Can’t get a grip on saucepan’s old handle

[Lionessadmirer]

Can anyone help me get this old handle base off my saucepan so I can put a new handle on?
I’ve tried pliers but can’t get a grip…. (Pliers are metal)

Mumsnet software has said the pic of the saucepan is sensitive and the images are “under review”

I wondered if you can get soft grippy pliers? Or if I should heat it up? (But the spindle is also metal)

Disclaimer I'm not an expert. My partner is extremely good at fixing stuff and I've seen him heat metal with a blowtorch to help get bolts that are stuck off. Maybe heat would help🤔

I’m thinking
(i) better pliers
(ii) hairdrier
(iii) dh’s practical friend Christian….

How about sticking a fabric Elastoplast round it - to give the pliers something to grip?

I’d try something a bit “grippier” than pliers, like a pipe wrench or mole grips if you have them. It might also be worthwhile to heat the pan up first, and then quickly cool off what remains of the handle with a wet cloth - it might just be enough of a thermal shock to free it. (Can you tell who does the DIY in this house…?)

Oh good idea

Off to Google “pipe wrench” and “mole grip”

fab names!

Getting excited re cooling off the rod…

I’m going to post a pic of my pliers so @serendipitycat can tell me if any are right.

christian doesn’t like me much so I really don’t want to have to resort to him….

Is it a Le Creuset pan? If it is, contact them, their customer service is great - I’ve heard of people being sent brand new replacements for broken pots/pans.

Reckon these no good

Yes le creuset. I wondered if I could take it into their shop….. if there’s one in Leeds

Just off to Tesco (for food not tools)

I'd check if your council run repair workshops. Ours has a weekly one for things just like this!

That sounds like fun but I work full time

Back soon

dh not practical but has made me breakfast in bed each Saturday for 25years: so no complaints….

Ask around your neighbours to see whether anybody has a vice attached to a workbench in their garage. If so, insert the offending item, tighten the vice into a vice-like grip, then you can use brute strength to twist the saucepan.

Alternatively, ask around for anyone who might be a mechanic. They'll be used to undoing recalcitrant bolts.

Have you tried wrapping a rubber band or rubber gloves around the handle or the tool you’re using so it will grip? Also good for removing jar lids.

Yes I was going to suggest similar. We have a couple of thick elastic bands we use to get a grip on impossible lids - also an old long balloon tied in a loop. Works great! I’d wrap a rubbery elastic thing round it and use the pliers on it then. Also you could wrap the pliers handles round with rubber bands?

You might be able to buy cheapo mole grips in Tesco, something like the attached picture. They're pretty useful to have around, even if you only use them once in a blue moon. A pipe wrench is a bit less usual, but I happened to inherit a huge tool chest from my late father-in-law!

Agree with using a plumber’s wrench, you can keep the adjustment better than with a wheel.
It sounds like the pan and rod are well and truly welded together. Which is a good thing safety-wise.
Have you tried unscrewing the far end? Then the replacement handle (wood with a hole bored through the centre) would slip onto the rod and be screwed back together.

Plumber’s wrench.

I’d get in touch with Le creuset before trying DIY. They replaced for free a casserole pan of mine because the enamel on the inside had cracked. This was a pan I inherited and it was at least 25 years old.

Hi yes. I only want to unscrew the lumpy bit at the far end