diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/plugin.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/plugin.go
index 12d621ff3ef..35c4662a59b 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/plugin.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/plugin.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ var (
 // NewCmdPlugin creates the command that is the top-level for plugin commands.
 func NewCmdPlugin(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.Command {
 	// Loads plugins and create commands for each plugin identified
-	loadedPlugins, loadErr := f.PluginLoader().Load()
+	loadedPlugins, loadErr := pluginLoader().Load()
 	if loadErr != nil {
 		glog.V(1).Infof("Unable to load plugins: %v", loadErr)
 	}
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func NewCmdPlugin(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra
 	}
 
 	if len(loadedPlugins) > 0 {
-		pluginRunner := f.PluginRunner()
+		pluginRunner := pluginRunner()
 		for _, p := range loadedPlugins {
 			cmd.AddCommand(NewCmdForPlugin(f, p, pluginRunner, streams))
 		}
@@ -166,3 +166,22 @@ func (p *factoryAttrsPluginEnvProvider) Env() (plugins.EnvList, error) {
 		plugins.Env{N: "KUBECTL_PLUGINS_CURRENT_NAMESPACE", V: cmdNamespace},
 	}, nil
 }
+
+// pluginLoader loads plugins from a path set by the KUBECTL_PLUGINS_PATH env var.
+// If this env var is not set, it defaults to
+//   "~/.kube/plugins", plus
+//  "./kubectl/plugins" directory under the "data dir" directory specified by the XDG
+// system directory structure spec for the given platform.
+func pluginLoader() plugins.PluginLoader {
+	if len(os.Getenv("KUBECTL_PLUGINS_PATH")) > 0 {
+		return plugins.KubectlPluginsPathPluginLoader()
+	}
+	return plugins.TolerantMultiPluginLoader{
+		plugins.XDGDataDirsPluginLoader(),
+		plugins.UserDirPluginLoader(),
+	}
+}
+
+func pluginRunner() plugins.PluginRunner {
+	return &plugins.ExecPluginRunner{}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/scale.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/scale.go
index 0823f273399..0d8c9c93b0f 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/scale.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/scale.go
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ func (o *ScaleOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command, args []st
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	o.scaler, err = f.Scaler()
+	o.scaler, err = scaler(f)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -288,3 +288,12 @@ func ScaleJob(info *resource.Info, jobsClient batchclient.JobsGetter, count uint
 
 	return scaler.Scale(info.Namespace, info.Name, count, jobPreconditions, jobRetry, jobWaitForReplicas)
 }
+
+func scaler(f cmdutil.Factory) (kubectl.Scaler, error) {
+	scalesGetter, err := f.ScaleClient()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return kubectl.NewScaler(scalesGetter), nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/testing/fake.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/testing/fake.go
index 402edf38947..813194fa814 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/testing/fake.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/testing/fake.go
@@ -286,10 +286,6 @@ func (f *TestFactory) Cleanup() {
 	os.Remove(f.tempConfigFile.Name())
 }
 
-func (f *TestFactory) CategoryExpander() (restmapper.CategoryExpander, error) {
-	return resource.FakeCategoryExpander, nil
-}
-
 func (f *TestFactory) ClientConfig() (*restclient.Config, error) {
 	return f.ClientConfigVal, nil
 }
@@ -334,7 +330,6 @@ func (f *TestFactory) Command(*cobra.Command, bool) string {
 
 func (f *TestFactory) NewBuilder() *resource.Builder {
 	mapper, err := f.RESTMapper()
-	categoryExpander, err2 := f.CategoryExpander()
 
 	return resource.NewFakeBuilder(
 		func(version schema.GroupVersion) (resource.RESTClient, error) {
@@ -347,8 +342,8 @@ func (f *TestFactory) NewBuilder() *resource.Builder {
 			return f.Client, nil
 		},
 		mapper,
-		categoryExpander,
-	).AddError(err).AddError(err2)
+		resource.FakeCategoryExpander,
+	).AddError(err)
 }
 
 func (f *TestFactory) KubernetesClientSet() (*kubernetes.Clientset, error) {
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/BUILD b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/BUILD
index ca6446fda35..55d011890d4 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/BUILD
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/BUILD
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ go_library(
         "//pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/openapi:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/openapi/validation:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/kubectl/genericclioptions/resource:go_default_library",
-        "//pkg/kubectl/plugins:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/kubectl/validation:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/printers:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/printers/internalversion:go_default_library",
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/editor/editoptions.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/editor/editoptions.go
index 47308d4dd23..e300364b564 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/editor/editoptions.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/editor/editoptions.go
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ func (o *EditOptions) Validate() error {
 }
 
 func (o *EditOptions) Run() error {
-	edit := NewDefaultEditor(o.f.EditorEnvs())
+	edit := NewDefaultEditor(editorEnvs())
 	// editFn is invoked for each edit session (once with a list for normal edit, once for each individual resource in a edit-on-create invocation)
 	editFn := func(infos []*resource.Info) error {
 		var (
@@ -811,3 +811,11 @@ func hashOnLineBreak(s string) string {
 	}
 	return r
 }
+
+// editorEnvs returns an ordered list of env vars to check for editor preferences.
+func editorEnvs() []string {
+	return []string{
+		"KUBE_EDITOR",
+		"EDITOR",
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go
index 96e7aa3f9f2..4e23d5861e9 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 
 	"k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
@@ -36,7 +35,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes"
 	restclient "k8s.io/client-go/rest"
-	"k8s.io/client-go/restmapper"
 	scaleclient "k8s.io/client-go/scale"
 	api "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/core"
 	apiv1 "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/core/v1"
@@ -45,7 +43,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/openapi"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl/genericclioptions/resource"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl/plugins"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl/validation"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/printers"
 )
@@ -66,14 +63,6 @@ type Factory interface {
 	BuilderFactory
 }
 
-type DiscoveryClientFactory interface {
-	// Returns a discovery client
-	DiscoveryClient() (discovery.CachedDiscoveryInterface, error)
-
-	// BindFlags adds any discovery flags that are common to all kubectl sub commands.
-	BindFlags(flags *pflag.FlagSet)
-}
-
 // ClientAccessFactory holds the first level of factory methods.
 // Generally provides discovery, negotiation, and no-dep calls.
 // TODO The polymorphic calls probably deserve their own interface.
@@ -151,18 +140,11 @@ type ClientAccessFactory interface {
 	CanBeExposed(kind schema.GroupKind) error
 	// Check whether the kind of resources could be autoscaled
 	CanBeAutoscaled(kind schema.GroupKind) error
-
-	// EditorEnvs returns a group of environment variables that the edit command
-	// can range over in order to determine if the user has specified an editor
-	// of their choice.
-	EditorEnvs() []string
 }
 
 // ObjectMappingFactory holds the second level of factory methods. These functions depend upon ClientAccessFactory methods.
 // Generally they provide object typing and functions that build requests based on the negotiated clients.
 type ObjectMappingFactory interface {
-	// Returns interface for expanding categories like `all`.
-	CategoryExpander() (restmapper.CategoryExpander, error)
 	// Returns a RESTClient for working with the specified RESTMapping or an error. This is intended
 	// for working with arbitrary resources and is not guaranteed to point to a Kubernetes APIServer.
 	ClientForMapping(mapping *meta.RESTMapping) (resource.RESTClient, error)
@@ -197,12 +179,6 @@ type ObjectMappingFactory interface {
 // BuilderFactory holds the third level of factory methods. These functions depend upon ObjectMappingFactory and ClientAccessFactory methods.
 // Generally they depend upon client mapper functions
 type BuilderFactory interface {
-	// PluginLoader provides the implementation to be used to load cli plugins.
-	PluginLoader() plugins.PluginLoader
-	// PluginRunner provides the implementation to be used to run cli plugins.
-	PluginRunner() plugins.PluginRunner
-	// Returns a Scaler for changing the size of the specified RESTMapping type or an error
-	Scaler() (kubectl.Scaler, error)
 	// ScaleClient gives you back scale getter
 	ScaleClient() (scaleclient.ScalesGetter, error)
 	// Returns a Reaper for gracefully shutting down resources.
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_builder.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_builder.go
index 1d9cbead9e1..81145a4cc94 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_builder.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_builder.go
@@ -19,13 +19,10 @@ limitations under the License.
 package util
 
 import (
-	"os"
-
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
 	scaleclient "k8s.io/client-go/scale"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubectl/plugins"
 )
 
 type ring2Factory struct {
@@ -42,25 +39,6 @@ func NewBuilderFactory(clientAccessFactory ClientAccessFactory, objectMappingFac
 	return f
 }
 
-// PluginLoader loads plugins from a path set by the KUBECTL_PLUGINS_PATH env var.
-// If this env var is not set, it defaults to
-//   "~/.kube/plugins", plus
-//  "./kubectl/plugins" directory under the "data dir" directory specified by the XDG
-// system directory structure spec for the given platform.
-func (f *ring2Factory) PluginLoader() plugins.PluginLoader {
-	if len(os.Getenv("KUBECTL_PLUGINS_PATH")) > 0 {
-		return plugins.KubectlPluginsPathPluginLoader()
-	}
-	return plugins.TolerantMultiPluginLoader{
-		plugins.XDGDataDirsPluginLoader(),
-		plugins.UserDirPluginLoader(),
-	}
-}
-
-func (f *ring2Factory) PluginRunner() plugins.PluginRunner {
-	return &plugins.ExecPluginRunner{}
-}
-
 func (f *ring2Factory) ScaleClient() (scaleclient.ScalesGetter, error) {
 	discoClient, err := f.clientAccessFactory.DiscoveryClient()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -79,15 +57,6 @@ func (f *ring2Factory) ScaleClient() (scaleclient.ScalesGetter, error) {
 	return scaleclient.New(restClient, mapper, dynamic.LegacyAPIPathResolverFunc, resolver), nil
 }
 
-func (f *ring2Factory) Scaler() (kubectl.Scaler, error) {
-	scalesGetter, err := f.ScaleClient()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return kubectl.NewScaler(scalesGetter), nil
-}
-
 func (f *ring2Factory) Reaper(mapping *meta.RESTMapping) (kubectl.Reaper, error) {
 	clientset, clientsetErr := f.clientAccessFactory.ClientSet()
 	if clientsetErr != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_client_access.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_client_access.go
index 5850dc2ae65..ad3c4a8f7c0 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_client_access.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_client_access.go
@@ -578,10 +578,6 @@ func (f *ring0Factory) CanBeAutoscaled(kind schema.GroupKind) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *ring0Factory) EditorEnvs() []string {
-	return []string{"KUBE_EDITOR", "EDITOR"}
-}
-
 // overlyCautiousIllegalFileCharacters matches characters that *might* not be supported.  Windows is really restrictive, so this is really restrictive
 var overlyCautiousIllegalFileCharacters = regexp.MustCompile(`[^(\w/\.)]`)
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_object_mapping.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_object_mapping.go
index 0fbd425b90d..5e74534c9c1 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_object_mapping.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_object_mapping.go
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
 	restclient "k8s.io/client-go/rest"
-	"k8s.io/client-go/restmapper"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/apps"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/batch"
 	api "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/core"
@@ -75,15 +74,6 @@ func NewObjectMappingFactory(clientAccessFactory ClientAccessFactory) ObjectMapp
 	return f
 }
 
-func (f *ring1Factory) CategoryExpander() (restmapper.CategoryExpander, error) {
-	discoveryClient, err := f.clientAccessFactory.DiscoveryClient()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return restmapper.NewDiscoveryCategoryExpander(discoveryClient), nil
-}
-
 func (f *ring1Factory) ClientForMapping(mapping *meta.RESTMapping) (resource.RESTClient, error) {
 	cfg, err := f.clientAccessFactory.ClientConfig()
 	if err != nil {