316 Stainless Steel Annealed & Pickled CRA .250x1.5" - Sold by the Foot
316 Stainless steel bar stock
Descaled (sand blasted)
This is a special buy, when it is gone, it is gone. Use it for guards, bolsters, pommels, end caps, pins, spacers and decorative parts of the knife.
Used for bolsters, guards, frame locks. 316 is not able to be heat treated. This stock is annealed.
Tip: 400 series stainless is slightly magnetic. 300 series is not magnetic. If you get them mixed up, use a magnet to sort them out.
Tip: If you don't want your pins to show in your bolster several things need to happen. Clean the pin stock and the hole both with acetone or alcohol. I give the pins a quick run on the grinder with a 120 or 240 grit belt. Use a tapered reamer 2/0 for 1/16" through 1/8" for pinning your bolsters. This gives a place for the pin stock to expand and blend in as you peen it. Slightly crown the pins. The pins should sit proud of the bolster surfaces (both sides) at their diameter. When you peen it, peen it as far along as you can. Check the bolster alignment from the top and bottom, they tend to move a little if the holes have some play. Make sure they are flush. I use a needle nose vice grip to snug the bolsters up if they don't get flush to the tang. When you have them peened and mushroomed well, smash the hell out of it to get it to blend with your 416 bolsters. I use 3lb maul to finish the job. Lately, I've been using a pin press you can see it here. The pin press seems to be more elegant and a LOT quieter when I'm working in the basement shop late at night.
