Battle Grade FSH rusting under scales

Well I couldnt wait... heres what I did.

I split the brass tubing in the press and the copper worked fine. The stainless was the best so I went that route.

I added basically a 1/10" and cut the tubes at a hair over 1" long.

I sprayed some clear coat rust protection on the knife handle. It dried and I pressed the handle in place, wiping the blade down with acetone when finished to wipe off any over spray.

I am stoked at how it turned out. Thanks for helping me figure it out!

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Looks amazing man! I've been curious about doing this myself for years. I've always thought the busse flared tubes look way better than most other handle fasteners, and it's just super f'ing cool that they are held in place with only pressure. Thanks for sharing the process, now I need an arbor press!
 
Thanks guys!

I have a little 1 ton arbor press. I bolted it to my cutting table and put a 28" cheater bar on the handle to make the press smoother.

If I did it over again, I'd hold out for a bigger bench top press. The 2 and 3 tons seem to pop up on the internet classifieds most often. I'd get the biggest I could find that I can move around.
 
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Looks great.

very nice.

I had a buddy make me special flares for thick and thin walled brass and stainless tubing.

Done it a few times whenever I have time :)

Added red liners to this Sawback

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It really helped me to trim down the 2x4 to my handle thickness and drill/taper a few holes for test pressing. I used this to figure what the right length was, how much force I needed for each material, and what materials would work. While doing this I realized I needed to bolt the press down and put a cheater bar on my press handle.

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What flarring die did you get/where?

I have a crappy one, but would like to get better results. Yours looks Great.
Good job!
 
Crag the Brewer said:
What flarring die did you get/where?

I have a crappy one, but would like to get better results. Yours looks Great.
Good job!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I am content with the work. I used this flaring die. My 1 ton arbor press has a 3/8" shank so thats what I bought. Now I want a heavier press - like a 3 ton - and am cussing myself because it'll probably be a 1/2" shank.

www.knifegrinderparts.com

Tube Flaring Dies For Fastening Handles

These tube flaring dies are made in the USA from hardened S7 steel and come with your choice of 3/8" or 1/2" diameter shank. These were designed to be used with an 82 degree countersink hole. The price shown is for a SET OF TWO flaring dies. Please be sure to select the correct shank diameter...
www.knifegrinderparts.com www.knifegrinderparts.com
 
In the first post it looks like the scales had some kind of brown paint or other coating. Then after sandblasting, that coating came off and you were left with a bare looking micarta. Did you sandblast the scales and it removed the brown looking paint / coating?

I am interested because I have a Busse that was fully sprayed at Blown Deadline, but I do not like how their spray looks on my scales. I like how it looks on the blade, just not the scales. I would like to remove the spray from the scales.

Or does anybody know how to strip the coating from the scales?
 
C cutchu

Mine had cerakoting on the blade and handle scales - it was coated after the scales were pinned to the blade.

I initially sandblasted the whole knife, including the scales and it took the coating off the scales very well! They feel like they've been lightly sanded is all and are clean. I can't tell they had a cerakote previously.

You could wrap the blade in masking tape very well and then use a sandblasting cabinent to blast the handle. Or you could remove the handles and sandblast them individually and re-press / use standoff hardware to rehandle it.
 
I have no personal experience, but I have seen where others inquired about citistrip damaging the scales while stripping the coating from the blade. The consensus seems to be that it has no ill effect on the Micarta. So, removing the scales and stripping them would be another option.
 
willmtn1 willmtn1

Thanks for the info. I have a couple other Busse knives that I want to remove the handles from and later reinstall with the screws as previously mentioned. I am going to gather all the parts and do it the right way the first time. Anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time.
 
I have stripped a couple Busse, but they had G10 scales. I've never done one with micarta. The citristrip didn't mess them up but did change the coloring of them. I don't think they look bad, just different. I still love it though! 😁

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Heck yeah! Theres nothing like having the right tools for the job.

My friend's Harbor Freight sand box worked very well! Its hooked up to a big air compressor and also a shop vac in order to work correctly. Even after sand blasting the knife 3x and cerakoting it, I still managed to cut myself on the edge without trying.

Once I sorted out the processes, sand blasting went quick and painless, as did the re-pressing of the handles. I definitely wished there was more work for me to do, haha!

It's the same with my cutting torch and welding - once I get rolling I want to cut and weld whatever I can get my hands on. Haha
 
cutchu said:
I have stripped a couple Busse, but they had G10 scales. I've never done one with micarta. The citristrip didn't mess them up but did change the coloring of them. I don't think they look bad, just different. I still love it though! 😁

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qy1OXpG.jpg
Click to expand...

You were able to remove cerakote from the knife with citristrip?
 
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