Pearlescent pin

Gliden07

Well-Known Member
Have a customer that wants a knife and wants the pins to be a Pearl finish on them. I can't recall seeing anything like that in my travels or recent searching. Closest thing I've come up with is the spots for fret boards on gutairs (very thin though). Anyone have an idea where to get an actual pin like that??
 
Could you make them...???

I made a couple serpentine pins with a 1/4 diamond core drill. Only one turned out that I ever used. My process would need to be dialed in if was still in my shop. With 1/4" core drill I got a 5/32 pin. I never had success going smaller. They want to crack along natural fracture lines, even with the 1/4". Best of luck. Maybe you can find them already made.
 
Have a customer that wants a knife and wants the pins to be a Pearl finish on them. I can't recall seeing anything like that in my travels or recent searching. Closest thing I've come up with is the spots for fret boards on gutairs (very thin though). Anyone have an idea where to get an actual pin like that??

Could you countersink the real pins and fill the void with pearlescent epoxy? I recently filled an engraved handle with metallic silver epoxy, and it came out pretty nice.
 
Have a customer that wants a knife and wants the pins to be a Pearl finish on them. I can't recall seeing anything like that in my travels or recent searching. Closest thing I've come up with is the spots for fret boards on gutairs (very thin though). Anyone have an idea where to get an actual pin like that??

Pearl inlayed ebony bridge pins might work.

 
CD I may have to look into those?? They may work if I can cut off the end and counter sink it
I didn't realize how thin it was. I guess I was thinking of the crushed up kind mixed with epoxy.

Chris' picture made me think of "fast caps" in in cabinetry... or better, something similar to wood plugs for building furniture. I can picture a clean tight fit.
 
Building on Chris' idea, you could also use a tube (brass or whatever) and fill it with epoxy. Much like making a mosaic pin. Just need something to make the epoxy pearlescent.
 
Found you can buy bags of crushed mother of pearl on Amazon too. Not sure what the finished product would look like once mixed with resin, but looks like guys use it for doing inlays with epoxy.
 
I think CD got this thread on the right track suggesting countersinking metal pins and then filling or topping with something. I have a "thing" for opal and a year or so ago I did some heavy duty research on the Internet, looking at sites that sell to jewelers. You can get opals -- and most other precious or semi-precious stones -- in every size and shape imaginable. I'm pretty sure you could find tiny opal, pearl, or shell circles that would do what your client wants. Might be worth finding an Internet jewelry-making forum and posting your question there.
 
I was just thinking along the same lines as Kentucky Fisherman. Use thin wall brass tubing, slide a slightly shorter piece of brass rod into that, then set a small pearl into the end. Since it’s a ball, you could gently roll the tubing over it a bit, like setting a stone, then sand the top flatter to make a flat dome shape.
 
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