Removing a handle scale?

[Jim T]

Okay, I goofed. I epoxied a liner and a stabilized wooden scale to one side of a full tang knife. However, while the epoxy was drying, the liner and the scale slid on the tang leaving an ugly gap between the scale and the bolster.

Is there a way to remove the liner and the scale without sacrificing the blade? Of course I used some of the best 24 hour epoxy I could find because it holds so well (big groan).

Jim

[Eli Jensen]

Grind off the scales. Or, heat the tang with a propane torch until it breaks the epoxy bond. Used to happen to me all the time when I used dull belts and got my bolsters too hot. Just put heat sinks on your edge so you don't ruin the temper.

[Doug Lester]

Stick the knife in an oven to soften the epoxy. I think I did it at 200 degrees just long enough to get things hot when I had a similar problem with a stick tang. The scales should then just pull away and you could save both the blade and the scales, though you will have to clean up both. That should work unless you used something like JB Weld.

Doug

[Ray Rogers]

Even one of those paint peeling heat guns will work (set to low temp). I suppose you're not planning to use pins on this handle but they can go a long way towards preventing this type of problem ..... (that's me being a smart@ss)....

[SBuzek]

If it does not have pins in it you can also freeze it and a sharp rap on the edge could pop it loose.
Stan

[Jim T]

Thanks everyone, for all the suggestions. I'll give the heat idea a shot since I do have a decent heat gun.

Ray, I was intending to put pins through the scale, but I was doing one scale at a time and letting the epoxy dry before drilling a hole through the scale. I would then repeat the process with the second scale. At least, that was the initial idea.

It's a tapered tang, so I was attempting to go slow to make sure the holes drilled through the scales and the tang were aligned so I could install the pins without forcing them. Can't remember where I heard of that approach, but I think I read it on this forum somewhere.

Jim

[Ray Rogers]

That is a common approach but it is just as common to drill and pin first and apply glue at the same time. The latter requires a different technique but it really isn't any more difficult and I like the idea of having a continuous spread of glue throughout the scales and pin holes, just seems a little more solid to me ....

[Eli Jensen]

From my experience gluing it all at once is more difficult. If the pins fit very snug in the scales and tang, which I like, then I have a problem pushing the scales 100% snug against the tang. At that point its a clamping game against time, which I hate. One at a time certainly takes longer (3 epoxies vs 1) but I think its the safer bet. Unfortunetly you do get the sliding issue. Maybe looser fitting hidden pins (1/16"ish) could elminate that issue.

[Doug Lester]

If you go with looser pins then you end up with a glue ring around them which does not provide as neat of a picture like a close fit. On Ed Caffrey's recommendation, I'm switching to Acraglas to get a longer lasting bond that won't break down after 4-5 years. It sets up slowly so I have hours to get things right.

The next knife that I handle is going to have a scales drilled for pins without being glued in place first. That way I can remove them and use temporary pins to hold them together as I shape the leading edge and keep them even. Then I can glue and pin them to the tang and shape the rest of the handle. I may end up going back to glue, drill, then pin but I thought that I'd go ahead and give the other way a try. May do it both ways, depending on how much I need/want to shape the leading edge.

Doug

[Jim T]

That's both the fun and frustration of knifemaking - there's no one way to do things. The trick is finding the way that works best for you. The frustration, I can handle. It's all part of the learning process. I just hope I can get it figured out before it costs me too much more in materials.

Jim

[Doug Lester]

That's why it's best to start out with inexpensive steels and other materials. Steels like 1084 and 9260 cost a lot less than L6 and Cru Forge V and Osage Orange cost less than Desert Ironwood and Snakewood. When you're not all that sure of your skills yet, "which one would I rather screw up" is an important question.

Doug