The plastic feel of my EL04 micarta handle didn't appeal to me so I decided to grab some K240 sandpaper to rub it. The project turned out quite succesful so I put together a little guide for the process.
Tools you need:
- sandpapers (~K240);
- two T6 torx bits and drivers;
- round nose pliers for the pivot screw;
Optional tools:
- needle nose pliers;
- duct tape;
- vice;
I started the project by removing the pocket clip, the pivot screw and the scales. Unfortunately one of the stop pin screws didn't want to come out so I put the knife into a vice and I grabbed the stoppin by a needle nose pliers and removed the screw with the torx bit.
I duct taped the needle nose pliers to prevent the stop pin from scratching:
I didn't want to remove the bar of the axis lock so I put a matchstick into the pivot to keep the blade in place:
The dust of micarta and G10 is very unhealthy to the lungs so I put the scales into my kitchen sink and poured some water into the sink. I wet the sandpaper and squared off the edges of the scales then smoothed out a surface of them a little. Here is the result:
I started putting together the knife by fixing it in a vice. I used two torx drivers on the opposite sides to fasten the screws. The end result was quite succesful because the "plastic" feel of the handle scales disappeared and the surface became more pleasent for the touch.
