KABAR Handle Replacement....Advice and Help Please.

N

Nalapombu

Joined
Oct 26, 2001
Messages
303
Hey all,

I am the proud owner of my very first KABAR!! WOOHOO. A fellow member, bikerector, was incredibly generous to me and enabled me to get this knife. I apologize to him for posting the details....I hope he doesn't mind, but I'd like for others to know how generous he is and how well he represents others on the forum. THANK YOU bikerector!!

Anyway, I'd like to replace the handle. I've watched a couple videos on it and have a couple questions, if you don't mind can you help me with these questions so I'll know better what I am getting into?

1. First, how do you get the pin securing the pommel out? I can barely see the end of it and it appears as though it only goes 1/2 thru and that it doesn't go all the way to the other side where I could drive it out with a punch. The video I watch the guy used a drill press and drilled the pin out. Is that how I'm gonna have to do it?

2. I will of course get the handle replacement kit from KaBar. Can you all tell me if those leather discs have to be glued together and then glued to the tang?

3. In the description on the KaBar page it talks as though it is not an easy job. They mention that the leather discs have to be compressed to get them to look right. How would you go about compressing them and holding them in place while you put the pommel in place with the pin? The video I watched the guy didn't compress them, or glue them. He merely stacked them up and about every 5 or 7 discs he would take a long socket, place it over the end of the tang and rest it on the top of the stack, pound it a couple times with a hammer to "seat" them as best he could and then add other discs and repeat as needed. When he got to the last one, he simply put the pommel on and drove the pin into place and then sanded the leather discs to shape. The finished handle looked great.

Any other tips or suggestions you can add about this project?

Thanks for your time and help.
Larry
 
yes, you need to drill the old pin out.
IIRC, the new kit includes a replacement cap and pin, so you don't have to worry about not being perfectly centered.
no need for glue.
"seat"ing the disks is the same thing as compressing them., as long as you're able to use all the disks that come in the kit.
you can also make a jig and use a couple of woodworking clamps to compress the stack and the new pommel cap.
google birch bark handle assembly or leather handle assembly.
 
You don't "have" to glue each piece together ... but if you do use epoxy between each and get good tight compression it just adds to the strength IMHO ...

congrats on your first Kabar ... and a class move bikerector bikerector ... you'll find alot of good folks in the Kabar and Becker area :thumbsup:
 
The kabar kit includes everything you will need, sans epoxy and oil or other coloring. I hope it serves you well or sets you on a path to something that will. It should be a good starting point for poking pigs, building camp fires, and making memories.

https://www.kabar.com/products/1217HC

This should be a decent resource for you, from the minute or so I skimmed through.

 
I cut the old pommel off with an angle grinder. I used wood glue between all the washers. I used big C clamps to compress it all together. When I was done the handle was so hard it could not be shaped with hand tools. I used a carpentry belt sander. File in the grooves. Color the grooves black with a sharpie cordovan shoe polish.

Here is the thread from when I did it.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/jerry-rigged-kabar-handle-vise.1596877/
 
You will have to decide if you want to stay true to the original design or make it your own. If you want it to be like an original you will need one to compare it to as you do your final shaping.
 
Its nice to see sites like this where people can get help and advice. God know how much help and advice I got here alone on this site!
 
I agree with you Roger. Then the OP’s don’t bother to say thanks or even acknowledge the help. People stop wasting their time. It’s a cycle.
 
Could it be that the leather disc washers
are compressed tightly because
amongst other things, is that
It dries out and continues
to shrink with age?
 
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