replacing scales

deltablade

deltablade

Gold Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Messages
1,997
is there anyone on the forum who would replace the scales on my cold steel mackinaw hunter folder with some orange micarta? I have the micarta yet realized that I don't have the skill or tools to do the job well.
 
Can you turn a screw driver? That's all the skill you need.

The only tool you need is a 'torx' head screw driver available at any hardware store. Take your knife to the store and ask for help. For a small fee or no fee they might swap out your scales.
 
I'm getting the impression that he has orange micarta sheets that he wants made into scales, not that he has a set of orange scales ready to go on the knife.

So at minimum in addition to the torx driver he'd need a dremel tool or preferably a drill press and some skills.
 
DrFish said:
I'm getting the impression that he has orange micarta sheets that he wants made into scales, not that he has a set of orange scales ready to go on the knife.

So at minimum in addition to the torx driver he'd need a dremel tool or preferably a drill press and some skills.
Click to expand...

Ahn...that could be the case.
 
thanks draggat, and Drfish that is the case. I have 2x5" micarta slabs which will need to be drilled and shaped to fit. I have a grinder, dremel, and drill press, yet I want to make the handle a little wider, or thicker, than the original, and I don't know how to inlet the screw holes precisely so that the screws will engage correctly. I really like the knife, yet think it would work better for me with somewhat thicker handle. I will try to post pics today, and get in touch with Keyman.
 
If you have a drill press you're pretty much set. Making the holes straight is one the more difficult parts in my experience. After drilling the holes you may need to use a counter bore or countersink to seat the screws flush. A larger drill bit in your press would be easiest although you can do it by hand with the dremel.
A belt sander makes profiling a pinch.

There's lots of step by step youtube videos out there on making scales if you want to try making it yourself. It's a fun project. Wear a respirator, polymer dust is pretty much never good to breathe in.
 
n7titan said:
If you have a drill press you're pretty much set. Making the holes straight is one the more difficult parts in my experience. After drilling the holes you may need to use a counter bore or countersink to seat the screws flush. A larger drill bit in your press would be easiest although you can do it by hand with the dremel.
A belt sander makes profiling a pinch.

There's lots of step by step youtube videos out there on making scales if you want to try making it yourself. It's a fun project. Wear a respirator, polymer dust is pretty much never good to breathe in.
Click to expand...

I will look for them. yet how would I be able to tell how deep to countersink? the screws are not very long, and if I went too deep I would ruin the scale.
 
As with every other thing about fitting the scales to be flush, go slowly and take off a little at a time until you get the right fit.
On every step leave extra material for yourself in case you make a mistake until you are 100% sure you don't want to profile any further. Use your power tools until you have a few mm left, then do the rest by hand. Trust me, an amateur slip on a belt sander will bit deep and leave you having to re-sand the whole thing to make it smooth.

case in point: my own Birch scale project I've been on that last few days. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1209979-Making-wood-scales-for-Esee4
I don't have a drill press so I had to do the holes by hand, countersinking was a huge pain without the proper tools but I was able to fit them properly by going little by little. It's not symmetrical or clean but they fit just fine. It helped that I wanted my scales to be very rounded; I was able to get away with rounding out my countersinks to be less noticeable.
L0160376.jpg


Many people will glue their scales on in addition to pins or screws. Most epoxys would be able to hold strong enough, the pins just help the scales from shearing off if dropped or something.
As for measuring how far the countersink goes try putting one side of the original scales, then line up your stock piece on the other side to get and idea of how deep that screw will need to sit to reach properly.
Other than that most of those screws are common threads, so you should be able to find longer replacements at your hardware store.
 
I have actually re-scaled a lot of my own folding knives. At least 20+. It is deceptively easy. The most difficult part is drilling the holes and counter sinks correctly. Just being off a slight fraction can wreak havoc on blade centering and lock up. I don't have any hard and fast rules, but you will need a drill press, belt/disc sander, dremel, a set of quality brad points, forstner and step drill bits. Not to mention patience because there will be mistakes and material tossed in the garbage. If you just want one knife re-scaled, I would suggest having it done by someone who knows what they are doing. I am not currently making scales for others... it's just a hobby for myself. As for the correct thread sizing for screws.... all folders I have come across have been 1/72 or 2/56. Never found these in any hardware store..... only knife maker supply websites. If you choose to make them yourself, it can be a challenging, yet very rewarding hobby.

Forgot to mention... using a pair of digital calipers to measure dimensions has helped me immensely.
 
draggat said:
It is deceptively easy. The most difficult part is drilling the holes and counter sinks correctly...
Not to mention patience because there will be mistakes and material tossed in the garbage. If you just want one knife re-scaled, I would suggest having it done by someone who knows what they are doing...
As for the correct thread sizing for screws... all folders I have come across have been 1/72 or 2/56. Never found these in any hardware store..... only knife maker supply websites. If you choose to make them yourself, it can be a challenging, yet very rewarding hobby.
Click to expand...

It really is about having the patient to make multiple measurements and line everything up as best as you can.
"I would suggest having it done by someone who knows what they are doing" To me that means someone who has their own proven process to ensure it's fit correctly, other than that there really isn't any rules as to how you do it or in what order. I've seen many people do their own with a variety of ways.

Silly me, I was only considering the large screws used in place of pins sometimes in fixed blades, sorry. Yeah I never seen screws for folders in stores.

If you end up trying it yourself Delta I'd love to see a progress thread.
 
I think I am going to try, ya'll have given me some confidence!! I just need to find some small countersink bits as the holes in the scales are about 1/8"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top