As a noob to knife making (only around 15 finished knives under my belt) I switched from 3 pins to only using 2 on the last batch of SS knives that I sent for HT for simplicity sake. Is there any major reason why this would be an issue? None of these knives I will be making are intended for any heavy use such as chopping but perhaps there is more to using 3 pins than being able to “handle” the abuse (see what I did there lol). Does handle warping/shrinking/swelling play a role as well? Is it mainly for looks and craftsmanship? Thanks!
2 pins should be fine. The pins are there for shear force. I use corby bolts on everything now which provide a better mechanical connection but good epoxy and pins should be incredibly strong.
It is possible to use no pins and still have a strong handle. There was a survey done in the late 70's early 80's by a knife manufacturer that was looking at what consumers thought. 2 pins was seen as weak 3 pins was ideal 4 pins plus assumption was the handle material was weak and needed more support
