removing wire from Norsemen

[benz]

We recently had cause to dismantle a rig at work, and I was tasked with removing the Norsemen and other similar fittings for later use or resale. The screw parts all came apart easily, having been bedded in either silicone or Lanocote, but getting the wire out of the body where it's all jammed up inside with the cone is proving more difficult. Are there any more gentle tricks than the obvious heating with a torch and wailing with a hammer? One hates to pound at fittings that, while not exactly delicate, deserve better treatment.
Thanks in advance, and a jolly Christmas to everyone!
Ben

[Brion Toss]

Happy Solstice, or whatever bizarre equivalent your people celebrate,
I've never found heating to be of use here, but a big, beefy machinist's vise, well-anchored, is your friend. Clamp it onto the wire very firmly, with 1/2" or so of wire between the Norseperson and the vise jaws. with that minimal amount of wire showing, the strands probably won't collapse and mushroom when you hit the terminal. Ideally, put the wire in long ways, so the vise clamps more length of wire.
Unscrew the terminal most of the way.
Now you hit it, with a big (lead or copper) sledgehammer. Should pop right off. If not, put several tight turns of masking tape around the wire, right where it exits the terminal, then use a hacksaw to cut the wire, almost flush with the terminal. Then clamp the terminal very firmly in that vise, except now it will need to be a soft-jawed vise (aluminum or plastic-lined). Use a drift punch to drive the core out. The size of the drift punch should be about the diameter of the core.
Fair leads and mistletoe,
Brion Toss

[benz]

Thanks, Brion! I'll give all that a try. Some of the wires are 3/4" so I used a cutting wheel on a grinder rather than a hacksaw to lop the fittings off initially. I wonder whether it's too late to get a copper sledgehammer this Christmas?
Best wishes,
Ben