Enlan EL04 micarta handle modding

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.

  

Cold Steel GI Tanto handle re-wrapping guide

The handle re-wrapping was a part of a bigger project, where I removed the top guard of the knife and applied some camo pattern on the blade (ala Extrema Ratio style).


The original handle wrap looked like this:

Removing the original wrap:

After that I removed the leather cover of the handle to expose the holes for fixing the new paracord. First I drove the paracord through the hole close to the end of the handle, then keeping equal lengths each side I used the other hole close to the blade as you can see in the pictures:

I fixed the leather on the handle with double sided adhesive tape:

Then I clamped the knife in a vice and pulled both of the strings to the same side. After that I started the wrapping putting one twist per side while keeping the strings thight:

It sounds a bit confusing but it's easier to do than to describe. When I reached the end of the handle I made a simple knot and melted the end of the cords. It's definitely not the most elegant method, but it works well.

The end result:

Let me know what you think about the result.

Isti