Kye-0at, they are not difficult but you want to make sure the hole in the root is dead center. It's basically just cutting off the old handle, drilling and tapping the root for the new handle. I've never attempted to forge a Mosin handle. They're short as is and if you forged one you probably wouldn't have a handle much over an inch long after the bend. A new handle could be welded on but I think forging is out of the question for these. George