Has anybody wire wrapped a handle?

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
Years ago I wire wrapped a couple of cracked handles with good success. I used copper wire, maybe 12 or 14 guage -- can't remember -- and the handles turned out quite nice.

Anybody else have stories to tell about success or failure with wire wrap?

I remember as a kid wire wrapping the cracked stock of a little .22 single shot rifle I had and it held up okay, too.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Medieval Swords sometimes have a two strand twisted wire wrap, usually of steel wire. I have tried to do the twisting without some kind or jig and it always turns out a tighter twist here, and a looser twist there. Untwisted might work but be slippery. Or prewound strings.

I did wrap the kora handle in leather lacing. Much inproved over the slick surface there previously.

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 05-14-2000).]
 
I wrapped in sections to save a cracked handle -- that is, one inch of wrap, then no wrap for an inch or so, then wrap again, length of handle. I used epoxy on bottom and on top. No twisting and not slippery.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
I've wire-wrapped sword handles; mostly rapiers and small-swords, using brass picture wire. I found it very hard to do neatly, and the wire turned my hands to hamburger...

Better than wire, IMHO, is Dacron B50, the stuff they make bowstrings out of. It's incredibly strong, so a tightly-wrapped handle should never crack; and when lacquered, it makes a really fine, good-looking gripping surface. I use this wrap on my iaido sword handles - a sharp katana flying out of your hand at the wrong moment could really spoil your day...
 
Try twisting the wire with a hand drill. Just double over a length of wire and chuck up the loose ends in the drill. Hook the loop end of the wire over a hook or a nail attached to something stationary. Start twisting and go slow, be careful not to shear the wire. Stop when you reach the appropriate twist. You'll get a perfect even twist every time.
 
I've used B50, and 550 cord of course, and several kinds of mason's cord, and lately I've been using some duck decoy cord that's nice stuff -- four-strand round braid, dark green. I like to wrap in continuous half hitches so the knots form a spiral pattern; that gives you plenty of grip. Once you learn how to throw a half hitch you can do it almost as fast as a plain wrap. Now I'm trying to do that with brass wire ... wire is not easy stuff to knot. I wrapped a brass ballpoint dagger with thin brass wire, 28 gauge IIRC (I'm having trouble finding anything thicker ... I used to have some as thick as 14 gauge (that was copper, not brass) but that was years ago) and it came out ... well, not bad, but it wasn't perfectly even. So I decided to do it over ... I still can't believe the trouble I had getting the old wrap off. I had to cut it at every turn; seemed like hundreds of them. My second try came out better but still not perfect. One thing I know now -- if I ever get it right I won't ever have to worry about it coming loose the way a plain wrap can if you don't secure the ends well enough....

Bill's idea of wrapping short sections and leaving space between strikes me as a great idea -- it'll give good grip and look good with the handle material showing between the wrapped sections -- horn and brass wire should contrast well.

Last week I took a puukko with a birch handle that's a bit slippery and tied a constrictor hitch with leather thong right in the middle so it fits between my middle and ring fingers like the ring on a khukuri. Seems to work....
smile.gif


-Cougar :{)
 
Bill, wouldn't a wire wrap give you a rather aggressive handle surface? I.e., wouldn't the wire gouge your hand under hard useage? Or should you/did you cover the wire with something else afterward?

I can see where wire wrapping a handle would be very strong, but...ouch!

Tom
 
I painted the wire with epoxy. The handle didn't seem too abrasive to me -- grip was good and looked good. To the best of my knowledge the handles are still working after ten years or so of tough use.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 05-15-2000).]
 
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