# Can't remove Mazaki handle



## Thpp9 (Jan 18, 2022)

Hello,

I recently bought a Mazaki from Cleancut and to be honest I am not in love with the ho wood handle. I saw some burn marks so I thought it was burned into the tang but it seems that isn't the case (at least not entirely?). I tried contacting the seller and he said he "thinks" its glued. 

I tried pouring boiling water in a mason jar and let it sit there for about 20 mins (I swapped the water 3 times). Didn't work. I placed in the oven at 90° Celsius for 15-20 mins after the boiling water and that didn't work either. After each method I tried knocking of the handle with a piece of wood and hammer with no success.

In the end, I got frustrated and burned the handle. It pretty nice now, definitely not perfect but way better than before. I am thinking of grabbing a custom handle in the future, so I am still interested in finding a way to remove it without having to rely on chisels hopefully. I heard that I could use a heat gun but unfortunately I don't have one.

I would love to hear if you have any different idea on how to remove it.


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## ethompson (Jan 18, 2022)

My Mazaki (from Carbon Knife Co) had a little epoxy on the handle. It was stubborn, I wrapped the horn portion of the handle in a few layers of tape to protect it and gave it some authoritative whacks with a mallet and 1x4 and it popped off. Don't be afraid to give it an aggressive, yet controlled, walloping.


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## Bensbites (Jan 18, 2022)

If hot water didn’t do it, you must have something harder than hot melt glue. If whacking it doesn’t work, then it’s time to cut it off. Ho wood handles are cheap.


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## Heckel7302 (Jan 18, 2022)

Thpp9 said:


> In the end, I got frustrated and burned the handle. It pretty nice now, definitely not perfect but way better than before.


Any pics of the burnt handle? I hate the Ho wood handle on my Maz also. I plan to burn it, just haven't gotten around to it yet. Would love to see your results.


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## Thpp9 (Jan 18, 2022)

ethompson said:


> My Mazaki (from Carbon Knife Co) had a little epoxy on the handle. It was stubborn, I wrapped the horn portion of the handle in a few layers of tape to protect it and gave it some authoritative whacks with a mallet and 1x4 and it popped off. Don't be afraid to give it an aggressive, yet controlled, walloping.


I will try next time being a bit more aggressive with it. A bit of epoxy could be the case here as well! Thanks for your input


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## Thpp9 (Jan 18, 2022)

Bensbites said:


> If hot water didn’t do it, you must have something harder than hot melt glue. If whacking it doesn’t work, then it’s time to cut it off. Ho wood handles are cheap.


It's not about how expensive it is, it's more like that I don't want to destroy something that's functional. But yeah, if I can't knock it off, I will have to cut it off.


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## Thpp9 (Jan 18, 2022)

Heckel7302 said:


> Any pics of the burnt handle? I hate the Ho wood handle on my Maz also. I plan to burn it, just haven't gotten around to it yet. Would love to see your results.


I will post some pictures tomorrow with some better lighting. After burning, I sanded it and now I am applying some mineral oil. I will wax it (beeswax and mineral oil) overnight and tomorrow I will take some pictures. 

What I can say right now is that it looks better than before imo (I think I might have over done it a bit, I could leave a bit more of the original ho wood finish near the ferrule for some contrast) and that it feels pretty nice and smooth in the hand.


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## Heckel7302 (Jan 18, 2022)

Thanks. Look forward to seeing pics. I like how light the handle is since it makes my (sujihiki) quite blade heavy, I just don't like the look of light wood handles. Figured burning would be a good way to change the color most naturally.


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## Thpp9 (Jan 19, 2022)

Heckel7302 said:


> Thanks. Look forward to seeing pics. I like how light the handle is since it makes my (sujihiki) quite blade heavy, I just don't like the look of light wood handles. Figured burning would be a good way to change the color most naturally.


Here are pictures of the handle


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## donegoofed (Jan 19, 2022)

Mine is also from CC. I tried doing as @ethompson said; "give it an aggressive, yet controlled, walloping.". I got it out eventually.

And you don’t need any fancy equipment. I used this:


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## Heckel7302 (Jan 19, 2022)

Nice job on the handle. Looks great. Gives me some confidence


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## Thpp9 (Jan 19, 2022)

donegoofed said:


> Mine is also from CC. I tried doing as @ethompson said; "give it an aggressive, yet controlled, walloping.". I got it out eventually.
> 
> And you don’t need any fancy equipment. I used this:
> View attachment 161515


My problem should be that I didn't use a big enough hammer. The piece of wood that was touching the handle was relatively big and the hammer not so much, so I couldn't apply the necessary force I guess. Next time I give it a try I will just grab another piece of wood like you. I think it's gonna make it easier.


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## Thpp9 (Jan 19, 2022)

Heckel7302 said:


> Nice job on the handle. Looks great. Gives me some confidence


Yeah go for it. It's not difficult. I used a crappy gas stove that's ment to make Greek coffee and still turned out decent imo. If you have a blowtorch, you are.gonna have way more control than I did and a better outcome. I attach below what I used just for reference


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## chefwp (Jan 19, 2022)

Heckel7302 said:


> Any pics of the burnt handle? I hate the Ho wood handle on my Maz also. I plan to burn it, just haven't gotten around to it yet. Would love to see your results.


I've burnt a few. I figured why not try it before shelling out cash for a new handle. I was pleased, so never rehandled as I had originally planned.
<coincidentally, the little one is a Mazaki>


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## Thpp9 (Jan 19, 2022)

chefwp said:


> I've burnt a few. I figured why not try it before shelling out cash for a new handle. I was pleased, so never rehandled as I had originally planned.
> <coincidentally, the little one is a Mazaki>
> View attachment 161539


It feels like a completely new handle. I had the exact kind of thought. I meant to replace the handle anyways, so why not try it out? I ended up with a completely different handle that feels and looks (imo at least) way better. Even if I end up getting a custom in the future, I don't think that I will throw that away


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## gregfisk (Jan 19, 2022)

If you’re in the states you can pick up a heat gun at Harbor Freight for dirt cheap. Especially if it’s on sale. I’d just try a bigger hammer


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## Thpp9 (Jan 19, 2022)

gregfisk said:


> If you’re in the states you can pick up a heat gun at Harbor Freight for dirt cheap. Especially if it’s on sale. I’d just try a bigger hammer


Europe citizen here. I will search a bit maybe I find something relatively cheap here as well. Till then, I think I have some bigger hammers laying around


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## cotedupy (Jan 20, 2022)

Seriously smart job on the burnt wood! That can't have been your first time I assume...?

The first handle replacement I ever did on a posh knife was on a CC Maz, and is still just about the most difficult removal I've ever done. In the end it took about 15 mins of naked boiling and then hammering to get it off. I chucked the wood away but managed to save the horn and use for the new one, which came out rather well:






(And yeah... it's definitely some kind of industrial strength epoxy in there!)


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## Thpp9 (Jan 20, 2022)

cotedupy said:


> Seriously smart job on the burnt wood! That can't have been your first time I assume...?
> 
> The first handle replacement I ever did on a posh knife was on a CC Maz, and is still just about the most difficult removal I've ever done. In the end it took about 15 mins of naked boiling and then hammering to get it off. I chucked the wood away but managed to save the horn and use for the new one, which came out rather well:
> 
> ...


Thank you for your kind words! That was my first time actually and I am really happy with how it turned out!

For the time being, I am enjoying the burned handle way more than expected tbh. I was thinking that it was gonna be a project that I would have mixed feelings about. It turned out in a way that makes me not wanting to replace it for the time being. Also, after hearing about epoxy and destroying the handle (which I really like now lol), I am having second thoughts. Nonetheless, thanks for the info. The time of removal might come still in the future, so it's good to know everything I can.


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