I figured out how to uninstall blades that have been glued in footpockets. When I say glued I mean really permanently glued with a cyanoacrylate glue like krazy glue, not some black marine goop that only fills up space and doesn't really bond. Not carefully thought out previous attempts to remove glued blades from footpockets resulted in this.
Acetone and other solvents have been suggested before. They do dissolve cyanoacrylate but the problem is that you can't get the solvent in between the two surfaces, it's more useful for cleaning dried glue off the surface of something.
Recently I've been using razor blades to slice through the bond between the footpocket rubber and the blade. It will usually cut into the footpocket rubber and remove a thin layer but does not render the footpocket unusable. The problem with that is I haven't been able to put force into the razor blade because of its small size. As such I was only able to slice through thin and easily accessible glued areas like where the footpocket tendons meet the blade. This is why with blades that have rails which the footpocket tendons clip onto I've opted for milling small slots in the blade and using a zip tie to secure it instead of gluing. Then using just a drop or two of glue at the tips of the footpockets to prevent any movement of the blade in the footpocket which will take it out of alignment.
I've been thinking about a hand tool which will allow me to reach in, cut and at the same time be stout enough to put force into it, which is a must otherwise you can't cut through the bond. Today I decided to try a chisel. I selected a 1/2" wide sharp chisel. I used it with the angle towards the blade, rocking it from side to side, sometimes prying and sometimes pulling up the rubber with my fingers. I was able to uninstall a pair of blades from a pair of footpockets that was glued all around, tendons, top flap, and heel. Damage to the footpocket was minimal. In places where I lost concentration and dug too deep I gouged up a little resin from the blade. But this is cosmetic and happens in areas that will be covered up again with the next installation.
Now that I'm able to uninstall glued blades from footpockets, for myself I will no longer use zip ties. I will use a few drops of cyanoacrylate glue under the top flap (here I must give a nod to Marco). The reason I will use it in that spot is:
1. At that point the blade is naturally pressed flat against the flap, there are no stresses in that area that will try to separate the two surfaces.
2. It's a wide enough area that it will control side to side blade movement.
3. The footpocket rubber is fairly thick and strong in that area and it's not likely to cut through it or tear it.
4. Once I get the chisel under the flap I can grab it with my fingers and help to separate the rubber from the blade by pulling up.
I realize that not all guys are going to feel comfortable doing this, but I'm telling you that it works. At most you'll have a few scratches on a part of the blade that will not be visible when you put it in another footpocket, and some residue on the footpocket flap.
