Victorinox scale separation

T

Thales of Miletus

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Nov 20, 2013
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I have a Victorinox mountainer SAK with onxy scales that I bought at a knife show, it has no signs of use and came with the original box, but on closer inspection, there is some separation of the scales. I can't hand press the scales on any tighter. I'm wondering if I should gently take the scales off and use some superglue to reattach them. Or if I should line a vise with soft material and slowly and gently squeeze the scales on. What would you all recommend?
 
I had to replace a broken handle scale on a Victorinox model, and once you remove the scale you can't really use it again. The studs where the scales grab the knife had tiny plastic rings on them when I pried off the scales. I would imagine that they would be a loose fit if you try to re-mount them. The replacement scales had to come from over seas. You could try placing the scale with the gap on a flap surface, and tapping it gently with a dead-blow hammer. The vice might dig into the handle material. You could put it on the ground and apply pressure with your heal, too.
 
Thales of Miletus said:
I have a Victorinox mountainer SAK with onxy scales that I bought at a knife show, it has no signs of use and came with the original box, but on closer inspection, there is some separation of the scales. I can't hand press the scales on any tighter. I'm wondering if I should gently take the scales off and use some superglue to reattach them. Or if I should line a vise with soft material and slowly and gently squeeze the scales on. What would you all recommend?
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Padding the vice works but watch the amount of pressure you use or wrap it and tap it with a rubber mallet....I use leather to wrap over the end.....probably just not seated all the way. Onyx scales are hard to come by so be careful.
 
I would do a well padded vice, and just gently squeeze them on a bit more, but there is risk to that. If they were pulled and glued before, then all you would be doing is breaking the old glue, making that more difficult to do again.
 
I have successfully employed the padded vice thing. But since those scales are a press fit, once they get jacked up they will stay that way. The Mountaineer is 91mm, and scales are readily available for it at around $12 shipped on eBay (though maybe not onyx). You could also change colors and/or use "plus" scales that add the pen and pin.

I would definitely not glue the scales, as you may wish to get them off someday for repair or cleaning. Good luck. Maybe post a pic when you reach resolution.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I tried to apply pressure with my heal first to see if my hands just weren't strong enough, but that didn't make a difference, so I cut an old belt up and used it to pad my vise. I was really cautious because I was afraid I would mess up the onyx scales, so I kept doing small increments and then checking, but I eventually got it where you can't really tell there was ever an gap. I still wonder why the knife looked like that. Since I bought it at a knife show I can't be sure where it came from, but I'm pretty sure the scales hadn't been removed and reattached.
 
Simply pop off the loose scale and and put a drop of superglue in each attachment point and press the scale back on and let dry.
 
Thales, because they are sort of friction fit, it may just have been that way from Vic, even their near perfect QC isn't 100%, nothing can be. Or it could have been that those scales were replacements and the last guy didn't have the ability to put them all the way on. who knows!
 
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