Other Materials

Bolsters, Pommels, Liners and Spacers…

In addition to the blade steel and the handle material, there are other materials that can be used in a custom knife.

The Bolster and/or Pommel, if equipped on a knife, are meant to protect the user’s hand from sliding up the blade and getting cut. They are also meant to protect both ends of the handle material from damage if the knife is dropped or hit. As such, they are usually made out of sturdy materials like metal, including:

  • Brass
  • Steel/Stainless Steel
  • Damascus Steel
  • Copper
  • Nickel Silver
  • Aluminum
  • etc…
Example of a brass bolster
Example of a Damascus bolster
Example of an aluminum bolster

Spacers can be used on Hidden Tang and Full Tang knives, and are used to separate 2 or more pieces of handle materials. Liners can be used on Full Tang knives and run the length of the handle between the handle materials and the tang. Both spacers and liners are commonly made out of thin metals and uv resistant plastics.

Example of a 3 layer copper/brass/copper spacer (left) and two single layer black plastic spacers (right), on a hidden tang knife
Example of 3 layer black/red/black plastic spacers on a hidden tang knife
Example of a red plastic spacer, separates the black walnut from the yellowheart
Example of 3 layer black plastic/brass/black plastic spacers on a full tang knife
Example of red plastic liners on a full tang knife
Example of black plastic liners on a full tang knife

"Information" table of contents

  1. Information
  2. What's included:
  3. The Anatomy of a knife
  4. My Process...
  5. Materials I use: Steel
  6. Materials I use: Handles
  7. Other Materials