shield removal \ reinstallation

S

shrapne1

Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
459
Good afternoon,

Have any of you ever had a knife that had beautiful handles and blades but the shield just didint fit, either it was on crooked or plain ugly?
Well i got a peanut recently and the stag is gorgeous, but the plane-jane oblong "case" shield is really annoying me. Now i know there's posts out there regarding fallen out shields and how to fix them, but how would one go about removing the shield? im not worried about damaging the shield; i.e. drilling through it, any thoughts \ ideas? (i plan to grind down some metal and make a new one, thats not a problem, but im not sure how to go about taking it out without damaging the liner or handles)

IMG_20120921_183720-Copy_zps17b2bdec.jpg

Thank you for any help,

dre
 
I would be making the new one first, Im not too sure as to how you are going to get a better looking shield than what you have-if you have a knife where you think the scales are gorgeous... then be careful, I personally would try and get another shield from another knife?
I am unsure as to whether Case pinned the later production shields , or glued them?...the guys here will know for sure.
Good luck, and please let us know how you get on.
 
Yeah thats good advice, i dont want to mess it up but at the same time its bugging me; they are epoxied on, i double checked
 
I think the last pinned shields from Case probably came sometime in the '80s, at the latest. I'm pretty certain anything produced in the '90s or later are all glued on.

I've never tried to deliberately remove a shield, but have had one actually just drop out into my lap. Others have occasionally had issues with them coming out accidentally. Strange as this sounds, you might get 'lucky' and it may not take much to loosen it up. BUT, there's always the chance it'll be real stubborn in coming out too. I'd use a good magnifier, under bright light, to see if there's any gap around the perimeter of the shield, into which you might be able to insert a fine-pointed tool to wedge/pry it loose. I'd be EXTREMELY careful about it, though. If it's in there tight, there's a good chance you might damage the stag in the process. The stag on that knife looks nice; I'd hate to see it get cracked or chipped.
 
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Sometimes because of the surface of stag, it isn't possible to completely set a shield down flush in the stag. It may be fully imbeded at one end of the shield and not the other end of the shield. Some companies actually rest the shield on top of the stag.

You might get some acetone and with a needle or toothpick let a small amount of the acetone seep into the crevice/border of the shield and stag. This may erode/melt/break down the glue/epoxy that the shield is held in place with.

Caution!! As others have said, any undo prying of the shield may crack the stag.
 
I've never tried this so take what I'm saying with a pinch of salt. If I was going to try and remove a shield I think I'd rest a small hot soldering iron on it and hope it would loosen the glue enough to make it drop out or lift out with a fine needle. If that failed I'd do the same thing again but this time try and solder a small threaded rod at 90° to it, then rig up a jig to pull the shield out by turning a nut on the rod. You could do it by putting the rod up through the jaws of a vice, then use a washer and a wing-nut to gently pull the shield upwards.

I think I'd leave it alone. Those are some nice scales and the shield looks fine to me.

I hope we'll get a maker/repairer along soon to tell us the correct way as I'd be interested too.
 
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supratentorial said:
I don't understand the problem with the shield. :confused: Do you not like oval shields?
Click to expand...

I think he thinks it's ugly Jake but if he fiddle-farts around with it enough, things could get really ugly.

I agree with others - it's a nice looking knife.
 
What type of shield are you thinking of re-installing? Not an easy task on such a small knife and shields on stag look best deeply inlet in my view.
 
Thanks for all the replies....

David, Ed and Jacknife: that was excellent advice, under magnification the shield is offset to one side of the gap in the stag, providing gaps at the top and one side, Im going to try to go about it with a wedge and slip some acetone in there. Ive seen how case makes their knives in batches, and the shield is one of the last steps, they use the minimal amount of glue to do the job.

Supratentorial: you seem annoyed at me, if i made you angry with my post i apologize; i dig the oval shields, i just dont dig how mine is crooked, the C in case sits higher than the E, and it ruins the smooth lines.

Knarfeng: you hit it on the head with your post; i use my knives hard, but at the end of the day before i fall asleep, the last thing i touch is my knife and i like to admire and look it over, as strange as that might seem. The shield is driving me nuts.

Willgoy: im going to reinstall it with a similar shield i will fabricate from some scrap stainless. Im going to angle it in so its smooth with the stag, i want it to look like the acorn shield on GEC knives, only oval obviously.

richstag: if push comes to shove, i will find the biggest hammer i have.

I was also thinking about how you take out a screw with a broken head... drilling a small hole, and then using a screw extractor + acetone and wiggling it out.

I will try to post some pics when i start, your input was much appreciated
 
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