Finishing a leather handle?

John Cahoon

John Cahoon

JWC Custom Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Apr 13, 2017
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Thought I'd post this here...my first successful leather handle with bocote... (the first-first is in my bag of failed scales). Not glued up yet. The handle is sanded to 1200 grit in one direction. the BF google had several methods to finish. My plan is to finish by damp baking at 170 degrees F for an unknown time to harden it up a bit more, then apply warmed up beeswax followed by a clean buff (no compound). If there's a better way I'd be much obliged hearing about it. Thanks in advance!IMG_1895.JPG IMG_1896.JPG IMG_1897.JPG
 
Very nice looking knife! Always been fond of bocote as a handle material, nice mixture with the leather. I have done a couple of leather handles in the past but its been a long time. I do my sheaths for 3 hours at 178 degrees. They come out pretty firm. I lay them on 4 sheets of cardstock and flip em every hour.
 
Hi Dave, thanks for that, I tried it yesterday and they hardened up pretty well. I only did 2 one hour sessions flipping on the half hour. I can still scratch pretty easy with a fingernail so maybe another round? Maybe I should ask how hard can leather get by baking? Is there something else I can treat with?
 
Looking good so far.

Do watch the oven temp, as I've had leather glue break down a bit during an oven cycle at the lowest setting I had.
 
Bigfattyt said:
Looking good so far.

Do watch the oven temp, as I've had leather glue break down a bit during an oven cycle at the lowest setting I had.
Click to expand...

I actually used the regular long cure epoxy between the washers same as for any knife handle. Not sure if leather glue would hold up well enough. Fine for sheaths but???
 
jwccustom57 said:
Hi Dave, thanks for that, I tried it yesterday and they hardened up pretty well. I only did 2 one hour sessions flipping on the half hour. I can still scratch pretty easy with a fingernail so maybe another round? Maybe I should ask how hard can leather get by baking? Is there something else I can treat with?
Click to expand...

I've never had any luck re baking them doesn't seem to help much more. Really watch your time cause ya sure can make leather jerky. Also preheat the oven prior to placing a leather item in there. There can be huge temp variations swings while preheating.
 
I wouldn't recommend it on a completed handle, but one way to harden leather is to soak it in ammonia or urine. It will also darken, shrink, and jerky up a bit. This would work well before assembly but not on a completed handle in my opinion.

Personally, I'd be cautious about baking it too much, the stacks may shrink.

A hot beeswax dip will harden leather but would most likely destroy a completed handle in the process. Warm beeswax won't give you any penetration and can have a sticky feel when the knife gets warm.

Repeated coats of thin CA (superglue) is probably the best answer for what you're looking for. I would also oil the leather beforehand, it won't resist the CA.

My process is a bit different than these and would be more than happy to share if you're interested. Nice looking knife by the way.

Out of curiosity, why do you want to harden the leather?
 
Howdy Do Redmeadow Knives Redmeadow Knives Yes please either here or PM your method if you prefer, I wanted to harden it up enough to be pretty solid as a knife handle, I've been trying to follow what I've seen in the BF google search threads. The baking went well enough and I scrapped the beeswax idea in favor of oil. It's looking OK and I'd like to try the CA if I can find some thin enough to paint on. Meanwhile, I noticed some surface faults in the leather so back to the grinder for some light refinishing. Not sure if that was shrinkage in the oven or if I just missed during QC. It never really showed until it started getting shiny. Currently at 1200 grit one direction sanding with just the oil on it.
 
Being in Phoenix you should be able to find thin CA pretty easy. A woodworking supply or hobby shop should carry it, there's probably a Rockler store near you. If you do go the thin CA route, it can be applied with a latex glove. Rub it in with your finger one drop at a time (from the bottle to your finger, not directly on the leather) and keep rubbing until it absorbs. Light sand between coats. Repeat until the handle feels solid. It will develop a gloss quickly but will also lose that leather feel quickly if that's what you want.

I'll throw in my two cents when it comes to stacked leather, just food for thought. The great thing about stacked leather is how it feels in hand, it warms up quickly and has a nice grip. Epoxy or CA will take away from that. I wouldn't overthink it when it comes to durability, they hold up well with very little maintenance. I have a test one that stays in the shop and gets abused pretty regularly. I use it in the garden and hose the dirt off afterwards, it dries fine and I haven't oiled it in a couple of years.

As far as my process goes, long story short is I soak and compress the leather into blocks without adhesive in between the pieces. When finishing, at 600 grit and above, I coat the handle with oil as I sand, light water works well too. On my recent builds I rubbed in a very light coat (maybe a few small drops) of CA on the handle and sanded it down. It gave the leather a nice sheen but still allows oil to soak in, I was happy with result.

This knuckleheads videos on stacked leather may interest you.
 
Hi Redmeadow Knives Redmeadow Knives First off great videos, very well made, you could be in moving pictures. Am I understanding right that you don't use adhesive at all? Not sure I'd have the confidence but the stacks were VERY hard to separate after soaking and compression. I refinished the bad spot mentioned, only 1/2 hr overall and started oiling again will sand in between as you suggets. I'll stick with that for now cause I do want to retain the leather feel. Thanks again for that.
 
I've done 2 leather handles on "kit" blades. I followed the Brisa tutorial.... essentially cut the square washers to match the tang. Stack them on the tang with epoxy on each piece. Then clamp tight till the epoxy dries.
Sanded to shape and finished with 1500 wet sanded.
Once that was dry I buffed it with a rag, warmed the handle with a hair dryer and applied SnowSeal, rubbing it in while the hair dryer was blowing on it.
Then, when cool, buffed with a clean rag. Probably close to 10 years now with no problems what so ever....
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stromeng.jpg


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stromengdone1.jpg
 
Hi Ebbtide Ebbtide Beautiful finish on that one! I found a link (now dead) from brisa.fi (finland) but anyway it sounds like our processes are similar. I did my glue up over the weekend and it's pretty decent, multiple coats of oil darkened them a little more but aside from a couple of minor issues I'm fairly pleased. It came out dead straight, even with the guard and seems tough enough. I guess I'll wax and buff and see what that looks like. Thank you all for your help!
 
The first photo has the clamp made with all thread and three pieces of wood. Wing nuts to tighten it down.
Should've mentioned that in the first post....

Thanks for the kind words :)
 
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