Hello the fire,what is the secret to peening the tang over the butt cap without it looking like the surface of the moon ? any help would be appreciated !!
Never done it but maybe useing a punch of sorts placing the end where you want it and striking the punch instead of the tang with the hammer. Just a thought. Been curious myself how the tang is heated without ruining the handle material itself. Hope some iron benders chime in.
First off, any peening is done cold. The tang must be left soft in heat treat, or annealed after. The slot in the cap, washer, ect., needs a very close fit. The edges of the slot are angled at a 45°, but not more than 1/32 deep. I go for maybe .025 up to 1/32". The tang needs to be no more than 1/16" above the slot, and it's edges need to be filed off at a 45° for about .020 to no more than 1/32". This prevents cracks or splits in the edges. Use a medium weight ball peen hammer. With leather around the blade, lock it tight in the vise, and start peening. Many lighter blows is better than a few heavy. When confident that you have a tight peen, dress off the peen as desired with a file and sand paper. That's how I do it. Just try to be accurate with the hammer blows. Using moderate blows with the hammer is also an advantage if you do miss. You can also prevent serious damage to the butt cap if you build a border around the tang slot of layers of masking tape.This message has been edited. Last edited by: WBE,
Posts: 557 | Location: geneva,fl | Registered: 29 March 2005