handle restoration help

[deloid]

I have this vintage knife and the leather stacks rotted out. Though the pic is small you should be able to see that in front and back of the celluloid there is a piece of wood, brass shims and leather. I need to figure out if the leather should be treated with a hardener or just compressed and epoxied as previously shown on other threads. This is a bit different since I can't use the grinder except for a polish. It's also tricky guessing how much the leather will compress so the butt nut fits as it used to (flush).

Thanks for any help. I did think of using new spacers but threcipientnt of this gift wants it to be as close to original as possible. Almost forgot...all slides off the tang easily.

 

[Frank Niro]

Well, I'm wanting to see you do it right. This how I would do it. Get your washers made out of thick lether, like sole leather close to size. Put them in place, tighten down the end (tang)nut; place two wraps of masking tape around each end of the center piece, and use a file to carefully file the leather down. If you start to break through the masking tape, stop and replace it before going on. Then get it down to one layer and the job should be close. If it were mine I would size the leather and the center of the handle ends together on a belt sander. Frank

 

[deloid]

Thanks Frank...I have all the leather I need and several leather splitters (work leather and collect tools). No epoxy?

 

[Frank Niro]

Well, that could be a good move, but don't over do the amount you place on the spacers before you slide them on , and I would sugest a slow drying one so that you have enough time to get it all together and the nut tightened down after a trial run. Frank