Best way to get heatsink off cpu?

So i cant get this damn heatsink off of a cpu Iv got, and I cant stick the cpu into its socket because the heatsinks too big to open the leaver. So any sujestions on how to remove it? I though of maybe heating it up alittle to soften the thermalpaste, but im alittle worried about damaging the cpu.

My best advice is to use thermal material remover (a solution sold in PC shops and online). That stuff is very handy for breaking down thermal compounds. If you don't have any on hand, I can only recommend trying to wiggle the CPU around a bit to try to break the thermal paste loose. Did you yank the CPU out of the socket by using the heatsink as a handle?

lol, yes. Was pulling on the heat sink hopping it would wriggle off, but the whole thing came out. Its an old cpu so its not going to cost me anything if it happens to break, but it would still be nice to have a backup cpu for my girlfriends PC.