Ka-Bar Pilots Survival Knife handle help needed

D

Dalemont

Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
7
I have recently been given a Ka-Bar Pilots Survival Knife and the leather handle has shrank over time. Does anyone know what I can soak the handle in to swell the leather? I was thinking either neatsfoot oil or mineral oil but I was hoping someone knew for sure. I have contacted Ka-Bar to see if they can tell me but I bet that will take a while to get back to me. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Dalemont,

Welcome to BladeForums!!!!!

I don't have a specific answer to your question, but i wonder if you could buy some leather, cut it into pieces, put in on the tang and sand/form it to your preferences?

Alternatively, if you don't get much response here, maybe try "Sheaths and Such" - those Folks are *really* interested in and know how to work leather.
 
how loose is the handle? if its not too loose you can sand it down smooth and put superglue all over the handle until you get an even coat. sand it down lightly and apply more building it up till you get it nice and smooth sanding with 400 grit. switch over to 0000 steel wool once you finish with the 400 grit to finish the job. you can then buff the handle with a cotton cloth to shine it up.
 
There is about an eighth of an inch between the guard and the handle so the guard is loose. Also, after more research I have found that this is an Ontario knife and not a Ka-Bar. I don't want to have to cut or sand the handle, I am looking for if anyone knows that if I soak my handle in Mineral Oil or Neatsfoot Oil will it hydrate the handle or ruin it?
 
Weird, I JUST fixed the same problem with my dad's ontario marine corps pilot survival knife. The leather had shrunk just enough to make the guard loose. I took a piece of card stock (a business card) and pushed it into the gap from the side then carefully cut off the excess with an exacto. Then I used pliers to twist the guard to open up the remaining gap on the other side wide enough to slip the card in again and trimmed it off as well. Then I used a brown marker to color the white card edge so you can't see it. You can't tell at all and the guard is rock solid. Really easy fix.
 
If it was mine I would take off the old lacquer/shellac/epoxy coating and then coat it multiple times with hot neatsfoot oil.
Then lacquer/shellac/epoxy it again after it completely dried.
I have had to treat and retreat old saddle leathers many times.
Sometimes it took a week of multiple treatments a day to get where it needed to be.

Just remember if you put any kind of oil on it, it will be slick as a new born seal pup for quite a while.

Or you could use a leather dye on it and see if that swells it enough.

The spacer idea is a good one that I have used on other things.
 
I ended up soaking the handle in a leather lotion marketed by Wilsons Leather over night. Wilsons Leather lotion is used on leather coats and other items to condition them and it swelled the leather beautifully. I now have no gap and the guard is rock solid. If anyone is interested, I have also found that if you cut a piece of bike tube from a kids bike and slide it over the handle it works great as a cover and gives great grip.
 
Good job!
I have used that stuff on my wife's coat before. Never thought to use it on a handle...

Do you have pictures of before and after?
 
I don't but it looks the same except the handle is darker and fills the full tang without any give in the guard. I also ground the back of the guard down so it is easy to choke up on the blade for fine work.
 
I took some pics to show what I did to the knife. Let me know what you think.
2011-12-22_08-05-22_222.jpg

The knife as it is now.

2011-12-22_08-09-43_766.jpg

The rubber tubing is pulled back so you can see how dark the handle leather has become.


2011-12-22_08-05-38_80.jpg

See, no gap!
 
After further hunting I found that this is not made by Ka-Bar it is actually made by Ontario Knife. I was thrown off by the handle. Also, after a few weeks the leather handle shrank again so soaking it in the leather lotion is not a long term solution.
 
The top of the guard has been cut off, and the knife has been "sharpened" with a pull-through carbide scraper.
 
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