Recovering question

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spyderg

Joined
Sep 28, 2014
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So I’ve got a 4 blade RoughRider that has cheap plastic covers that don’t fit well. I temporarily textured them and sanded off the edges that sit higher than the bolsters. It’s nice and comfy to use now but I have some real nice bocote I’d like to recover it with. I’ve dismantled and recovered a couple knives before but was hoping to avoid disassembly on this one. I was hoping I could just pry off the plastic and replace it with my bocote. I’d drill out for the pins and glue it in place. (The pins on last knife I took apart were solid in place with the bone covers removed) Will this work? Suggestions?
 
spyderg said:
So I’ve got a 4 blade RoughRider that has cheap plastic covers that don’t fit well. I temporarily textured them and sanded off the edges that sit higher than the bolsters. It’s nice and comfy to use now but I have some real nice bocote I’d like to recover it with. I’ve dismantled and recovered a couple knives before but was hoping to avoid disassembly on this one. I was hoping I could just pry off the plastic and replace it with my bocote. I’d drill out for the pins and glue it in place. (The pins on last knife I took apart were solid in place with the bone covers removed) Will this work? Suggestions?
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There are some fine cutlers and crafstmen here that can give you some tips on that. Leaving the pins in to rehandle is possible but not ideal though. The top of the pin is somewhat flattened out (or domed) as compared to the diameter of the pin (that is what helps hold it all in place). The scale won't fit right if you drill the hole in it wide enough to get by that. Of course, a bunch of glue will hold it in there but you get the point. If you have a small hammer and something firm to hammer on...you might as well try repinning it instead of messing with a work-around. It sounds silly but YouTube is a good resource for seeing how folks do that.
 
I only trust glue long enough to hold the scales long enough to drill and re-pin.

Often times, the glue gives up while I’m peening the new pins, so on mine, the pins are doing all the work of holding on the scales.

When you drill out each scale, using the pin holes in the liners as guides, remember to countersink the holes on the outside of the scales(and bolsters), so it accepts the mushrooming of the pin. That helps them hold tighter and they won’t stick out proud of the scale.
 
If you don’t want to take the knife apart then you can use a grinder or snips to cut the pins and the cover should be easy to pry off. Then, use flush cutters to snip the cover pins off at the liners. Cut the rocker pin a little proud and then peen it into a dome. Cutting the covers and making them fit might take awhile and will involve some trial and error, be patient and work slowly!
 
I want to add that I don’t trust glue only very often, but if I do then I use a high quality epoxy and make sure I very carefully clean everything with alcohol and then rough the pieces for maximum hold.
 
Thnx for the responses. Haven’t decided how I’m going to tackle this project yet...
 
Finally got around to it about two weeks ago. I was able to gently pry off the plastic covers it tact and use them as templates for the bocote replacements. I drilled the holes for the pins slightly under size so when I put the new scales on, I had to gently press them on. I “Gorilla glue” super glued them as well. I made them a touch thinner than the original scales so the middle pin through the whole knife was a touch proud allowing me to hammer it on both sides. The pins that are just for the scale are all actually bent a little so while it was tricky to get them through the drilled holes, they are holding them with sideways pressure.
The knife is a bit bulky but the blade combo is great, especially with my mod turning the Spey into a clamshell package opener, (looks kinda like a guthook but super pointy to pierce the plastic). Also the tip is now a little spatula? Whatever you might call it, it’s perfect for stuff like applying epoxy in tight spaces. Main is a clip, along with a sheepsfoot secondary and of course the main reason I wanted this knife in particular, a Caplifter.
It’s been in my pocket since I recovered it. It looks amazing now! Before the recovering, I had only sharpened it once as the factory edge wasn’t great. This “440 razor sharp steel” is impressive! After much use it’s still shave sharp without even a touch up. As much as I like my Gec’s I’d have had to touch them up a couple times with similar use by now.
 
Well you gonna show us?

Also... I hadn't seen this thread, but GFlex Epoxy is amazing stuff. "2-ton", "marine-grade"... I turned a folder into a fixed blade with it once. I wouldn't hesitate to use that stuff on covers without pins.
 
spyderg said:
Finally got around to it about two weeks ago. I was able to gently pry off the plastic covers it tact and use them as templates for the bocote replacements. I drilled the holes for the pins slightly under size so when I put the new scales on, I had to gently press them on. I “Gorilla glue” super glued them as well. I made them a touch thinner than the original scales so the middle pin through the whole knife was a touch proud allowing me to hammer it on both sides. The pins that are just for the scale are all actually bent a little so while it was tricky to get them through the drilled holes, they are holding them with sideways pressure.
The knife is a bit bulky but the blade combo is great, especially with my mod turning the Spey into a clamshell package opener, (looks kinda like a guthook but super pointy to pierce the plastic). Also the tip is now a little spatula? Whatever you might call it, it’s perfect for stuff like applying epoxy in tight spaces. Main is a clip, along with a sheepsfoot secondary and of course the main reason I wanted this knife in particular, a Caplifter.
It’s been in my pocket since I recovered it. It looks amazing now! Before the recovering, I had only sharpened it once as the factory edge wasn’t great. This “440 razor sharp steel” is impressive! After much use it’s still shave sharp without even a touch up. As much as I like my Gec’s I’d have had to touch them up a couple times with similar use by now.
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Would you post photos? I sure would like to see the finished knife.
 
traumkommode said:
Well you gonna show us?

Also... I hadn't seen this thread, but GFlex Epoxy is amazing stuff. "2-ton", "marine-grade"... I turned a folder into a fixed blade with it once. I wouldn't hesitate to use that stuff on covers without pins.
Click to expand...

GFlex epoxy is great stuff. I use it for making laminated slingshots. Not knife making, but similar enough :)
 
I would love to show you guys but have given up trying to post pics on here. Tried 3 different image hosts recommended on here, none work right. Plus folks are always complaining that the hosting sites pull pics off etc. On top of that I’m out of memory space on my iPad to download anymore apps.
I go by the same user name on Spyderco’s forum and have pics of it on there in off topic. Also posted in 2 FB groups, Jimbos knife fam and slipjoint army.
 
file.php


Well the picture appears to work. I don't know for how long.

O.B.
 
spyderg said:
Thnx Old Biker for finding and sharing my pic! Thnx LastRodeo, I’m really happy with how it came out.
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All I did was link to the photo you had posted on the spyderco forum. It's easy to do from a PC with a mouse. All it took was a couple of right clicks with the mouse. As far as I have been able to figure out, it's impossible to do the same link, from a stupid phone, (or similar device),that has no mouse. So if you have access to a PC, consider using it next time you want to post a picture.

O.B.
 
That looks pretty nice, good work!
 
glennbad said:
That looks pretty nice, good work!
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Acknowledged by the master! Thank you sir. It’s not perfect but I’m happy with it. The knife wasn’t GEC F&F to start with, plus even though it was new/unused it’s like 25 yrs old or something. I didn’t want to take this one down completely as I doubted I could keep the bolsters if I did, plus it would have been a pain to put back together. I got lucky with how easily the old covers came off. It was a fun experiment that left me with a knife I’m loving carrying!
 
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