? abut peening a knife tang

[JB2]

Some knives have a 'rat-tail' tang going all the way through the handle and then peened over a flat pommel.  Is this tang peened over hot, or cold?  I guess I'm wondering about damaging the handle material while peening.  just be careful with the hammer, and stop hitting it just before the bone shatters? 

[Hungry Horse]

 If the square hole in the pommel is a tight fit, it takes very little upsetting to lock the pommel down for good. Make sure the end of the haft is annealed so it will upset, and use a light ball pean hammer.

                 Hungry Horse

[Ky-Flinter]

Jim B,

I asked a similar question a while back and got some good tips.  Here's a link to that thread......  http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=25782.0

Hope this helps.  Let's see the knife when you get it finished.

-Ron

[JB2]

Thanks for the replies, guys.  And Ron, I MUST have seen that thread before, but it didn't bubble to the surface.  I remembered it when I saw the difference in how I spelled 'peen'.  Or maybe I just remembered the pretty pictures!

Memory almost full

[LRB]

  Peening over a bone grip always involves at least some risk. When peening tangs, many light blows trump fewer heavy ones, and lowers the risk of "surprises".