Best way to darken a leather spacer handle?

Samael

Samael

Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
20,235
OK, I know the best way to get that handle a nice, rich, chocolatey brown is to just handle the knife a lot and give it five or ten years. But I'm American, which makes me impatient. Is there any way to speed up the process without screwing up the leather?

I will probably experiment with my Ka-Bar, but if things work out well, I may try this on my #25-handled Randalls too ($1,000 knives), so I don't want to muck it up.
 
There are lots of ways to do it. What I do is rough up the handle, then apply simple leather dye like I use for sheaths.

How it comes out much depends on how much adhesive is used in the assembly of the handle. Some adhesives won't let the leather take on color (superglue). Some seem to allow a bit of take up.

Get an aggressive foam sanding block from Home Depot. Rough up the surface of the leather to prep the leather for taking up the color.

Dampen the leather handle with a damp cloth. You don't want it wet, just damp. Use a spongy type applicator and apply the dye smoothly all over the handle (I get my dyes from Tandy, they are made for use on leather). I suppose light brown, quality shoe polish would also work.

You can then either let the handle dry, then rub with a cloth, or, what I do is I use a hard smooth object like the handle of a screwdriver or similar, and rub down the surface of the handle while it is still damp with the dye. This polishes the surface and causes the little fibers of leather to fuse together. This helps get rid of the fuzzy look of an unpolished leather handle.

Then what I like to do is apply a coat of briwax to the handle, then buff. If you want to completely waterproof the handle, apply a thin coat of superglue, then buff with steel wool, repeat.

Andy
 
Samael said:
Excellent! Thanks, Andy.
Click to expand...

Samael, just a thought; the briwax product I use already has a brown tint to it. Depending how dark you want your handle, by itself it would likely give a nice tone. It doesn't penetrate as well as the dyes, though. Definitely do this first with your Kabar! I'd hate to be blamed for screwing up a more expensive knife! :eek:

Andy
 
My Momma didn't raise any fools - if I'm gonna make mistakes (and I probably will), I'd much rather it happen on a $35 "user." Think I'll skip the Briwax and go with the dye; will let you know how it turns out.

Your best tip may be the screwdriver handle. I've found in the past that even a coat of oil on leather handles will raise the grain to an unacceptable (to me) degree. Dye, being water-based, will probably be even worse yet. That's been my biggest concern.
 
Samael said:
My Momma didn't raise any fools - if I'm gonna make mistakes (and I probably will), I'd much rather it happen on a $35 "user." Think I'll skip the Briwax and go with the dye; will let you know how it turns out.

Your best tip may be the screwdriver handle. I've found in the past that even a coat of oil on leather handles will raise the grain to an unacceptable (to me) degree. Dye, being water-based, will probably be even worse yet. That's been my biggest concern.
Click to expand...

Ya, the smoothing technique is called "boning" (insert juvenile giggle here) and is used in leather working to deal with the "fuzz" factor. Any hard smooth round dowel-shaped object will do the job.

Have fun!

Andy
 
I've found the following manufacturers to have the widest product line of leather finishes, balms, dyes, creams, polishes, etc.:
angelusshoepolish.com <- (my fave),
fiebing.com,
lincolnshoepolish.com.
A variety of neutral-color "balm"-type products are made to deepen/soften/highlight the natural warmth of leather.

Lexol makes the undisputed BEST conditioner/preserver. Its water-based. Neatsfoot oil would likely leach out, making the handle slippery. You might want to use their vegetable-tanned product; ask lexol's Dr. Herndon Jenkins.

As for waterproofing, may I suggest:
aquaseal.com,
mtpitchblend.com <- (pine pitch is antibacterial; outdoors = grimy hands = leather deterioration),
a beeswax sheath tutorial.

All that being said, my only experience (other than boots) was with an Ontario pilot ASEK. All it took was one rubdown with a generic(tarrago/tandy/meltonian/cavalier) neutral shoe cream to bring out the leather's luster.
A little knowledge (my knowledge) can be dangerous.:o:foot:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top