Heat Paste

BD Blades

Well-Known Member
I soldered a gaurd on my blade and may have gotten it too hot as its performance is not as good now. Teh blade is 5160 3/16" at thiskest part of spine with full tang and I had almost 2 inches of ricasso.

Has anyone tried the paste or gel they make to protect form heat? Would this be good to put on the blade while soldering on the gaurd?
 
I've used some gel that I got at a welders' supply store - works fine if you are generous with the goop but is kind of messy. On the last couple of knives I used JB Weld instead of silver solder and bypassed the issue.
 
Michael said the answer....."bypass the solder". There was a time when solder was the "standard", but of the world's top makers, I do not know any of them who have used solder in the past 5-10 years. There has been so much advancement in other ways to seal the blade/guard joint, coupled with the fact that there are so many disadvantages to using solder, I don't even teach solder to students any longer.

I would assume that you know this, but I think it's worth rehashing..... solder is nothing more than a moisture seal, to prevent moisture from working it's way under the guard, then under the handle material, and destroying it from the inside out. Some will rebuke me and make a statement that they "attach" their guards with solder.....the bottom line is this: If you must use solder to "attach" a guard, then your not fitting your guard(s) to the blade(s) closely/tightly enough.
 
Thanks Guys;

I believe I will try the JB Weld. I just thought solder was how all the pros did it. Solder is a real pain. So is properly fitting the gaurd for us rookies.

Hope to see you at the Blade Show.
 
Come by and visit me at Blade....table #5P. Introduce yourself and remind me about this thread....I'd be happy to offer all the help I can.
 
Back
Top