Let me throw this one at ya!

ron finkbeiner jr

ron finkbeiner jr

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
3,359
I am liking the BK9 more and more and I was wondering if anyone has tried putting stacked leather washers on the handle portion of the knife and ground the grip to roughly a SOG Bowie type handle and put a guard on it?
 
Might be possible with a Camillus 9, which I believe is solid steel under the scales (my 2 is), but the newer ones are all "skeletonized", which is what Charlie_K is getting at. There's nothing down the middle of the tang but air.
 
Yea, here you go:
100_0979.jpg


BUT - I think it would look amazing clipped, sans thumb ramp and with stacked leather.
You might want to take a look at the KaBar big brother if you haven't already.
8462646561_dd6cd5c3ca_b.jpg

It is the second blade down and comes in a stacked leather model. I stole this picture from one of Derek's threads, Sunday Knife Shenanigans where he goes out and beats the snot out of a log.
 
Hey Ron....

I suspect it would be easier to start with a chunk of steel than do a retrofit....... I love the look and feel of stacked leather but from a practical stand point a full tang and Micarta make a much better combo...... Not, mind, that the standard Zytel is not a better alternative than leather....... It may not be pretty but, it works........BTW Leather sucks up moisture and when it dries it shrinks and eventually if the knife gets a lot of use the washers get loose....... Leather sure is pretty though..... If you are after pretty think about a stabilized wood.......

All Best....

Ethan
 
It could technically be done, but I'd have concerns about the strength of the tang. With the stock being as thick as it is, you might be OK.... but personally I wouldn't warranty it. You can put a heckuva lotta stress on a tang with a blade that long and heavy.

Like Ethan said, by the time you do all that or have a knifemaker do it for you, you'd have a couple hundred dollars' labor and parts into it, plus the cost of the knife itself... you may as well start from scratch or order a custom and have a solid narrow tang.

Ethan Becker said:
If you are after pretty think about a stabilized wood.......
Click to expand...

I wonder if anyone's ever tried having leather professionally stabilized? The tanning chemicals/oils might interfere with the curing process... I don't know. Just thinking out loud.
 
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as quick as leather soaks up hot parrafin wax, it'd probably soak up a thin 2 part epoxy plenty quick - especially if you used a sealed container with a vacuum pump to cycle the air pressure down then back up a few times to encourage the air out of it.
 
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