Compressing leather?

[Salolan]

I purchased my little bottle of Tru Oil at a local gun shop. It is a gun stock finish after all. As for preferring it to CA, I just have had better luck with it on built up finishes than with CA. The CA seemed to require more sanding in my experience.

Chris

 

[Omega Leather Works]

My picture taking ability (especially close ups) is seriously hampered by the crappy cell phone cam, but this is what one of them looks like after the CA.

Initials burned into the top.

Looks pretty good in person. Feels like a block of wood.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Four more after these, but y'all get the idea. It would have been nice to do the pipe punch, but I never got around to making the trip to the store. Easy enough to cut 1" squares.

That will conclude the thread unless anyone has a question, or if I find something new. I like the CA (feels like one solid piece), but will likely try some dye combos and finishes.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Twistedpair]

Those look great!
I didn't want to bother you with an email, forgive me if this is off topic, but I have a question.

I was wondering if you are going to glue the rods in the leather handle?
I have read where people drill the rod and handle and pin them along with glueing.
I am going to try to make some in the near future, and thought of using a smaller thong tube that would also be used as the "pin" to go through the rod/handle killing 2 birds with one stone.
Think that would be possible?

Yours look great!
You should post a pic of a completed one.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Those look great!
I didn't want to bother you with an email, forgive me if this is off topic, but I have a question.

I was wondering if you are going to glue the rods in the leather handle?
I have read where people drill the rod and handle and pin them along with glueing.
I am going to try to make some in the near future, and thought of using a smaller thong tube that would also be used as the "pin" to go through the rod/handle killing 2 birds with one stone.
Think that would be possible?

Yours look great!
You should post a pic of a completed one.

Yeah, I've been considering how to mount them. I've read that separation can happen, but I think it really depends on the prep and epoxy. These will be going to some serious bushcrafters (at least some of them) and I want to make sure they are tough.

So far I've tried two epoxies for the stacks, one a slow cure from BSI, the other Devcon 2 Ton. Neither of these are considered the pinnacle in strength for attaching scales to steel. The most recommended epoxy, as far as I've seen, is West Systems, G-Flex or others from WS. I used Devcon because I'd seen it recommended more than once for this application. I got one failure from each that I tried. I'm attributing the failures to heat and prep. I didn't rough the leather at all which was a silly mistake. I probably shouldn't have tried to force them apart while still hot either. After re assembling they haven't failed. Lord knows I've tried too.

For mounting strength, I'm more inclined to notch the rods like I do pin material in handle scales. The epoxy will have to break bonds with each layer that the rod passes through in order to fail. I'll definitely test one out, but I think something will give, be it layer separation or the rod breaking, before the rod pulls free of the handle, but I could be wrong.

You could certainly use the lanyard tube for mechanical fastening, but that would require a large ferro rod (they do sell 1/2") and a relatively small lanyard tube. I have no idea how strong the mishmetal is, but I'd want to keep the diameter of the pin (tube) at less than half the diameter of the rod. Nothing wrong with a 1/4" lanyard tube, especially if you thong it with leather, but I like to keep lanyard tubes big enough for two passes of paracord. Never know how someone might want to tie the item.

How do you plan to drill the rod? I sure could use a pipe press clamp for that kinda thing.

Anyone know if there's any danger in machining a ferro rod? That's another thing to keep in mind I guess.

Thanks for the compliment, and I'll certainly post a pic if the rods ever show up.

 

[Ebbtide]

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.

I hand sand my leather handles up to the finest grit I have… 1K, 1.5K and 2K if I have it.
Dampen, sand, dampen, sand, repeat…
Then they get buffed with a piece of denim or similar cloth.
Finally Sno-Seal with the handle and tube warmed with the hair dryer and rubbed in well.
Then buffed with the rag used above.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Is that fiber spacer material? I've used it a few times and I love the bright red compared to the brick red g10, but I always hear bad things about it.

The leather looks great. Is that a void in the leather, or a camera trick? I've been fortunate that I haven't had any voids so far in this compressed leather, but I have had a little trouble with voids in my sheath welts. I think I've got a handle on that though. I hope.

Also, do you not use a makers mark, or is it on the spine maybe? It's hard to see pics sometimes on the cell phone. What steel is that? Really nice looking piece.

 

[Ebbtide]

Yes, fiber spacers.
Those voids are from belly leather that wasn't the same thickness all the way thru.
It is smooth to the touch, the epoxy filled it.
There is a brass butt cap with the tang peened over it.

My first leather handle, the blade is from Stromeng of Norway.
I'm a kit blade junkie
I highly recommend this one. Nice thin, real world blade. Think scandi ground mini machete (10" blade) or kitchen knife.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Ah very cool. I did a somewhat thorough wip on a kit knife build in the Project forum a while back. It's a very elegant way to go about creating a knife without the considerable investment needed to make one from scratch.

It is a great looking example and your description was kind of what I had in mind just looking at it. No toy that one.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Playin with green dye. Not sure if it's a win or a train wreck.

Rods showed up. Bigger and heavier than I thought, but in a good way.

That's my personal steel. The rest (other than the Green Man) will be a bit bigger.

Twisted- just to follow up on our email- I had to drill the pocket on the first one a bit bigger than I'd have liked. I didn't get it perfectly straight so,keeping the shape of the hole on entrance intact, I drilled a little extra out to center the rod. I decided to pack the cavity with jb weld and jammed the rod in. I've really gotta believe that it won't come apart. If it does, something went very very wrong.

 

[americasaddle]

Be careful not to get compressed leather wet or it will expand and fluff like
a sponge in time especially in humid areas. Keep it oiled cause if it dries out
it will split and separate. Remember the old Kabar knives found in attics?
anyway, Mark Green knife maker from Odessa, Texas stabilizes leather
for his knives but he wont give out his secret but might sell the undrilled
handles. That's the best and most recommended method that requires no
maintenance since the chemical penetrates to the molecular level. Hope this helps.

www.knivesbymarkgreen.com
an

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Thanks for that. I've been testing acrylic impregnation (ca) and am getting good results. The look suffers because you lose a great look that I'm getting by grinding a certain way with the drum sander, but stability increases immensely. The handle also (obviously) loses the nice feel of leather. After the ca soak it feels like a rock hard block of plastic, but again, I feel the durability is worth it.

I'm still playing with it. I'm trying to see how much of the surface can be sanded away while still retaining stability. I'm thinking that I can at least get back some of the look, and maybe even a tiny bit of the feel of the untreated leather while retaining an acceptable amount of the stiffness.

At the end of the day, I cannot do these without some sort of compromise. They are already far more trouble and work (time wise) than people are willing to pay for. I could knock out nice burl handles all day long and end up with a product that many people would like just as much or more than the leather. After this run, I'll probably start doing wood and testing horn. I have some ebony and ivory that a really nice member here gave me. It would look great book ending the leather, but again, it's not worth the effort unless I'm just doing it for myself.