Removing old handles (riveted)

ZENGHOST

ZENGHOST

Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
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My uncle has just asked me about finding someone to re-handle an old Gerber knife that he has. I caught a glimpse of it at a graduation party last night but didn't really pay much attention (he asked me later). I was thinking about trying it myself, but don't really know anything right now. My question is how would I remove the original handles? Are the rivets threaded, or is there some sort of epoxy on there that I will have to remove? I realize that without knowing the specific knife it's difficult to answer, but would this be a good newbie project? The original handles were basically rectangular slabs with rounded corners (nothing special) held on by two rivets. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks.

-Z
 
Sounds like an ideal newbie project to me. If it were me I'd just lay that baby against a 36 grit belt and peel it off. If you have a belt grinder do it that way. If you don't you can probably remove the rivets by drilling them out and with any luck be able to pop the scales off with another blade driven between the tang and the scales. Good luck!

Dave
 
Originally posted by ddavelarsen
Sounds like an ideal newbie project to me. If it were me I'd just lay that baby against a 36 grit belt and peel it off. If you have a belt grinder do it that way. If you don't you can probably remove the rivets by drilling them out and with any luck be able to pop the scales off with another blade driven between the tang and the scales. Good luck!

Dave
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Thanks for the reply, Dave. I pretty much have no equipment for this so I'm looking at real low tech solutions. I guess that means I'm going to have to drill and pry--figured as much. Will a drill press be essential for installing the new scales, or could I do it with a hand drill?

The only thing I'm worried about right now is that it's not my knife so I'd feel bad if I ruined it.
 
First few knives I made all I had was a hand drill, claw hammer and some files. You can do it. If you ruin it...well, that's between you and your uncle. :D Seriously, you can't worry about that, just work slowly and think about what's going to happen next. Enjoy, this is how people get hooked!

Dave
 
If you drill the rivets, and find that the scales are epoxied on, just put the handle in boiling water for 1/2-1 hour. If that does not appeal to you, an alternative would be to put them in the oven at 250Deg.,F, for the same amount of time. They will pop off then.:)
Good luck to you.
 
Thanks, guys. I really want to get into the knifemaking thing even if it's just something I do for kicks (though making money at it would be nice). I have some barstock that's just sitting around waiting for me to get to it, but just haven't had the time. You're right, Dave--it does get addicting. Just reading about all this stuff makes me want to go out and give it a whirl.

And thanks, Mike, I had been wondering about getting epoxy off. I'm assuming that a wood handle in the oven won't be a problem at 250 degrees?
 
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