How can I drill thru stainless steel?

Question

My mother has had a favorite knife that she has used for years, ...the handle has come loose, I haven't found a drill that works....

Answer 1

Knives are hardened then tempered after having the shape (with the holes) made. Normal hardness is 55-60 depending on the manufacture. Twist drill hardness is 60-65 for a good quality drill. You will have a tough time drilling it, if you are able to at all. People in a shop environment when face with this would anneal the piece do their work, then heat treat the piece back to original hardness. I would not recommend this as they are practiced at the process. A solid carbide drill might work, but you might break a few and they aren't cheap, about $20.00 each for 1/4" diameter.
Is there maybe another way to reattach handle or if she loves it so, take it to a shop to have it repaired?

Answer 2

Stainless steel is not that hard. What makes it difficult to drill is that it's particularly "grabby", so you'd want to use 1) a drill press, and 2) hardened drill bits designed for metal, preferably brand new and sharp. Then use generous lubrication, like tapping fluid, oil, or WD-40. Drill at lower speeds, let the chips coil out, don't expect to be able to "grind" your way through. Stainless steel resists grinding, it prefers to be cut.

If you don't have a drill press, use a powerful hand drill and keep it very steady as you drill at LOW speeds.

Answer 3

DRILLING CAN BE DONE BY USING TWIST DRILL FITTED IN A HANDLE.
you may use little oil/ soap water for lubrication and cooling at the drill tip .

Instead you may use suitable metal adhesived to fix handle on the knife. Since hole is not there , probably handle was fixed thatway.

Answer 4

handles are attached with either rivets or screws. If the handle is attached by rivet just reset the rivet. Take a wide angle punch and reset it. If it's attached by screw.......

You can drill through stainless. You need 2 or 3 or 4 highspeed carbon drills, slow drill speed, and lots of oil. Use a drill press and apply even pressure and use LOTS of oil.

Answer 5

Based on your description of your new counters; I would cut out the plywood hole as you described but also cut a part-depth oversized area to fit the outside dimension of the sink overlap edge. You could use a circular saw at a low cut depth to do the cut and then a chisel to lift away the part of the wood from the full cut hole to the part depth cut line. As an example of my sad description here, imagine a door latch mechanism and how the carpenter sinks the catch plate (srtike plate) part of the way into the door frame so the plate is flush with the frame. You can do the same in this application and use the standard mount hardware to fix your sink to the plywood and then place the granite on top. It should all sit flush as you have recessed the sink into the plywood. Once all is in, silicone around the join between the sink and granite. Might work eh? Good luck!

Answer 6

duck tape