I have been all over the map on when I drill pin holes in the tang of a knife. I have been thinking thru my knife making process and want to get it to a series of uniform steps that I do the same every time.
I have drilled the pin holes right after grinding the final shape, right after normalizing, and after hardening. I stick the blade in my water quench tank and heat the tang to a light blue when I drill after the quench.
So the question I have is at what point in your process are you drilling your pin holes, why do drill the holes at that point in your process?
im not very experianced but i like to drill right after i get the shape of the knife ground and the bevels done. but way before i harden it. thats just me though who knows if thats the best or worst way to do it.
I do all my drilling pre heat treat. I do stock removal blades, my process goes as follows: Anneal stock, cut rough outline, grind profile, grind bevels, DRILL HOLES, Hand sand to 320, Heat treat.
My knives are totally complete prior to sharpening, saves my hands a bit that way.
I drill right before my last couple of normalization before quench. If your going to drill after quenching, a nice way to draw the temper out of the tang & back of the blade is to bury the blade in wet sand and heat with a torch. The tempering won't travel into the blade. Also a good way to ensure a nice soft back spine...Doc
always after final grinding before heat treat. I also do all the handle wood preparation at that time. It is nice to have that all ready to go after tempering and testing. I could easily do it after the heat treat if I want to... although, with my thinner stock I would rather not take a chance and have some hardened steel in the wrong place.
Assuming a stock removal knife, anytime before a heat treat. I drill right after cutting out the blade and grinding the profile.
Dan