A New Project-Help Please

[gunnurse]

Do any of the knife makers on this forum use Torx headed threaded rivets to help attach scales? I am rehabbing my mother’s butcher knife with curly maple scales. It originally had compression brass rivets, but I saw the Torx head screw rivets on Amazon. Other than authenticity, does one type hold an advantage over the other?

 

[Bobby Linton]

This may not help you but it worked for me. Instead of buying any kind of rivet, I have been drilling and tapping two 8-32 hole through the tang. Then I buy the cheap brass 8-32 bolts, thread them through the tang, cut the head off, mount the scales, trim the brass bolt down close, then mushroom it out like an old style hot rivet.

 

[BriarPatch99]

Corby rivets/bolts....they screws together ...then grind the shallow slots off..

https://knifemaking.com/products/corby-rivets

 

[Anvil Head]

I don't see a problem with Torx head screw rivets per say. Only thing I see is the potential to over tighten - but you can do the same with slot drive as well. Extreme mechanical compression is just as detrimental as too light a compression if you are using epoxy as part of the construction.

Totally depends on your skill level, tools, and what you are most comfortable with. The threaded method gives you a little more precision control on balancing the compression levels as the glue sets. However, if you make the mistake of using quick set epoxy you can get into a heap of trouble fast. (I never recommend using quick set for knife construction.) Too much torque can squeeze out enough glue to make the glue joint weaker. There is a fine line between good and bad.
Keep in mind that if you don't counter sink the heads just right, you can wind up with either the slot or drive hole still showing or the head totally disappearing upon final finishing of the handle.

Straight peened pins will hold just as well, have for many centuries. Trick to peened pins is making sure they are annealed (softened), fit the holes snuggly but do go in/through without extra force, knowing just how much to leave protruding for a proper mushroom peen, and you know when to stop with the peening hammer. That "last" tap can spell disaster. I prefer peened pins for the more traditional look, but that's just me.