Leather re-handle done.

stingray4540

stingray4540

Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
2,798
Because some of you requested it, here is that leather re-handle that I was working on.

Not the prettiest knife I've seen, but it's functional I guess, and my wife likes it enough that she already claimed it, lol.

My biggest downfall on this one, is that the antler pieces I used were too small, so I had to kinda go with the shape of the antler pieces, without much room to shape it the way I wanted without making it too small.

Blade: Frosts 3.5" plain carbon

Handle: 4"; Leather and whitetail antler

Bolster & Pommel: I used what I thought was a solid brass door hinge, but it turned out to not be solid, so it's a mystery metal.

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Hey! Thats cool! Great work.
 
Thanks a lot guys, but there really is a lot more to nit pick in person.

I don't think I'm going to work this one too hard, probably just give it to my wife since she likes it, and she doesn't use knives too much. Since the blade is such thin stock there is quite a bit of flex in the handle. That also might be due to the fact that I may not have compressed the leather as much as I thought. I enjoy the feel of this knife though, so when I start making my own blades, I think I will try a leather handle again, but with 1/8" stock, and a double/split full tang.
 
Actually I think it came out pretty darn good. I like the proportions with that blade shape. Nice job!
 
Hey Stingray, thanks for posting the pics of the finished product! I think that turned out pretty well for a 1st attempt! (if that in fact was your first attempt)
I've been wanting to try one myself for a while now and have a couple of projects lined up for it. There is a pretty good tutorial on the BritishBlades website that I've been looking at that I think I'm gonna follow. Here's the link if you be interested. -Matt-

http://www.britishblades.com/home/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=98
 
Thanks for the pics.

are these stacked together without epoxy or glued together as they are stacked? I really never gave much thought into how this process is done.
 
Grease man: Thanks for that link! I need to go make a clamp, and I think my next one will come out much better.

And yes, this was my first attempt.

jawilder: These are epoxied together as I stack them, then I peened over the end of the tang to keep the handle compressed, and so it doesn't come apart. You could probably get away with not using glue or epoxy, but the epoxy also helps so the disks don't rotate over time and make the handle all out of whack.

Everyone else: Thanks again for your compliments.
 
Did you soak the handle or treat it with anything? I have heard of soaking them in melted wax until they soak up the wax and seal it.

I like the looks.

Badge54
 
Badge54 said:
Did you soak the handle or treat it with anything? I have heard of soaking them in melted wax until they soak up the wax and seal it.

I like the looks.

Badge54
Click to expand...

Yes. First I soaked it in my wood finish. I wasn't planning on it, but did it out of habit.:rolleyes: The wood finish is linseed oil and pine sap. When I took it out of the soak, I wiped it down then rubbed in some "sno-seal". I used a generous amount and rubbed it in with my fingers hard. Let it set up for 30 min. then wiped off the excess with a rag and sanded with 1000 grit. I did this a few more times, letting it sit longer periods of time, then the last time I let it sit overnight, and didn't sand it. It actually gave it a really nice finish if I don't say so myself.

The pictures were taken after the soak and before the sno-seal.

P.S. 'sno-seal' is a beeswax based waterproofer and leather protector. It is the absolute best for waterproofing your boots(1000 times better than the sprays), and it turned out to be a nice leather handle finish as well.

Oh, and thanks!
 
That looks great, one to pass down to the grandkids.

That shaped up just fine. Mac
 
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