Thanks Gentlemen. Arms, 1) drive out the pommel pin and everything slides off. This is what some say. Ha, problem is I've not found ONE that came apart when I did this. (Buck uses good glue). So, I held it in a vise and using a ordinary wood saw I sawed 3 cuts into the handle all the way to the metal, flipped it over and did the same. Once this is done I used a 1/2" chisel to carefully cut and chip the phelonic away from the tang. Then sand off the remaining glue. Be careful to try and save the finger guard with its spacer and the pommel or you'll have to build another. With this model I wanted to add some length to the handle and allow for a lanyard hole. So, a new pommel I knew I'd have to make. Stainless takes a nice polish but for your 1st try I'd use aluminum round stock 1-1.125" diameter as its much easier to work. For the leather: Using fresh thick leather I took a piece of top rail chainlink fencing pipe, sharpened one end w/ a round file and hammered it thru the leather. You'll need around 17-18 disk. These run 1$ each in most knife supply catalogs. Then I used a 426 Bucklite (with its thin clip blade) to cut the rectangles in the center of each disk. They need to fit tight. I used neats foot oil to treat the leather disks before installing. The colored spacers are a must as they add a nice touch of classy color to the leather. These can be made from anything from old credit cards, colored plastic bowl lids, ect.. The white one above I made from a retained motel room key. After obtaining a round bar stock suitable for the pommel, drill three holes in a row in the end and file this opening to fit the blade tang. The pin hole is 5/32" and you'll need a short piece of round stock for this. Put enough disks and spacers on the tang so the pommel has to be pressed on. Put some glue in the pommel hole press it in place and drive in the pin and swedge it in place. Let it set over night then start shaping the handle with files and sandpaper. I did photograph the process using my phone. I'll have to download those pictures later. DM
