luck waiting until I have a large enough order to send in a large order to Jantz so that the shipping is spread over enough stuff that is not a deal breaker.

Sometimes I can find a size or two of nickel silver at a knife show. K & G Supply are really nice folks, and they are usually at the OKCA show every year. I buy things from them at the show to avoid paying the shipping.

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