any failed wooden bolsters?

S

soundmind

KNIFE MAKER
I'm trying to find out what would make wood bolsters fail. I have some ideas, but is there any experience/pics out there in failed wooden bolsters and why? I'm not turning anything up online yet.

I like wood for bolsters, but want to know what mistakes to avoid.

Thanks in advance
 
Someone I respect stated that if used with liners and some type of pins/ bolts they are plenty tough. I guess "plenty tough" has to be evaluated by the individual maker? Haven't heard of a real use failure to date.
 
I have been taught by a maker I trust that if you use two natural materials together, like a wooden bolster and a wooden handle, the natural movement of the material can be problematic. This advice was in reference to dovetail bolsters but I see no reason the same would not apply to butt joints. That being said, I have not tested the advice I just take it as truth because I trust the source.
 
Using stabilized wood with liners and pins should be as strong as any other material. Especially with a good epoxy holding it all together. I don't think it is more prone to failure but some people can break an anvil with a rubber hammer.:)
 
To be safe, you want to consider the specific species of wood you use..... some are very prone to checking/cracking in small pieces. This is an area where it's best to be intimately knowledgeable with the wood species you choose..... some "move" more then others (even is a stabilized format), and others are more stable, with less "movement".

The glitch is that woods that are more stable/less likely to "move", are usually those that are harder/denser, and those, are more likely to check/split in smaller pieces.

Personally, if I were to make a knife with non-metallic bolsters, I would be inclined to do with it with synthetic material such as G10, Micarta, etc. The reason being, over the years I've learned NOT to build in anything that could be a potential failure point..... and wood bolsters for me, are just that.
 
I used black palm for bolsters on a knife handle I repaired. I used light brown/white antler material with white liners and nickel silver pins and it turned out really nice. It seems like that's backwards - since the antler is harder it should probably be in front. But I liked the way it looked I wanted to do it again. I was thinking with walnut this time. I thought it'd be tough enough since its used for gunstocks. Not sure if that is a wood prone to movement - maybe not since its pretty hard.

I might end up going with synthetic material. I have black micarta. And in light of your post Ed I'll make a mock up and practice finishing it.
If I did try wood again I'll build it in with the liners and make extra sure I do my epoxy right.

Last time I think I drilled extra holes for epoxy rivets and made sure the pins weren't super tight. But I can't remember for sure.

Thanks again
 
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