Tom dunlap

I have a Cutaway brand 9" curved drawknife. It's a fine tool to use!

Right now I'm stripping the bark off a hollow ash log that's about 22"" in diameter. An air chisel is working pretty well to take off the corky bark. Now I'm scraping off the remains of the cambium layer.

The problem is that the handles of the drawknife are in the same plane as the blade. They "get in the way" with the diameter of the trunk

It will be a simple thing to clampnthe drawknifenin the vise, heat itniwth oxy-acetylene and bend the handle tangs up a bit

I might change the temper but I'm not too worried. Maybe I should do a bit
More research about oil/water/air cooling to keep the temper. I hope one of the wise folks here might know

More to the point though. How do I get the wooden handles off
The tangs? I clamped the knife in the vise and used a drift punch and hammer on the ferrules. No movement. I used the air chisel. No movement.

Before I apply heat I'd like to take the handles off without damaging them.

If I can't get them off I'm thinking of clamping a Vise Grips above the ferrules to act as a heat sink

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Tom