Compressing leather?

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
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This isn't sheath based, strictly speaking, but you guys probably have some advice.

There are a few instances where compressing leather is needed. I'm planning on doing this with veg tanned to in order to make proper stacked handles for ferro rods.

The plan is to cut out the "washers" and compress them, cased, between two heavy objects. I'm wondering, is there a reason to use, or not use, plastic wrap? I'd also really like to know if I can simply press a large piece, then cut out the squares from the compressed sheet. I think that would be much easier than pressing a big stack. I'll need quite a few of these compressed and cut.

Speaking of cutting, I wish that I had a large hole punch, but that's down the list of must haves. Is there something else that you can think of that might do the job? I don't really care if it's round, or square, or triangular for that matter. Just looking to save some tedium.

As always, thanks for any thoughts.

Anthony
 
Plastic wrap sounds good to keep any adhesive contained. Wax paper might work better.
Have you considered using a vise in stead of heavy objects?
Check out how folks make micarta. Leather micarta. Yes.

I had always thought that stacked leather handles were compressed on the tang of the knife and then polished with wax. But then again that's just an assumption.
 
I would compress the leather first, then cut out the washers.

You can use a piece of steel pipe that is the same inner diameter that you need for the outer diameter of your washers. Just grind an edge on it by spinning the pipe by hand while you are grinding it.
 
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Best me to it :)

You could make your own punch out of a piece of steel pipe, just sharpen the outside edge like a regular punch, it's work for making washers one at a time and to compress them how about a threaded rod with two flat washers and a couple of nuts?
 
Cool ideas guys. That's the reason why I post, you guys always have good advice.

So these are for ferro rods, they won't be drilled until I get the fire starters in hand to make measurements, but in the meantime I want I'd like to get started on the handles.

The idea for cutting with a pipe is brilliant.

I think I have most of a game plan. I, originally, planned on using contact cement, but have decided on epoxy. I've made quite a bit of laminate handle material using dyes, polyester resin, burlap and other cloths.

This is a knife I made. Using burlap laminate for the scales and pins.

Eo0dYRk.jpg


AtIxQOk.jpg


Stuff works pretty good, but since the rods will accompany sheaths I figure leather would be more appropriate.

My vise is in my old shop. I really need to go grab it, but for now, heavy items will have to suffice.

Let me know if you guys have any more tips, especially if you've done this before. I'm confident that I can make them nicely, but any help is always welcome.

By the way, I grabbed a bunch of p38's (the real Shelby made ones) to go with the rods. They should make great strikers. I'll have to test them, but they should be better than lengths of hacksaw blades.

Anthony
 
I made a couple knives with stacked leather handles a couple months back. I cut my washers, saturated them with water and compressed them on an all thread with oversized washers as Ted suggested. I tightened down on it every 12 hours or so for a week. In my experience using this method I would think you could forgo contact cement. Mine came off the rod in 1 piece, more like a block of wood than a stack of leather. I couldn't get the layers apart by hand, I had to cut them apart where I decided to add some mycarta spacers.

Chris
 
Thanks Chris, I have a length of all thread left over from the forge build. I thought about using it just the way described, but I don't want to drill through the pieces. I guess I could make a press out of 4 pieces of the all thread. Kind of a pain, but I'm beginning to wonder if a stack of books will be heavy enough.

About them sticking together... Did you do a pommel and guard, or are the ends just leather?
 
I did a guard and pommel in stainless on both. The first I threaded the tang and finished the pommel with a threaded nut and the second I peened the tang to the pommel.

Shameless photo op! :D
XkJzJSr.jpg


Chris
 
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Alright, I took some small pieces of 8/9oz and put them between two boards then clamped them with a bunch of ratcheting clamps. I cased first then threw the whole mess in the oven (180°f) for a few hours. Seems to have come out nicely. Of course the leather is useless for anything else, but it's hard. I also put a bigger piece between two slabs of granite and weighed it down. The compression doesn't look as complete as the other method, but looks usable.

I'll try to post pics. Now I need to get a pipe nipple and grind it down for the punch. Hopefully my ferro blanks will be here soon so I can put it all together.
 
CebWHIO.jpg


Clamped on right, pressed on left. I'm thinking that I should have cut them first as the leather seems like it may be tough. Won't know till I try.

The Brisa site says that you should grind off the top (grain) side for best results in terms of looks. Anyone done it both ways, and did it seem to look better one way or the other?
 
I didn't grind the skins off.
I like the repeating pattern that shows up.
Put a washer in upside down and it will really stand out.
 
a big, wide stack compressed to be cut later sounds like a good idea, since you plan to do many. C clamps and boards should do the trick. And once it is set, cutting and drilling with a new bit should not be a problem.
 
Ebb, very nice knife.

Just for fun I cut up some squares. Much harder than before I compressed it. They are glued up and pressing. I used 2 ton which I saw recommended somewhere. I hope that I got all of them stacked correctly. I probably should have made them slightly bigger. Might be somewhat hard to grind. I'll post pics once I've had time to let them cure.

Clamped

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Thanks everyone for the help and comments.
 
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Thanx Striggy.
:)
FWIW, on all of my stick tang, leather handle knives, I cut the hole for the washers to match the tang.
I used a #11 X-Acto to cut a square out of each washer and slid it on the tang for a test fit.
Each was snug. I couldn't slide a stack of them off.
After epoxy and the brisa clamp, I feel really good about them staying put.
 
Yeah man, I'd expect they aren't going anywhere with that kinda fit.

What did you finish them with? I'll definitely be using CA on the test pieces just because I'm used to using it and because I really like the way it comes out. I won't do the glass look, just a few coats + sanding to seal it well.
 
Gotta love the smell of burning leather in the morning.

No seriously. If you're going to do this you better be good with the smell of burning leather! :D

(very) rough initial grind on the handles.

S9ilVsm.jpg


This is a little more work than I thought it might be, but it's all fun. These should look good with a natural colored sheath I think.
 
Be careful if you are "burning" it off in shaping. You'll want to switch to a fresh belt to clean it up and the burn goes deeper than you might think. I finished both of my leather knife handles with Tru Oil. You might consider that option over CA.

Chris
 
Salolan said:
Be careful if you are "burning" it off in shaping. You'll want to switch to a fresh belt to clean it up and the burn goes deeper than you might think. I finished both of my leather knife handles with Tru Oil. You might consider that option over CA.

Chris
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm pretty careful with burning since I burned the edge on my first sheath. Good advice using a sharp belt. I learned that lesson years ago when I was sharpening a brand new knife. Binned it. :( Since then I use zirc belts mostly (I need better for steel though), and they might be overkill for leather but don't seen to load as much as AlumOx or whatever the brown belts are that are primarily used in woodworking.

Is there a reason that you prefer Tru-Oil? I hear great things about it. Can it be found at the big box stores? The main reason for using CA is that it should waterproof the handle and give a good finish. I'm going to try the CA on these, but will definitely consider TO for the future.

May as well make this a mini-wip.

Here is one of them drilled for the lanyard. I'm using brass in that one, but I have some mosaic that I'll use on special ones.

UVTnRfd.jpg


I tried hard to rip these apart and got one separation on each. Any ideas on how to test them really hard? My hands are pretty strong and I couldn't get them to budge but the single separations have me worried. I did consider that they were getting pretty hot while grinding and I forced them apart while they were still quite hot. May have played a part in the failure. Obviously the parts cut into by the drill have less surface area for adhesion...

Dwayne, this started off as a side project to go with sheaths, and it still is, but it occurred to me that the thread may not be appropriate for this forum? If not, I've got no problem with you moving it anywhere you feel is a better fit.
 
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