Thread: Replacing plastic knife scales – can it be done?

Hu Fence furniture..

if you are inclined to change these you can buy knife rivets at Aliexpress.. I was wondering what they might look like in a modernised dovetail saw.... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...200004064936_1 .

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I have a small set of Wusthof S/S knives which have given me yeoman service for 15 years, and are still going strong with plenty of steel left to sharpen. On a couple of them the handle scales are cracked and chipped and one day they will come off. They are great knives, taking an excellent edge, so are worth trying to save, especially at a replacement cost of around $170 and $230.

Can they be replaced with timber scales? The rivets look like they are aluminium, and I don't really know the structure underneath. The alum rivets would have to be anchored to the S/S haft somehow, so I wonder if they can be replaced perhaps with brass rivets?

Wusthof Knives.jpg

Hi Brett,

I replaced a similar plastic handled knife with timber recently.

Breaking the plastic off I could then get to the sides of the rivets to remove them.


Knife blanks Australia (Knife Blanks Australia | Home Page) can supply replacement rivets and their customer service is great.

For the one in the photo though I just used a brass rod.

Regards,

Adam

Originally Posted by MartinCH

Hu Fence furniture..

if you are inclined to change these you can buy nine rivets at Aliexpress.. I was wondering what they might look like in a modernised dovetail saw.... .

Good suggestion but I think the hex holes would get food clogged in them too regularly.

Originally Posted by taz01

Hi Brett,

I replaced a similar plastic handled knife with timber recently.

Breaking the plastic off I could then get to the sides of the rivets to remove them.


Knife blanks Australia (Knife Blanks Australia | Home Page) can supply replacement rivets and their customer service is great.

For the one in te photo though I just used a brass rod.

Regards,

Adam

Thanks Adam, I'll have to have a look at them.

Brett, do a search for Cutlers Rivets. They're easy enough to come by, aluminium should be available if that's your preference, although Ni Silver or S/Steel are... better.

At a glance those knives certainly look like they're rivetted.

I've seen knives made of good steel where the handles were moulded around the tang and the "rivet heads" merely decoration but as the tangs are "full width" on yours this is unlikely imo. (I reckon it would cost more to cheap out that way than it would to just rivet 'em in the first place.)

Cheers Skew. Alum not a preference...just what they are atm

Originally Posted by MartinCH

if you are inclined to change these you can buy knife rivets at Aliexpress.. I was wondering what they might look like in a modernised dovetail saw....

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Good suggestion but I think the hex holes would get food clogged in them too regularly.

Hmmm...one could fill those holes with epoxy...especially given that one might be using epoxy to glue the new scales on (rivets or no) to keep moisture out from under the scales.

Brett, there is an easier way.

Forget about rivets. Simply epoxy on wooden scales. These knives should not go into a dishwasher anyway, but be hand cleaned. The plain epoxy then will last forever.

Here is an Olive breadknife ...



Or, try your hand at custom handles.

Sabatier knives ...





Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

These knives should not go into a dishwasher anyway, but be hand cleaned. The plain epoxy then will last forever.

Yes, I agree Derek. They don't go into a dishwasher now (and one can't put timber in there anyway...for long), but mainly because I don't have one (not an appliance I'm particularly attracted too because of its brutality with strong hydroxides). I just scrub them with a brush and a dribble of water as soon as I'm done with them, dry them, and put them back in the block

FF

The simple answer to your question is "yes." This a thread you have seen, but probably forgotten.

A quick pic of two non-descript knives re-handled.

Composite kife handle replacement.jpg

As Derek has said it is not necessary to add cutlers rivets, but I do: Mainly for aesthetic reasons, but also it does add a little extra security. Use two part epoxy for gluing. Cutlers rivets are available commonly in either stainless steel or brass. I have not seen aluminium, and I don't see any advantage in that metal.

If I was removing your plastic handles, I would drill out the rivets and then work on removing the plastic. Your handles will take a bit more skill in fitting as the timber will be captured between the two ends.

The timber scales can completely transform the looks and the good part is that scales can use up small offcuts that ordinarily would be useless.

Regards
Paul

remove what's there and if it's one piece, use it to create a pattern out of wood. Trace it onto a piece of stock that's somewhat oversized in every direction and then get that blank to a reasonable fit inside the metalwork.

it could be long aged ebony or something else - micarta or another synthetic would also be fine, but a lot less easy to work by hand. Once the blank fits in and is "overstuffed" so to speak, put one in and mark the rivet holes on the back side - I generally use brass, it's nicer to work with, and I usually just stuff the brass and install it with epoxy rather than peining it.

glue it all together with epoxy - if the glue lines are all small, it'll look fine. If some are a little bigger, tint it to match the wood and profile it when you're done.

As long as the wood has some age, it should be fine for quite a while. if you're concerned about it taking in moisture, you can size the blank with epoxy on the back side before you install it or soak it in drying oil after you get it cut to size (like really soak) and let it dry for a week or so before installing it.

I've only used wood that's been around for a while to make wooden scales, but have also only had them noticeably shrink if I get lazy and try to speed up the epoxy cure and leave them on ducting in the basement just above the furnace. The temperature will shrink the wood literally in hours, but it doesn't let go and it springs back over time. the aggravation of the shrink is more that you can feel metal ledges than it is anything else.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Your handles will take a bit more skill in fitting as the timber will be captured between the two ends.

Yes, I had observed that slightly annoying detail...

Originally Posted by D.W.

...the aggravation of the shrink is more that you can feel metal ledges than it is anything else.

The somewhat odd thing is that I can feel metal edges where the (what I think is) phenolic resin appears to have shrunk – or was just a poor fit in the first place.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

The somewhat odd thing is that I can feel metal edges where the (what I think is) phenolic resin appears to have shrunk – or was just a poor fit in the first place.

I wouldn't be surprised if those resins cure or degrade over time and gas off and shrink.

I have a trick for capturing the profile, by the way - if you remove the scales that are already there, they may be a pain to use to mark a template.

you can lay the knife itself on its side, and take a picture of the hollow metal area - just be nearly perfectly straight on from a little bit of distance. And then measure the knife, and print the picture.

Get the ratio of the size in the printed picture to the actual knife hollow handle area and use that to reprint in a photo app under additional print options at a very specific size. Could end up being something like 42.8%, but you end up within a tiny fraction off from the perfect size and you can cut the appropriate part of the photo out then and lay it on the subject handle material/wood and affix it in wet it with some water based finish and lay it on the material. good way to use old WB finish that will soak into the paper and then work like a glue.
Once it dries (hour or two?) it won't come off easily and you can just work to shape the wood to the finish-attached picture.

if something gets messed up, just print another one and do it again.