Silly Question?

Bobby B

Bobby B

No more Mr. Knife-guy
Joined
May 18, 2001
Messages
3,053
How hard is it to take the handles off?
For example, I am thinking of having one coated with Tungsten DLC - is that a dumb idea for reasons my ignorance is clouding?
Thanks,
Rob:confused:
 
Chiruwa or stick tang?
Stick tang you have to file the peend end of the tang off the pommel, boil the handle to get the "himalayan epoxy" loose and then pull. This can be damageing to wood handles.

To get a chiruwa off it is much the same thing, except you must first drill our the peend pins that hold the slabs to the handle.

Your blade will last around 100+ years if taken care of. If you want it a different color I would research bluing it. I have done that to a few knives, and a khukri, and have had good results.

I am sure there will be others around to help.
 
I must be the only one who is crazy enough to do this, but whenever Ive un-hilted stuff attached with pitch, or need to loosen pitch in handles, Ive always used a propane torch to the spine, as close to the handle as I can get (recassos are great aiming points). It doesnt take much, or long to loose the pitch, and is not destructive to the hilt. Just wrap the blade in a wet towel, and angle it up with the hilt up, so the heat travels into the hilt, and presto.
 
Fed,

Have you tried the torch method on a HI khuk handle that seemed fully secure?

Art S. gave it shot on one of mine, and he said all he got was a bunch of laha squirting out everywhere, I think sometimes violently, and he gave up, resorting to the boiling water to loosen it.

My wood handle had been scrubbed down with Murphy's (one of the rouge-encrusted ones) and had a few coats of tung oil on it. When I got it back, it looked dull, and a little dried out, but no damage. The figure came right back after application of some more oil. Maybe getting some oil into the wood before boiling is a good idea?
 
Firkin

I have used a torch on a couple HI blades, as well as many other blades, and havent the explodin pitch problem. Sounds like Art got things too hot. As I said before, it dont take much to get the stuff moving. Just a couple seconds or so, and things start loosening up.
 
The last few handles I've taken off responded well to dry heat -- about 3-5 minutes in a 350 degree oven, then tug apart. This way the oils aren't boiled out of the wood. Longer handles never responded well to heat from one end, at least not for me.

First, remove the buttcap and keeper by direct heat on them to loosen the laha, then use a thin blade and gently pry them off. It sounds silly, but you have to be sure you've removed enough of the peened tang end for the keeper to slide off. It's sure frustrating to try prying off the keeper and eventually realizing that the hole in the keeper is smaller than the end of the tang.

Then, into the oven. Oh, and you definitely want gloves when handling the hot handle and parts.
 
Originally posted by Bobby B ..... I am thinking of having one coated with Tungsten DLC
Click to expand...
I could Google, but I'll just ask.

Hunh?

What you talkin'bout Rob?
 
Uncle Bill, I though it was after a case of Heinekin you could pull the hilts off khuks:D
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino
I eat a bowl of Wheaties and just pull the handle off.
Click to expand...
That better be one heck of a bowl of Wheaties!!!:eek:

As for what Tungsten DLC is it is a Bodycote coating for steels, William Henry and SOG use it for abrasion and corrosion resistance. I have 2 knives with it, and it is TOUGH. I was thinking of picking up the village style AK (now gone), and having it done...

If I do (at some point) decide to do that, I'll just ask Uncle Bill to pull the handle off and then get it coated...;) ...

BTW what do you eat to put it back on???:confused:
 
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