In cutlery, the assembly of knife handles is an essential step for aesthetic and handling reasons, but also for robustness. There is no question of the handle breaking or coming apart on impact or stress. After sanding and polishing, Corby bolts have the appearance of classic rivets with increased strength to avoid any risk of breakage due to the knife falling, for example. This means that when screwed together it pulls the handle securely to the tang of the knife. Used alongside a good quality epoxy glue this makes for a very secure handle. All that remains to be done is to cut the screw heads on each side, sand and polish the assembly for a strong and permanent fit. Loveless bolts are often used on Bushcraft knives and come in three different materials. Stainless steel, copper and brass. You can mix and match materials to give a different look such as a stainless steel bolt with a brass nut. Corby Pins

The first operation will be to drill the handle plates to the diameter of the axis of the Corby bolts to be screwed in after having given them the rough shape, preferably. Consisting of two Ø7 mm (0.28in) heads to be screwed onto a Ø5 mm (0.20in) stainless steel shaft, the male part is screwed onto the female part after having first prepared the handle plates.

Ed is so right, heat is your enemy. If you let that get too hot you will end up with a ring around it. And no matter how you sand will you ever get rid of it! It is where the wood around it charred! Tip: The diameter of the screw heads can be reduced slightly by mounting the screws on a drill and turning them on a very fine abrasive, under water if necessary. Some makers and collectors however do not like using loveless fasteners due to the bird’s eye effect created when you sand the bolt flat. This is created when you expose a small area of thread between the nut and bolt which leaves a small semicircle on the pin.

The assembly screws, often aesthetically interesting, require millimetre precision and prior tapping of the plates, the supporting skeleton of the knife. There are many ways of securing the handle of your knife to the blade itself. Some like Corby pins provide a mechanical fit, others rely on the strength of the glue used to bond the handle to the tang of the knife with the pin providing anchor points. Some are plain, others go bling! Let us take a look at what options you have when choosing a custom knife. Loveless BoltsThe assembly with Corby bolts is done by preparing the parts to be assembled as meticulously as possible. Corby pins, also known as Corby bolts or Bull bolts provide a mechanical fit in the same way as Loveless bolts, securely pulling your knife scales together. This time you have a male and a female bolt that screw together. Each side has a slot so you can tighten it with a screwdriver. This time when sanding your knife scales the slot that you used to tighten is removed leaving what looks like a solid pin but has the benefits of the mechanical fit.