M.G. Mühlhäuser & Söhne
Finest Quality Handmade Knives
Step 9 - Shaping the Knife Bolsters
With the bolsters now permanently attached to the knife, it is time to shape them. Again, this can be done now, or after the handle is drilled. Usually I do it at this time.
I start shaping the bolster by grinding the side surfaces flat. This removes any excess pin material. Since the pins were pounded into the tapered holes, they essentially disappear once the bolster is ground.
The top of the bolsters are then ground down to the same level as the top of the tang, and sanded smooth with the steel.
Now the bottom must also be ground down to the steel. This Klipspringer model features a finger cutout in this area, so I grind this on the small wheel grinder. To make the knife feel good in the hand, I also must curve the bolster around the bottom so the finger wraps naturally around it.
Next I grind a curve on the front of the bolster and taper it to the back. This is just one of my design features to make the knife design flow from a visual perspective. This needs to be done completely freehand against the grinder. I constantly check to make sure the grinds are even on both sides, top and bottom, and also curve back similarly on both sides.
With this complete – it is time to attach the handles.
The side of the bolsters are ground flat. The pins disappear.
You can no longer see the pins which hold the bolsters to the knife blade. They have essentially become one with the bolster.
I then grind the top of the bolster even with the top of the knife blade being very careful not to grind the delicate file work
The Klipspringer model has a finger groove on the underside of the bolster. The bottom of the bolster is ground flush with the steel using a small wheel to get into the radius.
The front edge of the bolster is then tapered and curved for a sleeker look and feel. Later, the bottom inside radius will be curved upward, and blended into the handle to make the knife feel wonderful in the hand.