All About Pocket Knives

And at my age, that has nothing to do with acrobatics!

I recently bought some nice 1/8" snakewood slabs, and decided to use some on this old Camco that I made into a single-blade knife (the secondary was broken). The material is really beautiful, and it works quite nicely.

HOWEVER...when I went to pin the handles to the liner, the darn things split. I've done this with other wood before--walnut, oak, and I think maple--without much difficulty. I'm careful, of course--I make the pins on my lathe (the only power equipment I have, except for a hand-held drill). I then press them through the holes in the handle and liner, and then support the head of the pin while I tap the back to the liner. I put a little bit of countersink on the liner so I don't have to crush the pin, but I still have to hit it gently with a small hammer to set it in place.

So, what am I doing wrong--or what technique do I need to adopt? I've seen counterbored washers used to spread the stress, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

The knife will be a great little EDC, so I'm happy wither way. Just looking to improve.

Stuff happens.
Many times it happens when you least expect it to happen.
I would have removed that offending pin, superglued the crack, and very gently repinned it.
I 'm rehandling an Italian stiletto in old pearlex at the moment. The front handles are milled out quite thin for the mechanism, but presented no problems at all when pinning. The rear handle is solid and conventional. I have now made 3 new rear handles for it. The last one cracked when I inserted (not peened!) the backspring pin!

Thanks for the vote of confidence...I get lazy, and hate having to do the same work more than twice...and the fact it was 3 out of 4 pins made me wonder if it was more than just bad luck.

I'm sure I'm not telling you something you don't already know...I don't leave much pin sticking up beyond the material before I peen. Common knowledge says no more than the diameter of the pin, but maybe a little less for certain materials. Also, for certain materials that have a tendency to split, you need to allow a little more room for the expansion of the pin. When I drill out the handle material for the pin, I also use a slim taper reamer to open things up a bit.

Not sure if that helps at all. Also, I have issues from time to time with material splitting, so it's not just you...

BTW, the knife looks good!

Thanks, Glenn. I didn't drill the pin holes oversized, so maybe that will help. I don't have a lot of room to play with, though, because I don't get more than .005" overhang on the head of the pin (I'm cold-forming it on the lathe), so too much larger and the pin will just slip through the handle material. And I generally file the pin to about .040" above the liner before I peen it, which is generally enough to peen it into place.

Using a .062 diameter brass material for the pins--I think I may have a drill that's .003" oversized. I'll try that (my next project on the bench will use the same material; we'll see how it goes).

glennbad wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2026 7:49 pm I'm sure I'm not telling you something you don't already know...I don't leave much pin sticking up beyond the material before I peen. Common knowledge says no more than the diameter of the pin, but maybe a little less for certain materials. Also, for certain materials that have a tendency to split, you need to allow a little more room for the expansion of the pin. When I drill out the handle material for the pin, I also use a slim taper reamer to open things up a bit.

Not sure if that helps at all. Also, I have issues from time to time with material splitting, so it's not just you...

BTW, the knife looks good!

I go with 1/3 of pin diameter sticking above scale.

beresman wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2026 8:07 pm Thanks, Glenn. I didn't drill the pin holes oversized, so maybe that will help. I don't have a lot of room to play with, though, because I don't get more than .005" overhang on the head of the pin (I'm cold-forming it on the lathe), so too much larger and the pin will just slip through the handle material. And I generally file the pin to about .040" above the liner before I peen it, which is generally enough to peen it into place.

Using a .062 diameter brass material for the pins--I think I may have a drill that's .003" oversized. I'll try that (my next project on the bench will use the same material; we'll see how it goes).

I never overdrill for pin size. I drill to the same diameter then countersink out side of hole just a bit to give the pin space to spread. Not saying it is the corr Way just my way. I hardly ever crack material peening anymore. (Now my next 10 will split)

BIGHEAD wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2026 10:13 pm
I never overdrill for pin size. I drill to the same diameter then countersink out side of hole just a bit to give the pin space to spread. Not saying it is the corr Way just my way. I hardly ever crack material peening anymore. (Now my next 10 will split)

I will drill oversized pin holes, in bone, and those composite mineral scales. There are some of the more brittle woods like ebony, snake wood and African black wood (if thin), that seemed to work better for me if I drill the holes a bit oversized.
It's nice you hardly crack material when peening anymore, but I think that's more a sign of a Craftsman who has learned his trade quite well!

BIGHEAD wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2026 10:13 pm

beresman wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2026 8:07 pm Thanks, Glenn. I didn't drill the pin holes oversized, so maybe that will help. I don't have a lot of room to play with, though, because I don't get more than .005" overhang on the head of the pin (I'm cold-forming it on the lathe), so too much larger and the pin will just slip through the handle material. And I generally file the pin to about .040" above the liner before I peen it, which is generally enough to peen it into place.

Using a .062 diameter brass material for the pins--I think I may have a drill that's .003" oversized. I'll try that (my next project on the bench will use the same material; we'll see how it goes).

I never overdrill for pin size. I drill to the same diameter then countersink out side of hole just a bit to give the pin space to spread. Not saying it is the corr Way just my way. I hardly ever crack material peening anymore. (Now my next 10 will split)

That is the way I do it also. Just turn a sharp drill bit with the fingers to make a tiny countersink.

I normally use a bead reamer to countersink the holes just a little bit, or a similar bit that fits a Dremel tool.

Reverand wrote: ↑Fri Jul 10, 2026 6:33 pm I normally use a bead reamer to countersink the holes just a little bit, or a similar bit that fits a Dremel tool.

What a fantastic idea!

This is what I use to countersink. But put it in my drill press.