Rescaling an old Case Trapper with Leather

Lemmy Caution

Lemmy Caution

Joined
Aug 17, 2013
Messages
1,558
I got a very old Case Trapper from a fellow forum member that had at some point in its long life been rescaled with leather. Over time that leather shrunk and started to fall off and so I wanted to redo it for fun. The knife still has amazing walk and talk and I promised the BF member that I'd get it going again. I've cut and attached some nice pale mint rawhide using the existing pins and epoxy. Now I'm looking to polish and finish the leather so its reasonably hard and and can possibly take a shine. Can anyone help me out with what to finish the leather with? Since the scales are already epoxied on I want to apply something in coats and sand as I go. I want something that will permeate the leather and harden it without shrinking and responds well to sanding. If anyone has any ideas I'd greatly appreciate them.

Here's the before :
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and here's the in process shot:
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Thanks
 
Ok So I'm thinking of shellacking the leather scales. Anyone know whether I should do this before final sanding so I have a harder material to sand and then reapply a layer once i get the finish I want?
 
What about superglue? I've used it as a clear coat on many things. It's hard and takes a nice polish
 
Hey thanks. I was thinking I trying superglue but went with the shells instead. It seems to be working alright so far. Will post pics when I get it where I want it. .
 
Well I think its about done. I used shellac and then sanded it down again and decided to jig the leather. Then i finished it with layers of duco cement sanding to 1500 in between layers. I think it came out pretty cool, though my jigging technique has much room for improvement (as does my camera quality), Here are the finished pics:

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Awesome job man! I love the fact that you stayed with the leather. It's unique. I'm glad you were able to get it back in service. I hated to have a wonderful old Case just sitting in the dark not getting the love it deserved.
 
Hey thanks man! It looks better in person. Ill try to get a hold of a better camera soon. And it just goes to show that leather actuall makes a good scale material if its treated with something to harden it. I guess its not too different from micarta (layered material impregnated with resin). Hopefully it wont shrink up like the first leather scales.
 
Hey thanks BigHaze!

So I wasn't quite happy with the jigging and colors of the scales so I spent a bit more time, jigged some more and applied brown, red, and yellow stains between in layers between sanding. I really liked the results. I've got a bunch of this leather so I think I'm going to keep experimenting with this faux bone and stag technique, different colors, different patterns. Its pretty fun. will post results. Here it is finished:
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