Cold Steel Assegai - Need to remove improperly installed old shaft and replace

HikingMano

HikingMano

Joined
Sep 2, 2008
Messages
7,702
Hi folks, I'm hoping someone can help me with this problem.

I purchased a Cold Steel Assegai a few years back, and stupidly tried to force the provided shaft on the head, only to discover the tapered section wasn't sized correctly. I could not fully seat the shaft into the head, leaving a gap. I thought, also stupidly, perhaps I could just shave down the remaining area to help get the head fully seated (which is why the gap you see below is unvarnished). So, now I have a shaft that's wedged into the head and I can't figure out how to get it off safely (I have minimal tools at home, unfortunately).

I'd like to either get a Cold Steel replacement, or, more ideally, I'd like to make or have made a new shaft for the spear. If a new shaft is made, I'd like to give it a slightly oval cross-section, so I can index where the edges lie from the orientation of the handle in my hand. That way I won't have to look at the head to know where cutting orientation is. Again, I don't have the tools for such a project though, not yet. So for now, I simply want to remove the head. From there, I'll probably just get another shaft from Cold Steel, since it's already properly tapered for seating (but next time I'm checking if it needs sanding down first).

Any help and advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

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ETA:
I've been thinking I'd just saw the bulk of the shaft off, then devise a way to either pound or twist out the part of the shaft still lodged in the head.
 
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Cut off and drill out. or you could use another dowel and hammer to tap out from the thin end...and don't forget to remove the set screw.
 
Might just stick the blade end in a warm oven (150°F - 200°F) for a little while, and let the wood dry (should shrink a bit). Might be much easier to remove it then (or fully seat it), I'd think.
 
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Embarassing, I know, but I don't even own a drill. It's been on my list, just haven't gotten around to it. I would have tried cutting and boring it out, if I had a drill. I can remove one screw, the other snapped off in the shaft during tightening. Yeah, I've been thinking about securing the blade safely somehow and then tapping it out from the other end. I don't have a vise either.

OwE, I can give that a try :thumbup:
 
The 'oven trick' is common among some fans of Opinel folding knives. Wooden handles absorb moisture & swell up, which makes the pivot tight. Heating & drying the wood usually takes care of that (sealing the wood afterwards helps, too). :)
 
Right, I just discounted it because it seems pretty heavily sealed. I'll give it a go later today and see what happens :thumbup:
 
If you just remove the set screws and "slap" a tree with the head a few times to get the whole spear to deliberately vibrate the head will likely loosen right up.
 
It's a two person job, but put the blade in a phone book and have someone stand on the book while it's on a table or counter top and that should give you all the grip you need on the handle. Just ask yourself what happens if it all slips and make sure the person standing(maybe better to sit) on the book doesn't somehow get impaled.

Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all. Oh well, your call....
 
Ben, I'll give that a try too. I'd like to believe it's tough enough.

Swonut, sounds a bit risky, and I don't know if the phone books would have enough friction, even with a person standing on it. Might be worth a try as a later resort though.
 
I mean the blade. I'd like to believe the blade is tough enough to suffer no ill effect with the impacts against the flats.
 
This is probably the single most common reason why folks switched from spears to Glocks.



Stitchawl
 
HikingMano said:
I mean the blade. I'd like to believe the blade is tough enough to suffer no ill effect with the impacts against the flats.
Click to expand...

Right--it most certainly is strong enough. But I was just clarifying that it doesn't usually take much of a smack to do the job. :):thumbup:
 
Yeah, that I knew and agree with :thumbup: Although, I did smack it around a good bit yesterday (harder than when I first tried removing the head), and there was no discernible loosening....
 
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