When adding a bolster, do you attach it to the knife before or after heat treat? I would think after but I'm unsure. I have also read about putting them on with silver solder. So if done before heat treat I assume the solder will melt and they will not stay. But if after, then wouldn't soldering impact heat treat and hardness of the blade? I've only done one, epoxied and I slightly drilled out the holes and tried to peen the pin a bit to help reinforce the attachment but I'm not sure if that's right as the pin wasn't perfectly hidden after grinding either. Any advice would be nice. Can't see it that well here but if you zoom in you can see the pin.ignore the coffee rings on the bench. Notice a trend in my knife shapes
If you used the same material as the knife and welded the bolsters on then before heat treating will work as long as the area inside the handle is vented (no booms or warped parts) If after silver solder or brazing has been used and most important is keeping the blade cooled by sticking in a potato or water. Easier to go with Epoxy since there are very good brands out there and their main purpose is to seal the bolster plus a little holding. Pins have to be a similar material or identical in order too disappear a snug fit and light peening will help but variations in composition are noticeable. Dan C has a hidden pin bolster write-up on his blog that you can try.
Bolsters definitely go on after heat treat. I silver solder guards but not bolsters. You have the right Idea there and it actually looks pretty good. Maby a little more peening may have hidden the pin a little more but it also has to do with the material of the bolster and the pin. Even if they are the same material, if they are not from the same patch at the foundry, there could be a slight difference in the color, shine only noticeable when they are so close together. I am actually thinking about making pins from the same bar that I cut the bolsters from.
Thanks. That was truly a practice knife made to try a bolster for the first time. I might do it differently today too. The bolsters are 01 and the pin is some sort of rod from Home Hardware so who knows what it is. That's why the knife is so scratched. Felt I needed to explain my scratchy blade etc.
The rod from home hardware would be a 1018 type steel so very noticeable difference between the two. Fastenal sells 01 in rod form that would be a good match for the 01 bolsters
