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retiredff

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I have been reading all I can here and researching the tools I may need. I have 4 knives I want to "rebuild". Two are kitchen and 2 are hunting/skinners. This may be a dumb question, but what is the easiest way to remove the old scales? I could grind them off but that seems really dusty. I could protect the blade with leather, put in a vise and hacksaw the old scales and pins off.
My to be shop is in a spare room upstairs that I will have a DP and belt sander connected to a crude but effective duct collection system (still in building stage). This is why I am concerned about grinding off the old scales.

I am 60 and nearing retirement, I though I could build a part time business rebuilding and sharpening knives.

Any comments welcome.

Happy New Year! 2thumbs

Tony
 
Hey Tony,

I'd center punch the pins to index for a drill, then drill those till you get past the flare. Then use a hammer and punch or nail set to drive the pins out the other side. Then whack the scales with the hammer a few times to loosen them. They should either pop or prize rigt off with a screw driver pretty easily. The kitchen knives should be pretty easy. The sporting knives may be a little harder to get off.

If you have any problem with getting the pins out, just drill um out all the way through as far as you can and beat the scales off. Oh, and take your time drilling. Let the bit do the work and it wont run sideways off the pin.

Another thing, Take the jaws out of you vise and drill press vise and replace um with either of 2 things. Ones you make from a hardwood, like old knife scales, (LOL) or you can cut them out of those cheap, white hard plastic cutting boards you can get a walmart. Works great.

Good luck and have fun. Welcome to the wonderful world of knife insanity. ;~)

JD,
 
JD,
That sounds easy. It just so happens, I have an old cutting board in the garage. Thanks for the advise!

Tony
 
Tony, I have used the band saw a lot to take apart wooden handles.
Make some perpendicular cuts about a half inch apart, just up to the tang of the blade. Then pry the sections of wood off with a knife. The wood should just jump off. If the pins are left standing, I grind off the ends of them till they fit through the holes in the tang.

I'll do a little picture tutorial for ya if you'd like...have fun!!
 
Rayban,
Thanks for the reply. I don't have a bandsaw, but a hacksaw should work. The reply's I have read here should allow me to figure this out.

Tony
 
Get a heatgun, one of those larger razor cutters and a putty knife.

Tape up that blade good, put it in the vise and heat the scales up. It'll loosen them up enough to get the razor blade behind them, pry a little to get the putty knife in. The pins, unless they're Corby's, will not be a problem.

Simple. 2thumbs
 
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