Horny Sportsman. (No, not Shane Warne)

[PTRSAK]

First attempt at Horn scales









Not the easiest material to work, but I learned a bunch from this one and next effort will be better.

... and yes I know there is a crack next to the caplifter.  It made me say a bad word. 

[Sparky415]

Like    

[Grateful]

 Nice work.
Jim

[space cowboy]

A-1 work..!!

[sawman]

Nice job on the neat shiney rivets 

[nuphoria]

Love the name!

[ICanFixThat]

First attempt at Horn scales
[....]

... and yes I know there is a crack next to the caplifter.  It made me say a bad word. 

   I bet you said more than 1 word.  Looks nice all the same, and like you said you've learned a lot.      

[papercut]

Nice job!  You continue to impress! 

What is the thickness of the scales?  How does the corkscrew feel in the hand (it looks to jut out a bit).
The Phillips on your cf tinker mod seem to be just about flush with 2.5mm cr scales.

Cheers

[stealth007s]

I like the exposed pins. Can you do that with any SAK or is it special? I really liked the way they looked on that CF one you just did. If it can be done on any one of them, can it be done with silver/ chrome(?) pins?

[PTRSAK]

Nice job!  You continue to impress! 

What is the thickness of the scales?  How does the corkscrew feel in the hand (it looks to jut out a bit).
The Phillips on your cf tinker mod seem to be just about flush with 2.5mm cr scales.

Cheers

The phillips driver is smaller diameter than the corkscrew. I just compared a Spartan and a Tinker in 91mm and the corkscrew is slightly below flush while the corkscrew sits proud of the scales. This one is slightly more proud than that as the scales are quite slim.
I could have used thicker brass for the side plates under the scales and that would have packed it out a little.
This is an older model with the Awl without sewing eye and the grooved corkscrew. The smooth corkscrew would have been a little more comfortable, but it's not really a problem when holding the knife.

[PTRSAK]

I like the exposed pins. Can you do that with any SAK or is it special? I really liked the way they looked on that CF one you just did. If it can be done on any one of them, can it be done with silver/ chrome(?) pins?

It's possible in theory to do exposed rivets on almost anything. With a little messing around even on standard cellidor scales.
On these horn scales I have used 1/8 O.D. copper tube with 3/32 I.D for bushes superglued through the scales  and 3/32 brass rod for the pins. I came up with that idea after peening the first pin caused the scale to split as the end of the rod bent slightly as the head was being formed. Now the copper bushing holds the pin straight and allows the right amount of "squeeze" across the layers to stop any tool wobble.

Silver pins can be made from Nickel Silver AKA German Silver which actually has no silver in it at all.
"The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc". Wikipedia
I have been trying to get hold of some but it just seems hard to find on this side of the world. Especially in the sizes I want

[stealth007s]

I like the exposed pins. Can you do that with any SAK or is it special? I really liked the way they looked on that CF one you just did. If it can be done on any one of them, can it be done with silver/ chrome(?) pins?

It's possible in theory to do exposed rivets on almost anything. With a little messing around even on standard cellidor scales.
On these horn scales I have used 1/8 O.D. copper tube with 3/32 I.D for bushes superglued through the scales  and 3/32 brass rod for the pins. I came up with that idea after peening the first pin caused the scale to split as the end of the rod bent slightly as the head was being formed. Now the copper bushing holds the pin straight and allows the right amount of "squeeze" across the layers to stop any tool wobble.

Silver pins can be made from Nickel Silver AKA German Silver which actually has no silver in it at all.
"The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc". Wikipedia
I have been trying to get hold of some but it just seems hard to find on this side of the world. Especially in the sizes I want

Taking notes.............

This peening thing, is it hard to do? Should I practice before actually putting it into action? So many questions.............. Is there a video tutorial on this stuff? I hate reading

[MARIOS7319]

Very nice job.
You should put your photos in the The Victorinox-Wenger Horn Handles thread: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,41332.0.html
Especially when you make the next one.

[Zed]

Very nice mate  i also like the look of exposed brass pins  i wish SAK's was still done like this 

[PTRSAK]

Taking notes.............

This peening thing, is it hard to do? Should I practice before actually putting it into action? So many questions.............. Is there a video tutorial on this stuff? I hate reading

The way I do it..
Cut brass rod about 1/2inch longer than the thickness of the job. I use flush cutting side cutters so I end up with a pointy end and an almost square and flat end.
Put the pin in the chuck of a cordless drill and with the drill running file the pointy end so it's a nice conical shape. Swap the pin around with about 1/4inch sticking out of the chuck and file that end square (90 degrees, not 4 sided) using the ball end of a 4oz ball-peen hammer tap around the edge with the drill running and form a lip around the pin, then swap to the flat end of the hammer and even it up and work the head into a nice rounded shape. Finally grab some fine sandpaper and polish the head of the pin.

I find it is a lot easier to get a nice even head on the pins doing it in the drill. I'm going to try it in my power drill at 2500rpm and see if it works better than the cordless at 800rpm.

Like anything, practice makes perfect. I'm an Aviation Tech by trade so I learned how to rivet as an apprentice.

Doing the "tail" of the pins is a bit more tricky as you can't have the whole knife spinning around in a drill chuck .

Most important is a decent solid backing to rivet against. I have a couple of riveting dollies (or bucking bars in Ameri-speak) and one fits nicely in my small vice on my work table. On my work bench I have a foot long piece of railroad line with the top ground and polished, makes a great mini anvil.
I cut the pins off and file the ends flat with the pin sticking through the hole in an old liner, this gives a consistent length just right to get a nice sized head on the end of the pin.
Tap-tap-tap around the edge of the pin with the ball end to roll a nice lip on it and then work the head into a nice shape with the flat end of the hammer. You will probably need to protect the scales with a piece of rubber sheet, leather, cardboard etc to avoid a bunch of hammer marks on your scales.  It's a bit easier doing the pins on a knife where the pins are hidden under the scales.

Another handy tip... (trade secret this one)  to avoid the finished knife having tight tools from too much squeeze because of over riveting the pins,  slip a piece of shim brass in between two of the layers next to the pin and remove it after riveting. 10 thou of free space spread across the layers means the tools move freely and snap nicely but don't wobble.

[papercut]

Great info!  If I ever make it down to OZ (could happen actually, in the bulk materials industry), I'll make sure to have have a pint or two drawn up for ya!

[PTRSAK]

Bought some of this "Homey coloured" horn, being 60mm wide it will be perfect for blinging up a few of those dozen Classic SDs I have.
Also have several Rallys and plenty of scissors from trash SDs to turn them into Ramblers. They should be popular with horn and exposed rivets.

[PTRSAK]

ok, the sportsman was a practice run,  this one joins my Recruit Parade.




you can just see the copper tube bushing around the head of the rivet. No smurfing split in this pair.

[Sparky415]

Wow