ok here are a few newb questions. Going to start on an old W&B. 1. When using wet/dry sand paper on blade, Do I use it wet or dry? If wet what should I use? I read somewhere WD40 but cant find post. 2. How do I know when to switch to a finer grit. when working blade? 3. can I safely sand entire blade, spine and shank?
There are no easy ways !!!! Removing pins can be done perfectly, and you can still crack a scale... The problem is the pins themselves can either be bent or rusted in there, and when you go to tap them out, it will snap a scale... I did a complete illustrated thread that is now in the Wiki at SRP, as soon as I get some time I will re-do it here at TSD... Basically you file off the backside pin until the lock washer releases then you very gently tap the pin out of the scales using a 1/16" punch... That is the simplicity of it, but it just never seems to be that simple in practice... Murphy's razor law says the the more beautiful / valuable the scales are, the more likely the pin is to be bent.....
Removing pins One thing I've been using is a pair of flush-cut snips. They're like regular wire snips but they're perfectly flat on one side, so you can lay them flat against the scales and just snip off the end of the pin. The only real benefit over sanding/filing is that in my inexperienced hands there's much less chance to damage the scales.
I start with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper with water then work up to 1500. After that I use a buffer with red rouge then,green finally white for that final polish. You can also start with the buffer using black abrasive and work down the line with the regular rouge above and skip the sandpaper. You have to be careful on the tang or very quickly you'll remove all the nomenclature printed there. Sometimes I use a Lansky Rubber Abrasive to remove small stains etc. It's basically an eraser with an abrasive in it so it bends into those small corners and lines on the tang. Glenn is using the same method I use to remove the scales. That's the best way to do it and not break a scale but it still happens sometimes especially on the real old ones. Hope this helps
I always drill one side of the pin off (until the washer gets loose) when removing scales, works fine for me
yes an angled file and a punch are very valuable when removing scales- otherwise you may resort to barbaric methods....like prying with a screwdriver :sick007
Bill Ellis also has a DVD of some of his techniques out there... I can get you a link to his site if you need it.
Maybe this is more risky, but I do the same. I have a low-speed cordless drill with a special chuck that I can use with standard drill bits. I just use a slightly smaller bit than the diameter of the pin, and center drill or "bullseye" the drill so that it will take the pin right out. I have even managed to save some washers. Risky, but I have had very good luck.
