questions from a first timer...

[talkingcabbage]

hello all!  so, i've been reading the knife build-alongs, and was wondering. . . where do you get the pins for the handles?  are they something you make, or just buy at true-value?  also, i really like the look of the drop point knives, but where do i get a pattern for them?  is it something you just make up from experience, or is there some dimensions or a pattern somewhere in here?  thanks in advance for any replies!
Joe

[theunluckyhunter]

home depot and hobby lobby carry brass and copper rods. on the bkades, i just draw until i come up with something i really like, or you can go on the internet find one you like and print it out


good luck

[talkingcabbage]

thanks.  i just didn't know if there was a certain kind of pin to use.  i've seen a couple of knives with a mosaic sort of pin.  where do you get those?  

by the way, thanks for the quick reply.

joe

[Wampus]

.

[skullworks]

You can make the mosaic pins yourself(should be a thread on it) or you can buy the from Jantz, Sheffield, AKS...sure there are others. I think you can even get them on fleabay. They are kind of pricey though.

[theunluckyhunter]

i use texasknife.com i havent used mosaic pins yet. i just dot see paying that much money for pins when i can get three feet of brass rod for 2 dollars.

[elk ninja]

Hey Cabbie,
As far as a template for your first knife, I'd cruise the net till you find something you really like and trace it out, enlarge or shrink to fit you.  

As far as pins go, anything works really.  Some even use the bamboo skewers you use for shish-ka-bobs.  So yeah, any old brass, aluminum or steel rod will work.  For the fancy mosaic pins, they are real easy to make.  Much cheaper than buying them.  But like a knife, what might be easy to make, might be hard to make REAL nice...

Mike

[OconeeDan]

I use a hand held vacuum pump to help suck the epoxy into the mosaic pins, works real well.  Search for mity-vac .
Yes, they are more costly than brass pins, but some people like to drive motorcycles and others like to drive trucks.