All About Pocket Knives

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:47 pm**

It’s always nice to have one head on a pin for ease of assembly. I buy some of the pre-peened pins and use them from time to time because they can save some time and some grief (one less pin to peen when working in fragile handle materials). Some of the guys here use pin spinners. I’ve owned a few and just didn’t get the results I liked so I do mine by hand. I’m not knocking pin spinners, they just weren’t right for me.
The biggest issue when pre-peening pins is supporting the pin so it doesn’t bend while you’re tapping away on its head. You can use a vise for this but I switched over to a delrin block with some appropriate sized holes drilled in it. It’s inexpensive and works well. You can see that mine has numerous holes in it. This one is 3/4” thick;

The process is pretty simple. Install a pin in the hole with a bit protruding and file the top flat;

Then use your favorite pin peening hammer and peen the pin until you get the pin head mushroomed over. Light tapping and moving the hammer head around all sides of the pin will keep everything somewhat symmetrical;

The pin will look a little beat up at this point, but a few seconds on the polishing wheel and it’ll look just fine;

A little time spent in the shop and I’ve got enough pins for my next few projects;

Hope this helps.

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:11 pm**

Neat idea, Jeff!!!

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:25 pm**

SO.... this must be what you did on that last knife you built....
The heads on those pins look so NICE I figured you had back-slidden and got a pin spinner!
Thanks for this tutorial Jeff! I am going to try the same thing with one of my delrin blocks!

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:44 pm**

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:25 pm SO.... this must be what you did on that last knife you built....
The heads on those pins look so NICE I figured you had back-slidden and got a pin spinner!
Thanks for this tutorial Jeff! I am going to try the same thing with one of my delrin blocks!

LOL! No, no more pin spinners.
I had three different ones and just couldn’t get the results that I wanted from any of them. Strictly a hammer peen guy now!
Jeff

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:51 pm**

Jeff the Pins on the 72 you sold to me are awesome! Never seen any better than them!

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 8:17 pm**

Those look fantastic Jeff. Great idea!

Posted: **Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:01 pm**

Here is a jeweler's nickel plated steel block for making rivet heads. They are available.

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:57 am**

This is something that, as I gather tools to start rebuilding some knives, I have completely overlooked. Something like this makes the job so much easier to put in a pin. It seems that a lot of the English cutlers still use hand-peened pins; while American ones use spun.

Great job! I'm not sure whether (given how bad I am at a lot of the job) I should make or go with the factory-made jeweler's block.

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:01 am**

I didn’t know the jewelers block was available or I probably would have just bought one. But since I had some delrin laying around (you could use Micarta scraps or hardwood too), I just made something that fit the job at hand.
Jeff

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:03 am**

TPK wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:51 pm Jeff the Pins on the 72 you sold to me are awesome! Never seen any better than them!

Thanks Tom!
Jeff

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:25 am**

Jeff, I had the same experience with the spinner I bought and hardly ever use it anymore. The problem I occasionally have is the pre-peened side looks great, but I can't quite match the same results on the side I have to peen after the knife is together. I am very leery of having a pin head that is "too tight", because that can result in a the very common crack I see all the time next to the pin head. As a result, I don't get the non-pre-peened side a flush as I would like. Is there a different trick or technique you use for the side that isn't pre-peened to get it flush but not too tight? Thanks!

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:31 pm**

We all get an occasional crack in a bone handle when installing pins. Sometimes it’s because the bone material is weak in that area, other times it’s because the pivot hole is closer to the edge than what would be ideal. I think it was in a Muskrat man video where he said the backspring pin only needs to be peened enough to close the gaps in the liners.
I’ve seen a lot of knives where the peened head on one side is slightly larger than the other. I consider that to be somewhat normal. For me, minimizing cracks is done by using light taps with a light hammer, working from side to side and most importantly, making sure you don’t have too much pin protruding from the hole before you start. The less pin there is protruding, the less peening you have to do. I also bevel the edges of the hole in the bone (usually with a ball burr) before installing the pin. That slight bevel gives the pin a little extra room to expand without cracking the bone.
I still occasionally crack a pin hole but it’s much less frequently.
Hope this helps.
Jeff

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 12:55 pm**

Nice work improvising a tool.
Prepeened heads make the job SO much easier. I always like to put the prepeened head on the mark side of the knife.

I have found that the smaller hammers make the best tools for peening on the scales.

Posted: **Thu Jul 09, 2020 1:02 pm**

Good points Jeff and Tony!
I am learning some things that should help me in my next build/repair.

Posted: **Fri Jul 10, 2020 1:55 pm**

Cool idea! I guess I am a creature of habit. I just use raw pin stock, make the head as I need it, and clip it off to length. But I do like having stuff premade, so perhaps I'll have to revisit.

Posted: **Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:28 pm**

I especially like pre-made pins when reassembling a knife with old bone handles. There’s always that fear of tapping that backspring pin just once more and hearing that nauseating little crack sound.

With one side of the pin already peened I figure I reduce my chances of a bone crack by 50%!

They’re just handy to have around.
Jeff

Posted: **Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:11 pm**

Jeffinn wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:28 pm
With one side of the pin already peened I figure I reduce my chances of a bone crack by 50%!

I totally agree!
This is my new procedure now! Peen one end before sticking it through the handle!

Posted: **Mon Jan 10, 2022 1:01 am**

Jeffinn wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:47 pm It’s always nice to have one head on a pin for ease of assembly. I buy some of the pre-peened pins and use them from time to time because they can save some time and some grief (one less pin to peen when working in fragile handle materials). Some of the guys here use pin spinners. I’ve owned a few and just didn’t get the results I liked so I do mine by hand. I’m not knocking pin spinners, they just weren’t right for me.
The biggest issue when pre-peening pins is supporting the pin so it doesn’t bend while you’re tapping away on its head. You can use a vise for this but I switched over to a delrin block with some appropriate sized holes drilled in it. It’s inexpensive and works well. You can see that mine has numerous holes in it. This one is 3/4” thick;
F8BC47F0-8266-4BD0-9DF5-8668A67043CB.jpeg
The process is pretty simple. Install a pin in the hole with a bit protruding and file the top flat;
FEF886AE-5C6D-4A84-898E-1C45C2722702.jpeg
Then use your favorite pin peening hammer and peen the pin until you get the pin head mushroomed over. Light tapping and moving the hammer head around all sides of the pin will keep everything somewhat symmetrical;
708C81EB-9BE9-403D-9AA1-2AFAD4DFA01B.jpeg
The pin will look a little beat up at this point, but a few seconds on the polishing wheel and it’ll look just fine;
EE6A3CE5-635A-476B-8CCB-0414EA342E4A.jpeg
A little time spent in the shop and I’ve got enough pins for my next few projects;
A22F7E30-8111-4AB9-B8DD-AA63BD6A84E5.jpeg
Hope this helps.

Jeff,
I read your tutorial on pre peening pins I made one out of oak. Then ordered a jeweler's block. Here are 2 knives I just did with micarta scales. This seems to work. Great information!

I still am trying to get my pins to look like yours. I have a long way to go.
Nev-52 (Gerard)

Posted: **Mon Jan 10, 2022 1:11 am**

Your pins are looking pretty darn good!
Jeff

Posted: **Mon Jan 10, 2022 7:21 am**

Love this Jeff

going to make one tuesday

Posted: **Tue Jan 11, 2022 2:31 am**

Thank's. Jeff Coming from you that is quite a compliment.

Nev-52

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