Ironwood Folding Knife

I finally figured out the method for making near perfect folding knives from the Sherriff kit, from Knifekits.com. You make 20 of them for practice, and the 21st one is likely to be near perfect. Some tricks that worked for me include these:

You want to start with relatively thick scales, flat on each side. Make a very straight cut for where the scale meets the bolster. Epoxy the scale to the frame pieces, making sure to keep the end pressed firmly against the bolster, Trim the scales to the outline of the frame, clean up the inside of the frame by sanding and use of a chisel, where epoxy will have leaked through holes. Drill holes as close to the diameter of the pins as possible. Use a reamer twisted by hand if needed to slightly flare out the holes in the scales, until the pin can fit. Cut the pin so that it protrudes above the surface of the scale a tiny bit. Flatten the of the pin by sanding before peening it. Tap the end of the pin till it mushrooms a bit. It takes less tapping than you think. Sand down the overthick scale and the mushroomed pin heads to the final thickness. This will result in pins that are round, and that fit snuggly in the round holes. A wood that is too soft can let the pins mush over when you peen them.