I got some old kitchen knives from my mom that were similar to the Old Hickory knives with oak handles and 2 brass rivets that were really loose. I drilled out the rivets and removed the oak handles. I then ordered some black paper micarta off of ebay, and cut the new handles to size and drilled the rivet holes. Roughed up the steel and removed any rust from the knife tang. Bought some brass rod the same diameter as the rivets I drilled out and cut it into pieces slightly longer than needed. Mixed up 2 part epoxy, 30 minute, slathered it on the knife tang, put the new handles on, hammered in the brass pins and clamped everything together with c-clamps for a day or so. After the epoxy was cured, I then sanded the new handles to final shape with finer and finer sand paper and then polished them on a buffing wheel. I'll post the pics I took if I can find them.
The micarta scales I bought were roughly 2x6x3/8" and 2 pcs were approx. $8. One pair of scales was enough material to do 2 of the large knives I rehandled.
You could also use stabilized wood scales to replace the old handles.
