Taking the handle grip off a fire steel

W

WBaaijen

Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
47
Ive got a brand new "LIGHT MY FIRE" army model firesteel. I would like to costomize it by taking off the handle grip and making one for it out of the same wood as the knife handle (haven't started the knife yet but I know what materials I want for it) the idea is for the firesteel and the knife to make a nice combination ( the sheath would have a friesteel holder) has anyone tried to break off or cut off the black plastic handle and replaced it with a custom design? any help is greatly appreciated
Thanks,
Wouter.
 
WBaaijen, you might want to look on Going Gear's website first to see the firesteel rods they have. The rods are different diameters & lengths up to 10"+ inches. This might be a better situation since this would give you two rods to use instead of just one. Good luck and post some pictures of this when you have them finished.
Be safe.
 
I had one of the "mini" versions of the firesteel and the handle came off accidentally, but I never tried to take one off on purpose..
 
You can get many sizes of blanks at firesteel.com. Ron Fontaine owns the site & is excellent to deal with. You can add the handle to any size blank you'd desire. Just last night, I sawed 1" off one of my user blanks to fit a current project I'm working on. The light show was beautiful! :eek:I've also drilled lanyard holes in the blanks before. if you drill 'em slow, you don't get any sparks at all. Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the quick reply,
Ive already got another firesteel with a lanyard hole in it but its quite used and slightly corroded. I guess Ill either smash the new one with a hammer or put it in the vice and see how that goes. It might take some time for the pictures since Ive got my hands full at the moment and havent been able to take any time to even start on the knife.
Thanks again! :)
Wouter.
 
WBaaijen said:
Thanks for the quick reply,
Ive already got another firesteel with a lanyard hole in it but its quite used and slightly corroded. I guess Ill either smash the new one with a hammer or put it in the vice and see how that goes. It might take some time for the pictures since Ive got my hands full at the moment and havent been able to take any time to even start on the knife.
Thanks again! :)
Wouter.
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Try placing the firesteel in boiling water for a couple minutes. This might make the glue they use release its bond.
 
A brand new firesteel blank is $1-5 depending on size - get a nice new one for your project and stash the old one in your glovebox. I probably have a dozen laying around here...

+1 for firesteel.com my last order was placed on a Friday night and received product Monday.
 
Great, thanks! The one for the poject is brand new the old one comes in handy when showing people how to use it, plus they use it as much as they want. Living in Costa Rica it might take a little longer for an order to arrive but Ill be sure to chck out the site!
Cheers,
Wouter
 
nc527 said:
Try placing the firesteel in boiling water for a couple minutes. This might make the glue they use release its bond.
Click to expand...
I tried this last night and its as if nothing happend to the fire steel... didnt work, but thanks for the suggestion.
 
WBaaijen said:
I tried this last night and its as if nothing happend to the fire steel... didnt work, but thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...

you stuck the handle in boiling water right? Thats surprising. Anyway I would buy a firesteel blank from going gear.com, or firesteel.com.
 
nc527 said:
you stuck the handle in boiling water right? Thats surprising. Anyway I would buy a firesteel blank from going gear.com, or firesteel.com.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I eventually just put the whole thing in the boiling water, did nothing.
 
Stick about 1/4' of the plastic handle in a vise with the rod pointing up. Carefully use a hacksaw to saw on the two bigger sides first almost all the way down to the vise. Once you do that the plastic should be able to be wrung off with your hands or a pliers at worst.

I would also heat up just the plastic end with a propane torch and once it heats up a little the epoxy or adhesive should loosen up enough to be able to wring it off. I have done that to get golf club heads off the handles and it didn't hurt the handles at all.
 
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