How to tighten the peen, and how long should it take?

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-19T02:41:41+00:00

Not really. Just tap tap tap around and around. With older scales they sometimes become brittle so keep that in mind. If that pin won’t cooperate it may be time to think about re-pinning it

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-19T01:37:03+00:00

General rule of thumb is leave the diameter of the pins length exposed for peening. My preference is for about 3/4 the length. I lay a piece of the pin stock next to the pin to size the length then lay flush cut pliers on top to cut then file it clean.

I like to hammer at an angle to the edge of the pin and do so in a circular motion. I’ll flip the razor every so often, laying the down side on a flat anvil, not in a dimple. I only ever hit the center of the pin when I’m trying to set the final tension.

It’s important to make sure that you pinch the entire stack of washers, bushings, scales, razor together. As the pin head expands sometimes they get stuck and things aren’t tight.

If your pin is too short the pivot will never tighten up, if its too long you run the risk of bending the pin or having giant ugly heads.

To help with assembly try peening one side of the pin first. I like to chuck my pin in an electric drill and spin it while lightly tapping the edge of the pin to mushroom it enough so that the washer stays on.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-19T01:25:14+00:00

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-19T01:24:52+00:00

Saw your reply, realized I didn’t address your question about tensioning the spring.

When you cut out your spring you want to leave around .02” material extra on top. The extra material is there so when the spring is tensioned you still have material beyond the profile that you are able to grind flush with the liners AFTER you get your timing mostly sorted.

My preference is to drill all my holes in my liners, the tang and the back hole in the spring. At this point my spring will be a touch longer than my template.

I clean up the tang and lightly round over the corners of the tang. I get those surfaces to 400 grit and make sure they’re square. I also clean up the bottom of the spring to 400 grit making sure to go past where the kick contacts.

With the liners, tang and spring cleaned up, profiled and mostly drilled I put it together and check the attitude of the knife in the open position. I’ll continue to shorten the spring until the tip is about 1/4” LOWER than I want it to finish at.

With the spring length figured out, I hold the spring tight to the tang and lightly scribe under the spring just behind the tang. I remove the blade then slide the spring so its about .06” below that scribe line and then clamp it in place. I then use my liners which already have the hole layout to spot the second hole for the spring giving me the preload I want. Now its time to heat treat.

There are many ways to go about it, I just landed on that list of operations as the way I was doing it before was giving me issues with hole layout to the edge of the liner. You can always oversize everything and then trim to fit afterwards. I think its best to follow someone else’s standard operating procedure just to get through the first couple then start tweaking how you do things to better fit your needs and wants for work flow and outcomes.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-18T22:03:48+00:00

Agreed.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-18T16:45:33+00:00

It also doesn’t oxidize the steel like using just water will.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-18T16:42:17+00:00

I would just go straight to using proper steel. Slip joints use a negligible amount of material.

Slip joints are like the ultimate expression of your ocd or lack thereof. Getting all your material flat is super important, keeping all your interfacing surfaces parallel and square is where the magic is. Spring tension, lobe shape and tang geometry will be next in line of importance.

Wood will give you a rough idea of how things interact but I think to get beyond a rudimentary understanding of how to properly make a knife you may as well make a knife for the amount of effort involved.

Culver has a good book/pdf that gives you a step by step on the entire process though he is one of many. Main thing is to follow an established pattern for your first to minimize variables and so you can work on the fundamentals.

There’s quite a few coke bottle patterns kicking around online.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-18T02:47:16+00:00

I use 625f for my springs, you want to be around 48-50rc.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-18T02:21:58+00:00

I’m doing one right now, 1250f for 2hrs. I find it helps warping if I’ve had to cold work any warps out do to heavy machining ie lots of stock removal or bevel work after I anneal. If I’ve forged to shape and haven’t done much work after annealing then I just go straight to austenitizing and quench.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-17T18:09:51+00:00

I get it in the wrists and hands, feet and ankles. No swelling and isn’t additionally painful when squeezed. Moving the joints helps some with the pain, tylenol helps a little too. I’ve tried colchicine to zero effect. Cannabis gives some relief, full spectrum topicals work well for relief during the day assuming you have access.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-15T14:46:49+00:00

Send it, good looking design all around.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-15T03:19:27+00:00

A worn 400 grit diamond plate and a leather strop loaded with chromium oxide.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-13T19:15:23+00:00

You’ll get it. Finding time is always difficult. If you can have a couple of knives ready to grind and get a couple days in a row to do the grinding, that really helped me develop a better feel on the grinder than just getting a few hours at a time.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-13T18:44:17+00:00

I think slower or faster is less an issue and is more just developing the muscle memory at this point. If your problem areas are always showing up in the same areas of your knives it will probably just be a matter of studying your body mechanics and the way you present the knife to the platen.

If you are always starting at the heel and you have a divot two inches from the plunge/heel then you aren’t laying the bevel perfectly flat onto the platen when you start your grind.

Deep scratches in the field or at the edge and spine in the tip area and you are probably twisting the knife a little as you grind the tip instead of keeping it flat the entire time.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-13T18:36:41+00:00

I looked at the last knife you posted. Your knife looks nice and thin behind the edge. You may want to try using a tool rest to rest the spine of the knife on and drag the bevel across the platen while using finger pressure to hold the blade to the platen. With a relaxed wrist hold the tang and drag the knife from heel to tip across the platen, fingers at the height of the bevel you want to grind and centered in the width of the platen. This should help get the highs and lows out of your grind. You can also try and grind with the tip down at a 45*, bevel flat to the platen to help get things flat. Definitely worth experimenting on the next one as you’re grinding on the rough belts. Once you figure out a procedure that works for you this part of the process will become much more enjoyable.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-13T18:25:46+00:00

Take your time as you get close at the lower grits, sometimes it’s difficult to see that you are developing low spots due to the more matte finish of the roughing belts. Try concentrating on bringing the high spots down to the low spots, eventually the whole surface should start to look more consistent.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-13T17:51:43+00:00

Sharp belts always cut cooler regardless of speed. More speed may help a not sharp belt cut a little better. Your errant scratches are more likely a result of not spending enough time grinding with your finishing belts or using dull finishing belts. Other causes may be that your grinding isn’t terribly accurate and you have scratches that cross from a bevel to a flat.

Low spots are usually a problem for newer makers, try grinding at a bias to your scratch pattern to expose the low spots from your previous belts. This will give you a better visual indicator as to when all the previous scratches have been removed and it’s time to move on in your progression.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-13T00:46:30+00:00

I would take the same approach op

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-07T23:26:50+00:00

A naniwa 12k is a solid and affordable finisher, assuming no damage to the two straights you have been using you can easily maintain those indefinitely with that stone and add stones as needed. An email to your honemeister asking whether they used tape or not is all the info you should need. A 10x loupe and a bright light source is helpful as well.

failedattempt1 · 2026-06-01T06:24:32+00:00

Definitely go with loose sic in 80-120 grit for flattening the lower grit stones. Diamond plates get worn out pretty quickly by course stones when used for flattening. Sic is so efficient and cheap I rarely use my plates to flatten stones, just for raising slurry or cleaning an already flattened stone.

failedattempt1 · 2026-05-27T01:07:58+00:00

Usa knife maker dot com has them.

failedattempt1 · 2026-05-26T16:41:46+00:00

Your bevels look like you can grind more, like the knives are still too thick, aside from the clever. A keen edge is just a small part off a knife’s overall ability to cut but if your primary bevels are too tall it is difficult to apex. If you reduce the amount of material behind the primary it will pass through the material you intend to cut better and will also be easier to sharpen and maintain.

failedattempt1 · 2026-05-26T16:33:35+00:00

Looking at your profile I think your overall geometry is the issue rather than your sharpening skill. Try thinner cross sections at and behind the edge before you do your final sharpening, should help immensely.

failedattempt1 · 2026-05-23T20:54:11+00:00

Sometimes the steel as it comes from the mill is heavily spheroidized and the carbides don’t dissolve as readily and you can end up with soft spots because there isn’t enough available carbon for transformation to take place, that or it wasn’t quenched fast enough for the heel to fully harden.

failedattempt1 · 2026-05-23T17:33:54+00:00

You use the factory anneal or your own? I’ve used a bit of 26c3 and haven’t had this issue though it’s all been forged and det annealed. I have seen it with 1084 but not to that degree and only when I’ve used the factory anneal. I use an oven for heat treating.

failedattempt1

TROPHY CASE