Tony Bose Pivot Bushing Construction

Tony uses aluminum bronze bushings in all of the slip joint folders that he makes. It is his opinion that the use of a bushing improves the quality of the knife in the following ways:

* The blade pivots on what is well known to be an excellent bearing material. The chance of galding and subsequent damage of the joint between blade and bushing due to years of opening and closing is greatly diminished.

* The pivot area is bigger due to the bushing remaining stationary with the handle. The blade pivots on the bushing, not on the bolster pin.

* When the slip joint knife is assembled, the bolster/liners press against the bushing, not the blade tang. Due to the pressure being on the bushing and not the tang, there is very little chance that the blade will be pinched in the future. Accidental drops, and sometimes hammer blows during engraving, can cause pinches. The pivot pin(which is peened to the bolsters) will never be revealed over time with use, unlike what is sometimes observed with standard pivot pin construction.

The Project 1	Barrel Lap 2	Clean pivot hole 3	Mic the tang 4	Keep Mic clean 5
Size the spring 6	"Surface grinder" 7	"Mag chuck" 8	Grinding spring 9	Lapping spring 10
Bushing lapper 11	Ready to lap 12	Sizing bushing 13	Blade 'n bushing 14	Timing mark 15
Staking 16	Hairpin tool 17	Ream pin hole 18	Tapered holder 19	Clean bushing 20
Test fit 21