I have a set of knives I think I got for free that I really like. They're sharp and it only takes a swipe or two with the honer to get them razor-sharp at any point. You get what you pay for, and they're stainless steel, so you know the metal isn't as hard as it should be, still they sharpen up and work great for me. So when I noticed the cheap plastic handles on two of them starting to fall apart, I was sad. Very sad. (Note: I've had them for at least 15 years, so...)
One of the shows I've been watching is History Channel's Forged In Fire. Well, I'm not going to forge myself a knife, but they also show the smiths creating handles for their knives. If they can make decent handles in something less than three hours, it can't be That Hard, can it?
Of course, on TV they have every power tool known to mankind and these folks have done this many, many times before. They are professionals.
I have a pen knife, drill and a rotary tool. What the hell.
Step one: remove the rest of the plastic handle(s). These were not pinned on, but there was a teeny, tiny nut and bolt inside. Rusted nut and bolt. It took a considerable amount of patience and oil to loosen the rusted things up enough to remove them. It took more than one day for one of them. I thought I was gonna have to use a hack saw and cut it off, but eventually it came apart.
Step two: find some wood, preferably 1/4 inch thick and long enough to make four sides. I had some lath downstairs and it's about the right size... Used the chop saw to cut to length. (note: it's pine, so it's also soft.)
Step three: trace the metal handle of the knife as an outline on the wood. Mark for holes. This was the simplest part of it all.
Step four: drill the holes. find small nut/bolts to hold the handles.
Step five: dry fit the wood to the metal. using pen knife and rotary tool, start carving the handle shape. Sand until smooooooth.
Step six: Core out drill holes for the nut and bolt so they sit flush(er) to the wood. Core, check, core, check, continue ad nausaeum until satisfied.
Step seven: Finish It. Urethane the inside of the wood, two coats, when dry, attach "scales" to knife, paint the wood black to match original handle. when dry, two coats of urethane, sanding with 500 grit between.
At the top is the first handle I made, the bottom is the second. They are different, I learned a lot making each. Quite happy with myself.
I must have taken them on and off a dozen times each. Constantly checking everything. It was worth it to my way of thinking.
Yes it took me a helluva lot more than THREE hours to make these, but durng these covid-times, what else have I to do? I hate housecleaning. I love making things.
Now I really, really need to dust.
