Looking at this, then looking at photos of the last razor I peened - I definitely have room to improve. Will remember for the next one “tiny taps at the end”.
Pin Not Mushrooming
- Thread starter Frank Shaves
- Start date
One thing not mentioned above, I don't think, is the importance of annealing your brass. Even if the manufacturer claims it's "soft" or "annealed" doing it yourself to make sure is not going to hurt anything.
Since non-ferrous metals like brass and copper don't have any carbon, you can anneal them pretty quickly. Steel has to cool slowly because otherwise you're not annealing, you're hardening.
Just take a propane torch and heat the rod nice and red, and then quench it in water. It is now annealed and should hammer like butter -- but only until it work-hardens from all the hammering. This encourages cutting the rivet short enough that you can develop a good tight fit before it hardens a little, then use the feather-taps to work out the dings and get that nice finish.
'Nother little trick is to use a "doming tool" or "rivet domer" which is a tool like a punch that has a half-spherical hole in the end. You cut the rivet to length, put the tool over the post and whale away. Some guys will start the mushroom with the pein hammer and finish with a domer for that nice smooth look. I knew a guy years ago who would then take a flat hammer and carefully work the domes so that they became four-sided pyramids. Fancy work when combined with filework on a blade spine!
O.H.
Since non-ferrous metals like brass and copper don't have any carbon, you can anneal them pretty quickly. Steel has to cool slowly because otherwise you're not annealing, you're hardening.
Just take a propane torch and heat the rod nice and red, and then quench it in water. It is now annealed and should hammer like butter -- but only until it work-hardens from all the hammering. This encourages cutting the rivet short enough that you can develop a good tight fit before it hardens a little, then use the feather-taps to work out the dings and get that nice finish.
'Nother little trick is to use a "doming tool" or "rivet domer" which is a tool like a punch that has a half-spherical hole in the end. You cut the rivet to length, put the tool over the post and whale away. Some guys will start the mushroom with the pein hammer and finish with a domer for that nice smooth look. I knew a guy years ago who would then take a flat hammer and carefully work the domes so that they became four-sided pyramids. Fancy work when combined with filework on a blade spine!
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #23
In case anyone is having trouble peening and finds this thread, I will add that I can now 1) easily form a mushroom with about 20 to 25 gentle taps, and 2) tighten pins to hold the razor from moving from its own weight. More taps are required to form a full-size mushroom head. And here's what I learned:
1. Use the small (not the large) head of a 4 oz chasing or ball peen hammer.
2. Rotate/spin the handle of the razor a few degrees after every few taps to even out your peening.
3. Gently press the top scale down near the pin while you gently tap.
4. Leave about 1/2 the diameter of the rod in length of exposed/overhang rod.
5. If the pin is not tight enough after forming a full-size mushroom head, file off about half of the mushroom head and restart the peening process.
Regarding #5, I proved to myself that this works by leaving way too much exposed/overhang rod, and had to repeat #5 multiple times to gain sufficient tightness (if that is a word). Each time I repeated #5, the level of tightness increased a small amount.
I tried both 6 and 8 inch single-cut flat mill bastard files, and prefer the 8 inch. I bought a house-brand chasing hammer from Rio Grande for less than $10 that I am very happy with. They also sell a 3 oz version that might also be nice.
1. Use the small (not the large) head of a 4 oz chasing or ball peen hammer.
2. Rotate/spin the handle of the razor a few degrees after every few taps to even out your peening.
3. Gently press the top scale down near the pin while you gently tap.
4. Leave about 1/2 the diameter of the rod in length of exposed/overhang rod.
5. If the pin is not tight enough after forming a full-size mushroom head, file off about half of the mushroom head and restart the peening process.
Regarding #5, I proved to myself that this works by leaving way too much exposed/overhang rod, and had to repeat #5 multiple times to gain sufficient tightness (if that is a word). Each time I repeated #5, the level of tightness increased a small amount.
I tried both 6 and 8 inch single-cut flat mill bastard files, and prefer the 8 inch. I bought a house-brand chasing hammer from Rio Grande for less than $10 that I am very happy with. They also sell a 3 oz version that might also be nice.
FWIW, and not done it in awhile. When peening knife scale pins to the liner, I file the end of the pin to a shallow point rather than start flat. As mentioned above, start with it annealed first. The pin will work harden as you tap it and go from soft to solid.
- Thread starter
- #25
Six months later and yesterday I peened two razors getting the pins quite firm. I started out by going around the outer edges using straight (gentle) blows, and then (at the end) went around the edges again using deliberate, gentle outward glancing blows. Using a magnifying glass, I could clearly see that the glancing blows pushed the outer edge down to the washer. Finally, I am able to do this on demand. In the end, just took practice and close observation. No rocket science here.
A 4 oz hammer is fine just use lite taps on the rim of the pin. If using the flat face, dome the hammer face on a sanding belt or with a Dremel drum sander and polish to mirror, or use the ball side, make sure it also is polished.
Practice on 3 popsicle sticks or tongue depressors, the middle stick simulates the razor tang and should have the same tension as the tang. If you hit too hard or bend the pin, you will split the sticks. You can experiment with how much tension you can create. If you can successfully pin sticks, you can pin a razor.
Find an old hand drill and remove the chuck from the drill, they screw on. Use the chuck to hold your piece of pin, about ¼ inch longer than you will need. Hold the pin in the chuck, sticking out about ¼ inch and peen the end. Strike on the rim of the pin, as you turn the chuck and pin. You can easily make a fully or partially formed pin on the chuck and the jaws will keep the pin from expanding.
Now slip the pin with one side already formed in the scales and tang and pivot washers, trim the pin to length and file smooth. Peen the remaining side using the same technique.
It is much easier to peen just one side on the razor, cut them a little long and file to length, filing also make a smoother surface to peen and makes a smoother pin.
If it is still too long file off a bit more, make sure to brush off the dust so you do not accidently pound the dust into the scales or the shiny pin.
Practicing on popsicle sticks or tongue depressors will build your confidence and teach you a lot about the process.
You can also mask the pin with a piece of masking or electrical tape over the pin to protect the scales, then file and sand the pin protruding through the tape with 600 wet and dry to smooth and dome the pin, finish on 1000 on a finger tip and polish with good metal polish, or buff on a sewn buffing wheel with green stainless compound to a smooth shiny surface on a buffer.
It really is easier than it sounds.
Practice on 3 popsicle sticks or tongue depressors, the middle stick simulates the razor tang and should have the same tension as the tang. If you hit too hard or bend the pin, you will split the sticks. You can experiment with how much tension you can create. If you can successfully pin sticks, you can pin a razor.
Find an old hand drill and remove the chuck from the drill, they screw on. Use the chuck to hold your piece of pin, about ¼ inch longer than you will need. Hold the pin in the chuck, sticking out about ¼ inch and peen the end. Strike on the rim of the pin, as you turn the chuck and pin. You can easily make a fully or partially formed pin on the chuck and the jaws will keep the pin from expanding.
Now slip the pin with one side already formed in the scales and tang and pivot washers, trim the pin to length and file smooth. Peen the remaining side using the same technique.
It is much easier to peen just one side on the razor, cut them a little long and file to length, filing also make a smoother surface to peen and makes a smoother pin.
If it is still too long file off a bit more, make sure to brush off the dust so you do not accidently pound the dust into the scales or the shiny pin.
Practicing on popsicle sticks or tongue depressors will build your confidence and teach you a lot about the process.
You can also mask the pin with a piece of masking or electrical tape over the pin to protect the scales, then file and sand the pin protruding through the tape with 600 wet and dry to smooth and dome the pin, finish on 1000 on a finger tip and polish with good metal polish, or buff on a sewn buffing wheel with green stainless compound to a smooth shiny surface on a buffer.
It really is easier than it sounds.
- Thread starter
- #27
Today, for the second time in a row, I simply raised and lowered the hammer and quickly tightened up one diameter of pin to form a nice, broad mushroom. Just needed to hit the thing harder. Got into a nice rhythm with the hammer bouncing - like bouncing a basketball.
I had simply been holding back after reading stories about pins bending. Still not hitting the thing hard to hurt the palm of my hand.
I had simply been holding back after reading stories about pins bending. Still not hitting the thing hard to hurt the palm of my hand.
Depending on the quality of the pinning material there can be very little leeway between peening it perfectly and splitting the pin so it kinda frays around the edge. That's the difference between just right taps and too hard. I like to check under a loop to make sure it hasn't happened but if there's a crack on the outermost point of the peen I snip and go again. I almost always go for too much/long pin, on purpose, as I like a nice proud mushroom. It takes longer but I consider it worth it.
When I'm just about done I also like to run my work between thumb and forefinger which checks there's no sharp jagged bits on both sides. You'll feel them immediately if they're there. If there is very light taps with the scales slightly raised takes care of them until it feels totally smooth from every angle.
When I'm just about done I also like to run my work between thumb and forefinger which checks there's no sharp jagged bits on both sides. You'll feel them immediately if they're there. If there is very light taps with the scales slightly raised takes care of them until it feels totally smooth from every angle.
When making large domed pins, like on Case and Robesons, using a domed and polished nail set works very well for more detailed and controlled peening, and can develop and finish a large pin dome nicely.
Here is an excellent video by Nick Wheeler using this method to dome and finish pins on his knife handles. It is a 2 part video series.If you watch the video in YouTube, the 2nd video will show up in the watch list. The 2nd video shows the nail sets in action and the final results.
I believe Case and Robeson spun their pins with a special domed tipped rod and drill press. It was a common technique for finishing pins on folding knives.
(Custom Knife Making, domed pins with Nick Wheeler part 1)
Here is an excellent video by Nick Wheeler using this method to dome and finish pins on his knife handles. It is a 2 part video series.If you watch the video in YouTube, the 2nd video will show up in the watch list. The 2nd video shows the nail sets in action and the final results.
I believe Case and Robeson spun their pins with a special domed tipped rod and drill press. It was a common technique for finishing pins on folding knives.
(Custom Knife Making, domed pins with Nick Wheeler part 1)
I drilled a hole in my anvil exactly the diameter of my brass rods. You can see a rod holding up the razor in the picture. I place the washer over the rod and cut it as close as I can to the washer and tap until I get the look I want. pull the pin and assemble the scales. the previously domed side rests in a dimple drilled in the anvil while I repeat the process on the other side. A little polishing with a scotch bright wheel and it looks pretty good.
Similar threads
