All About Pocket Knives

I once saw a pic of a Boker 493 customized with jigged bone scales and a federal shield and thought it was a good looking knife. I've got an old broken Boker USA that I can take the fed shield from and before I get into the project I wanted to ask the pros if there is anything I should know before I screw something up.

If the shields are the same size it would be a pretty easy job.
I usually have an old knife blade lying around or a real fine tipped punch that I can pry the shield out of the old handle with. If the bone is already broken, it’s no big deal to break a little bit more to get the shield out. If you trying to save the bone handle of the donor knife you have to be a little more careful. Usually a very fine tip can be worked under the edge of the shield or even stuck into the edge of the shield to pry it up.

One thing that will help get the old shield out is to put the donor knife in the deep freeze overnight. When you are ready to pry the shield out, take it out of the deep freeze and pry the shield out while it is still frozen. Most adhesives are subject to severe weakening or failure from freezing temperatures. A light tap on a punch or knife blade that you are using to pry the shield will probably be all it will take to get the old shield out as long as the knife is frozen.

Good suggestion. Adhesives can be downright tricky to work with. I'll use your suggestion and hopefully this weekend I can get it done. Thanks!

if the shield is glued in, warming it up with a soldering iron will help release the glue then pry it out with a fine tipped scratch awl or even an exacto knife like dale mentioned.

Heat or cold either one will cause most adhesives to fail.
My first choice is cold because it doesn’t melt anything if I slip with the soldering iron in touch a Delrin handle.

The idea of freezing the knife to make the adhesive less effective is new to me but it makes sense. Thanks, Dale.

I've used heat to remove pick guards from guitars and cold to remove wax from candlesticks. I like the cold idea for this project as I'd like to save the scales if possible and I'm not trusting my skill level with heat just yet.

It just went into the freezer for prep.

The shield came off with very little effort, however, unbeknownst to me, it was pinned and now I have a hole. Any tips on plugging it?

either pin it to the new knife or peen a pin out in it

muskrat man wrote:either pin it to the new knife or peen a pin out in it

I've read about pinning material on here. Is it something special I'll have to order or is it something I can get at Home Depot? If I have to order it, where can I find it?

pm me your address I'll send a short length of the nickel you'll need. I doubt you'll find it locally and to order it for the quantity you'll need will not be cost effective.

Very good information in this thread. Thanks.