I replaced the scales on a folding knife.
Longer version:
I love my Gerber Freeman Guide folding knife. Solid, good locking mechanism, takes a beating.
The problem is that the rubber handle started to peel. I asked Gerber support about it, and they’re sending me a warranty replacement knife. This leaves me with my old knife that needs new scales. Sooo…
Step 1 take pictures of the scales, trace the outlines, and cut out of orange cardstock to see how I did.
Test fit: Looking good.
Decide on materials. Needed to be about 0.2" thick. I decided on three layers of 1/16" material, walnut-yellowheart-walnut. Cut - align - glue, and then shape (Dremel, sandpaper) to fit my hand. Here you can see one that is shaped and one that is still raw.
Test fit the shaped scales… Looking excellent.
Choose a finish. @shogun gave me some sage advice and I went with Danish oil. Here it is absolutely dunked in the stuff. Let it sit a while, then wipe off the excess.
Once the oil dries, place it on the knife, and you’re all done!
The problem is that these scales are way cooler than the original ones. I’ll probably immediately put these scales on the warranty knife and that will be my new bench knife.
