Preparing the Blade and Parts

There are a few steps to take with a blade before actually gluing the wire in- stripping/cleaning, placing any desired sets and bends in the blade, doing any grinding or filing that may be needed. The stripping and cleaning is one of the most important steps in a successful wiring job: a thoroughly clean groove is essential to ensuring that the glue will hold, far more so than the type of glue used.

Stripping & Cleaning Wired Blades

If the blade being worked on is previously wired, the first step is obviously to remove the old wire and glue. Using an acetone bath (the least labor-intensive method) or a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel (the fastest method) have been described above. If neither is available to you, then you have two options:

1) do it by hand, or 2) have a lackey do it by hand, while you give instructions, supervise, and sip on a bit of Laphroaig (also known as the “thesis advisor and graduate student” approach). Even if option 2 is the route you choose, you’ll still need to know what to do in order to give able, sage advice to your underling between nips of Islay malt.

Depending on the glue that was used for the old wire, it may be possible to strip the wire by simply grasping one loose end of it and pulling it firmly but smoothly out of the groove. If the glue is too strong at some point along the blade, however, the wire will break off. To help avoid this, you can “roll” the wire out of the groove using a pair of needle-nose pliers. Pinch one end of the wire in the pliers, with the pliers held perpendicular to the length of the blade, and then begin rolling the pliers along the blade. This will pull the wire from the groove, but because the wire will be rolled around radius of the pliers it will not have the same amount of stress on any one point and so will be less prone to breaking off. If the wire should break, you’ll need to use a utility knife or other blade to work it out. Ideally, you should be able to pry the broken end free and then continue pulling the wire out. Failing that, it’ll be necessary to gouge it out with the knife (a rather laborious task).

Once the wire is removed, it will still be necessary to clean the remaining bits of glue and insulation from the groove. Run your utility knife or a small screwdriver along the groove repeatedly until you only see bare metal. As noted above, this is of prime importance. The presence of old glue and residue will interfere with the adhesion of the new glue, making it more likely that the wire will pop out as the weapon is used. After stripping and cleaning the groove, remove any rust or grime from the surface of the blade with an abrading block or a Scotch-brite pad. The threading for the point may need to be cleaned as well- the Dremel wire-wheel bit is ideal for this, or else a small screwdriver can be used to scrape out the threads.

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