full handle replacement

A

ablebravo

Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
22
would someone who has done this before review the following and correct me where i go wrong. i got one of mr. martino's scratch-and-dent kukuries, and instead of repairing the handle i would like to replace it.

1)remove the 'eye' on the buttcap by wiggling it back and forth until it pops off the tang. use a mallet and coldchisel or big screwdriver tip to encourage it.

2)boil the whole handle up to the bolster to loosen the lasa/goo they use to glue the handle assembly. this may take 15-20 minutes. when the stuff is sticky again, pull all the parts off the blade, being careful not to burn yourself. you will be left with separate part now -- blade, bolster, handle, cap, eye. clean lasa off any of these you plan to reuse.

3)make your new handle and reassemble, using the glue of choice. before the glue hardens, peen the tang over the eye by whacking it carefully on an anvil or other polished metal surface. you want it nicely and evenly rounded over.

what would you use for glue? i would prefer something that could be undone/redone like the lasa, in case the handle cracks or breaks. epoxy, is, i think, forever, and would leave you with one heck of problem if repair was necessary.

what would you use to clean the parts? does laquerthinner dissolve the lasa? i want to make a nice job of it.

thanks in advance for any good information
ab
 
AB, these are excellent questions. I can only comment on point #1. I don't think simply wiggling it is going to do the job, and the 'encouragement' is likely to cause damage to the 'eye' and/or the buttcap.

When I recently removed the handle from my 1 bone-handled khuk, I GENTLY ground off the peened part of the tang that was sticking out of the 'eye'. I used a belt sander, but it could be done with a file. Then I used a heat gun to melt the laha, and the buttcap and 'eye' just popped off.

I haven't put it back together yet, so I can't answer the rest of your point first-hand. I plan to use epoxy, because the horn needs all the support it can get. Fragile stuff in this case.
 
my bad; lasa='laha'. i had thought of grinding off the peen, but wanted to save as much metal for reassembly as possible. i think you are right, tho, and expect it will come down to that. thanks for the heatgun tip. i wasn't looking forward to a meal of boiled kook.
ab
 
Some people recommend using bluing compound as a condiment for boiled khuk. Haven't tried it myself.
 
Looks like you've got about all you need.

But, I do know that when Art S. tried to take the handle off a khuk he worked on for me, he tried heating the spine with a torch instead of boiling, and it didn't work. Only boiling did the job. In this case, it was desirable to save the handle.

If you boil, use an old pot or some kind of can--after the job is done, it will be worthless for anything else.
 
Wonder why the torch didnt work. One of these days Ill have to take apart a khuk to see whats going. Ive used a torch to take apart alot of bolos, barong, and kris without a hitch. Perhaps its the longer tang that is making it difficult for the heat to travel up from the spine?
 
Dunno Fed.

I'd already done some finish-work on the wooden handle, and nice guy that he is, Art tried the torch first cause he thought it would be easier on the wood than boiling. I think he said he mostly just got a bunch of laha violently exiting the bolster. It was a full size GRS, maybe there was just so much metal to heat up, it didn't work quickly.
 
The bone handle slipped right off when I ground down the 'eye', which is probably why it broke in the first place. The part that fits under the bolster had broken, too. It was carved down pretty thin. I glued together the bone (a large triangular piece had broken out) with superglue, and I plan to chip the remaining laha off the tang, then use the heatgun to melt it clean. Then fill the handle with epoxy (the buttcap won't come off, no matter how much I heat it, BTW. It's not flat, but rather like an oversized version of what comes with a Pen Knife.) and put the whole think back together. When it's dry, I'll try to peen the tang end.

It's an 18" GRS.
 
Welcome to the Cantina Ablebravo!:D

Good advice from all and nothing much I can add. If I were you I would remove the flattened part of the bolster which will give you more than enough added tang to peen over. You may have to rework the inside of the handle a bit to get it to fit further up the tang but IMO it's very much worth it.
Besides I hate the so-called habaki bolsters as it contributes to the cho creep among other things IMO but YMMV.:)

Another thing is you're going to have to work very fast if you want to peen the tang over while the laha or cutler's resin is still soft as it hardens pretty quick.
I've always used the 30 minute epoxy and had really good results and then waited until everything was solid to peen the tang over.
There's also the danger of not getting things lined up perfectly with the laha and trying to peen while it's still soft. Things are going to be trying to move while you're peening the tang down.
Just something to think about.;)
 
Aardvark said:
Then fill the handle with epoxy (the buttcap won't come off, no matter how much I heat it,
Click to expand...
Aardvark if the buttcap won't come off I bet it's been put on with JB Weld. If so it's probably on there for good.:( The buttcap on my Foxy Folly was done that way but wasn't so solid it didn't come off with a bit of gentle prying but then it's a wood handle.

There's some things I just don't think it was good for the kamis to be introduced to.:grumpy:
 
You're most likely correct, Yvsa. Not only would it not come off, but it didn't even wiggle. I didn't consider that they may have used something other than laha.

How do you remove the flattened part of the bolster? Grind it?
 
Aardvark said:
You're most likely correct, Yvsa. Not only would it not come off, but it didn't even wiggle. I didn't consider that they may have used something other than laha.

How do you remove the flattened part of the bolster? Grind it?
Click to expand...
That'll work. That's what I did with mine but it could be carefully sawn off with a hacksaw and then filed off flat if there's no grinder or belt sander to be had.
 
I've pretty much given up boiling and gone to dry heat for removing handles. I don't like what boiling does to the wood handles.

Smaller khuks get the handle stuck into my preheated heat treating furnace (with the door left open, the handle inside and the blade sticking out through the open door) but some are just so large and curved that the small furnace won't hold them. I try to use the torch on them, but am afraid of scorching the wood on a two-handed handle.

A kitchen oven at about 300-350 would work, but my wife Linda smelled laha in the oven once and let me know that there better not be a second time. I have to admit that the kitchen did stink a bit, so handle removal is now always done in the shop unless I'm forced to use boiling water when there's no one else around.

It's pretty much a matter of keep trying different things until something works, but I'd recommend filing off the peined end of the tang and trying dry heat first. Wear gloves, and take off the buttcap and endpiece first. When you can start to twist the handle just a little bit, pull it off. Take things slow and easy; it's easy to get too absorbed with the handle and do something stupid like wrapping your fingers around the sharp edge while the other hand is pulling.

If Yvsa's suspicion about JB Weld is correct, you have trouble. The JB Weld I buy here won't loosen until heated to about 500 F. I've been fortunate and never seen JB Weld on a khuk and suspect that it is rare because of cost and scarcity in Nepal. Hopefully the kamis didn't get more than one pack of it.
 
Art S. said:
If Yvsa's suspicion about JB Weld is correct, you have trouble. The JB Weld I buy here won't loosen until heated to about 500 F. I've been fortunate and never seen JB Weld on a khuk and suspect that it is rare because of cost and scarcity in Nepal. Hopefully the kamis didn't get more than one pack of it.
Click to expand...
No suspicion Art, real deal, but I should clarify it I guess. The JB Weld was only used on the buttcap and keeper and not holding the handle on, and fortuantely there wasn't a whole lot of it used there.
Laha was used for the handle itself fortunately as it's always been or I'd have never removed the handle by boiling it.
Pala took back several packages of it when he went back to Nepal, at least the time before last. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't do it this last time as well but don't know how he got around with Bill being so sick and all.
 
for all the good advice. i will let you know how it goes. i have a billet or two of dogwood, and also some exotics, so we will see what makes it into the handle. i think i will order some kevlar gloves before doing the 'hot kook twist.' i knew an old guy who ran a country sawmill -- he was missing some fingers on both hands and his 'thumbs' were actually his big toes, surgically moved to enable him to still use his hands for gripping. not a club i want to join. ;-)
ab
 
Another thing you can do is to tape up the edge and point. I use the blue painter's tape. Doesn't leave a residue. I put 2 layers over the parts that are likely to damage me before working on them.
 
for complete disassembly.
yes, i actually went a step further --we must be on the same wavelegnth, since this was before i read your tape suggestion -- i wrapped the blade in a rag, then bound it tightly in the blue painter's tape. then immersed to bolster in the coffee can of boiling water. handled it w/welding gloves while pulling apart and cleaning it up. laha is strange stuff.

i plan to thread the last 3/8" or so of the tang w/a die, and have an idea for capturing a peened-over nut invisibly inside the handle. if it turns out well, i will post.
ab
 
I've just taken the handle off of an HI khuk. I've also taken handles off of knives that have been secured with JB Weld.

If you are not going to re-use the handle then 3/4 of your problems are solved.

One way to do it is to simply take a Dremel and a friction cutting wheel and make a lengthwise cut down each side of the handle, deep but not all the way to the tang. Then take a big screwdriver and a small hammer and pry the handle off in two lengthwise pieces. Then sand, wire brush, heat, or grin off the epoxy.

Handles with JB Weld can be ground or filed off with a rasp.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top