Newbie- I have no idea how to make a guard... help?

Pedro G.

Well-Known Member
I've been trying out making knives for a couple months now, i've slowly been progressing, but not much. And the one thing I've always wanted to try but never new how was putting a guard on a fixed blade since I still don't know how to make a hidden tang.
I'm the kind of guy who likes to figure stuff out on his own but this is a tough one and no were on the internet have I been able to find out.

Does anyone have any suggestions or even tutorials on how to make the guards?

Thank you- Pedro G. :biggrin:
 
Pedro,

Congrats on being persistent!! Keep it up. There are many ways to make a guard. YouTube has a few for you to watch too. For me, on a narrow tang knife, I cut my guard from a 1/4 inch x 3/4 piece of nickel silver (my favorite material, although brass is easier to work with). Lay out the center line with a ruler and a scribe. Make sure it's center from one end to the other. Use a center punch to mark your holes and use a drill just a little smaller than the thickness of your blade to bore holes. Make sure that the two holes at the end are about the width of your narrow tang. Place the ends of your guard (not the face of your guard) in a vice, and file all the left over material down to the hole edge on both sides. Now you should have a rectangular looking hole that your knife won't fit into (yet). Make sure your narrow tang is a little thinner than your actual blade is up to within about 1/4 inch of the riccaso (broad surface of the blade just in front of where your guard will be). Now comes the tedious part. I don't have a milling machine so I file both sides of my rectangular hole evenly and keep them flat and straight widening the hole and then testing on the tang. Once the guard will begin sliding down the tang (that's thinner than your riccaso), the real patience comes into play. Keep opening the hole along the rectangular sides until the guard slips down to that 1/4 full thickness part of your blade where the finished guard will rest. When you get really close and have to force your guard on to the flats where it will rest, you'll notice guard material left on the blade when you take it off. This indicates where on the guard you need to file more. work slowly. Find a short piece of galvanized pipe smash one end down so that the opening is a little thicker than your blade. Place the pipe over your guard and drive it into place on your knife. If you need to take it off, you can by tapping on each end of the guard with a dead blow hammer working it back and forth toward the but of the tang. I'd leave it in place when I first drive it home and then fit my handle.

Happy making!!
 
Jeff Conti: Thank you for taking your time to write out all the details, I'll keep re-reading it until I get what it means (Newbie :p) Oh, by the way, would you be able to give me the name or a link of the videos on youtube? I have tried looking for them but I can't seem to find any yet.

murphda2: Thank you for showing me the book. I'll see what I can do to get a hold of it if and when I get some cash.
 
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWhmfMhCw40&feature=related

This guy short cuts the process a little for me but perhaps gets the idea across. I don't believe in the guard just sliding on... that means that there will be a visible gap around the riccaso hence my preference is to file slowly, checking the fit and then driving the guard onto the knife. This will raise a bump or burr but you still have to finish the face of your guard anyway. Also, you'll want to make a couple decisions such as whether or not to solder the guard (I do), or use JB weld or some other "glue". this is to seal the handle from moisture. If' you were careful in fitting the guard you won't see a glue line or solder line around the blade to guard joint. If you were like most of us on your first 20 guards, there'll be a small gap at the joint and that's where soldering really helps secure the guard to the handle and clean up the look.
 
Keith Wills: Thank you for those videos I've watched a good many and they've helped a lot in understanding the process.

Jeff Conti: Thank you for showing me that video, you're right he does explain the process pretty well.

Both: But what I meant by fixed blade was this picture,
445095775_o.jpg


I did not make this blank.

Thank you :)
 
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I think you are talking more about bolsters than a guard. At least for that knife. The "guard" area is pretty pronounced already and I dont think you would want any more out front of it.

For that blade, you would need to drill a couple of 1/8" holes for pins, and pin your bolsters with the same material... ie 416 SS bolster, 416 SS pin, that way they blend into each other.
 
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