Pour one for me

[Joe Gondek]

Raw materials


the blades are high carbon from sheffield

the bolster will be poured from 50/50 lead/tin solid core solder
I also add more solid core tin solder to make the bolster harder and brighter
you can use antler or wood for the handle,it will work with anything except plastic

[Joe Gondek]

lay out

[Joe Gondek]

cut tang


drill handle


square up face of antler

[Joe Gondek]

lead tin alloy is poor mans pewter
Its plenty hard and pour smooth and easy

[Joe Gondek]

leave the blade extended out to the desired bolster thickness don't go more than 3/4 inch with this method


cross pin blade into handle

[Joe Gondek]

wrap masking tape around the base of the handle.ido about ten wraps
this will alllow for shrinkage of the metal and require the metal to be filed down to the horn




I also wrap the blade almost to the bottom of the blade blank to aviod tool marks when filing

[Joe Gondek]

use construction paper to form a mold around the whole thing
wrap it tight around the masking tape that you put around the antler


melt metal


propane or mapp gas works great

[Livingston]

Looks good so far, Joe. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

[mkmound]

Raw materials


the blades are high carbon from sheffield

the bolster will be poured from 50/50 lead/tin solid core solder
I also add more solid core tin solder to make the bolster harder and brighter
you can use antler or wood for the handle,it will work with anything except plastic

Are you using a mixture of two different types of solder? What proportions?

[Joe Gondek]

I'm not a metallurgist
you use a mixture of 2/3 of 50/50 to 1/3 tin
I dont weight it out or measure I just eyeball it
it also works with straight 50/50 but the bolster will become a little dull over time
I add the tin to increase the brightness and make it harder

I've been using this method to pour knife bolsters,
knife pummels and nose caps on muzzle loading rifles for over 30 years