KA-BAR leather handles

S

Silverbullet951

Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
94
Hello,

I'm going to be restoring an old WW2 knife with completely destroyed leather washers. I'm okay with the handle construction but want to duplicate that rock solid sealed leather like the new ones have. I was wondering if anyone on here knows how the KA-BAR stacked leather is finished. My new USMC is super hard, it's like the leather is impregnated with some sort of polyurethane or epoxy resin. What could it be?

Thanks!
Josh
 
I'm probably wrong, as I frequently am, but I thought all they did was compress the hell out of the washers and then sand it down to shape.
 
Hmmm, I could possibly see that. Maybe compressed in a hydraulic press and oiled with something. I can't even make a dent in my new one with a fingernail, it's just like wood!
 
They are highly compressed. I have a set of the leather dough-nuts on my machine table now. The outside is sealed up with something, maybe a liquid sealant, if you don't open the handle it would take years of neglect to decay the handle naturally I believe.

So far (in my experience) I have used a little epoxy in between the leather to seat everything because my cut-outs for the tang are still rough cut, and not cleanly punched.

note; Ka-Bar shows most of their Ka-Bar production steps in their Ka-Bar video on Youtube. If you are a little familiar with manufacturing it isn't too hard to venture a safe guess as to what each step is.
 
[video=youtube;ttrKq70Mlss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrKq70Mlss[/video]

this one is the one I had in mind. The shots are quick, but you can see the handle is a quick and simple process under power machines.
 
A light bulb went off when you replied.

You could use stabilized leather ring and epoxy. It would save you the hydraulic press rig and the leather would be tough from the beginning.

The only down side is they may not be large enough for a real Ka-bar size handle.
 
In a conversation with some of the old time employee's with Camillus they said that during WW2 the stacked leather washers were placed on the tang about three at a time and they placed a steel tube over them, (similar to a very deep well socket), smacked the sleeve with a mallet to seat the washers and compress them. They continued this process until pinning the pommel on. The leather would stay compressed from the blows to allow the installation of the pommel and swell back out to provide a tight fit. I think you could also modify a large C-clamp to compress the hilt of the knife down between the guard and pommel while the parts were installed on the tang. I think that making the grooves in the leather by hand will be a bit of a tricky thing.

I would use the epoxy between the washers myself. Before sealing the open grain of the washers with epoxy I'd try it on few spare washers first and compare them too washers that you only applied leather finish too first.

Here are some drawings showing some of the final dimensions of the leather washers and their location on the knife.

file-44.jpg
file-42.jpg
 
Chopper Head said:
Hi Toooj,

I have a usmc Kabar that someone gave to me, it is about 7 years old, but was never used.Thing is the leather handle darkened considerably and the finish on the handle wore off almost completely.What can I use to protect the leather on the handle??oil?? Wax??

Thnx..Chop
Click to expand...

Toooj said:
Chopper Head,

You can use any good leather product. There are plenty of oils and waxes that will work. Part of the handle finish is that the handle is colored and polished as it turns against a hard buff. This compresses the fine "fuzz" of the leather and gives the handle a smooth, shiny surface. You can do the same by hand. Oil the handle and then wax it and polish the handle by rotating it in only one direction. It won't be as good as the factory but will get you closer than what you have now.
Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
Click to expand...

There
 
You know, a re-handling program setup by Kabar would probably be a hit. A program where people could send in the knives for re-handling if they (like me) lack the skill and patience to do it themselves.
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
You know, a re-handling program setup by Kabar would probably be a hit. A program where people could send in the knives for re-handling if they (like me) lack the skill and patience to do it themselves.
Click to expand...

Yea, but then they'd have to address the issue with rust just below the pommel where its seated to the tang themselves.

All kabars have it
 
I thought my leather pieces were ruined too. Covered in mold and bulging in places. As a last ditch effort to replacing them, I took a random orbital sander and sanded them with 120 grit paper and then hand sanded with 220 grit paper and then wiped them down with sno seal (boot waterproofing). Worked like a charm and saved me a ton of work.

Don't know how bad your discs are on your handle, but if they're still intact, you could give that a try.

BTW, mine is a WWII USN Camillus. That old, and the discs were easily salvaged.
 
Murph posted in another thread that Tomar's sells a replacement kit for $10. I was not able to locate it after a short search. I suppose my GoogleFu is lacking this evening.
 
I've used super glue to great effect. After it dries, it takes a lot of sanding, but it hardens the leather ust as the OP describes. Also, it helps if you sand in ONE direction only as it lays the grain of the leather down in a uniform way. Hope that helps some.
 
I would also try sanding it before removing. Might be surprised. Just be sure to rub it down with sno seal afterwards. I love leather handles. Much warmer on the hands in my northern winters. Plus it gets character. I love my knives to have character :)
 
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