Revitalize my Kabar's leather handle?

I

IIO0DQLE

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Feb 15, 2011
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I played around with my Kabar and threw it into the snow to practice throwing. I only did 3 throws then went in and rinsed it right away on tap water and dried it right away with a towel. I noticed right after that it lost it's shine and looked dried out and sort of cracked/brittle (although it isn't actually brittle). Sorry not sure how to exactly describe it. Suffice to say, it looks like it aged 10 years in an instant. I proceeded to apply some jojoba oil that I had lying around. Not sure that was the best recourse I just did not want it to deteriorate any further. It's now air drying and just soaking in the oil.
 
Next time,practice throwing it at a brick wall.You won't have to worry about the handle afterward.
 
GRIM 62 said:
Next time,practice throwing it at a brick wall.You won't have to worry about the handle afterward.
Click to expand...

Against a side of a cliff would be good, too.:D



Seriously, though: Sand it lightly to strip off the finish down to the leather, and apply shoe polish to color it to the shade you desire, then follow with a coat or 2 of waterproofing for boots or shoes. Sounds a bit crazy, but it workds like a charm.


BTW, buy a cheap knife if you want to throw it, and no into water.
 
thanks for the suggestions..it was an impulsive act that i did..i did read that the leather disintegrated in water but i thought i remembered that that happened in sea water and for prolonged periods. i did not think that it would change the appearance..
 
Buffing it with a piece of denim should help the finish get back to glossy but you may want to put a leather care product on it first to help prevent it from drying out. How I used to do it was lock the blade in a vise (first wrapping it in cardboard) and buff like you are shining shoes.
 
for another finish option you can sand it smooth and then coat it in superglue by applying it in small sections at a time until you get the whole handle coated. after the glue dries you have to sand it down just a little and apply glue to the low spots. repeat the sanding and filling in the low spots until you have the entire handle looking good.
if you get enough glue on the finish will be pretty durable but it will still get dinged up if you throw it again.
 
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