User blog comment:ToaGonel/MOC Blog the First/@comment-11429692-20160711173949/@comment-11429692-20160712002134

It's more heinous to leave them as-is than to cut them. Just try to cut only the axles (if that's even possible). I've accidentally done something permanent before, and I was able to force it apart while keeping everything intact. If you can somehow wedge the axle a bit you might eventually be able to force it out.