- Joined
- Oct 19, 2020
- Messages
- 164
My daughter-in-law has her grandmother's kitchen knife which had a broken handle. She asked me if I could fix it. And so, I did.
First, I had to figure out how I wanted to do it. After some clickety clacks on my old computer, I decided to use Loveless bolts. As I began searching where I could buy some, a thought hit me. I have a lathe now so why not make some. Two sets to be exact.
Loveless bolts require a hole be drilled half way through your handles (scales) with a 90 degree shoulder. Then the idea is to put your Loveless bolts in the holes, tighten them up and trim to fit. Sounded easy enough. And it was after a few tries of course.
First I made some handles out of some scrap wood. I cut them close to size on my jig saw.
Then I made the bolts.
Next I found a drill from an old Dewalt set that had a starter point on the end. That worked to create the holes with shoulders.
So it was on to screwing the handles onto the knife. I put some epoxy on because this seems to be the way other guys do it.
After letting the knife dry over night, I trimmed off the excess brass with a band saw.
Now I was ready to sand the whole thing smooth. And Bob's your uncle. If you look closely you can see that the Loveless bolt leaves a "target" of concentric circles when sanded flush.
My biggest mistake in the whole project (or I should say one of my biggest mistakes) was using linseed oil for the finish. It went on nice enough but that stuff takes forever to dry. Maybe I put it on too heavy but dang. Its been months and its probably still sticky. How do I know? Because I painted my old vice with it after I did the handles and it is still sticky. No more linseed oil for me. P.S. My daughter-in-law was happy to have her grandma's knife back in working order.
First, I had to figure out how I wanted to do it. After some clickety clacks on my old computer, I decided to use Loveless bolts. As I began searching where I could buy some, a thought hit me. I have a lathe now so why not make some. Two sets to be exact.
Loveless bolts require a hole be drilled half way through your handles (scales) with a 90 degree shoulder. Then the idea is to put your Loveless bolts in the holes, tighten them up and trim to fit. Sounded easy enough. And it was after a few tries of course.
First I made some handles out of some scrap wood. I cut them close to size on my jig saw.
Then I made the bolts.
Next I found a drill from an old Dewalt set that had a starter point on the end. That worked to create the holes with shoulders.
So it was on to screwing the handles onto the knife. I put some epoxy on because this seems to be the way other guys do it.
After letting the knife dry over night, I trimmed off the excess brass with a band saw.
Now I was ready to sand the whole thing smooth. And Bob's your uncle. If you look closely you can see that the Loveless bolt leaves a "target" of concentric circles when sanded flush.
My biggest mistake in the whole project (or I should say one of my biggest mistakes) was using linseed oil for the finish. It went on nice enough but that stuff takes forever to dry. Maybe I put it on too heavy but dang. Its been months and its probably still sticky. How do I know? Because I painted my old vice with it after I did the handles and it is still sticky. No more linseed oil for me. P.S. My daughter-in-law was happy to have her grandma's knife back in working order.
