Stabilizing leather handles

eric brinkerhoff

eric brinkerhoff

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Mar 10, 2013
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I do quite a few stacked leather handles and Im actually getting pretty good at it , if I dont say so myself . Right now I just spread epoxy on each "washer" as Im stacking , but I came up with an idea to stabilize the handle after assembly , blade and all , by dunking the whole knife into my vacuum chamber just like stabilizing a block of wood .Anybody ever tried that before ? Does it sound like a good idea ? Im going to give it a go later on today and Ill tell you about my results , but I thought Id post on here in case you guys have any reasons why I shouldnt do it.Thanks!(I dont say thanks enough.)
 
Well , I went ahead and tried my idea .Its not cured yet , but so far things look good! The bubbles flowed out just like wood and just like I thought , there were plenty of bubbles coming out around the guard area.This leads me to think it got a good seal. My concern was maybe the leather would swell up or something , or that my stabilizing fluid (Miniwax wood hardener)would have an adverse affect on my plastic spacers.Looks good though.Maybe I wont have such a problem with dirt getting smeared into the leather when I go to finish sand it.
 
Do you mean bubbles were coming out of the leather itself? Moisture? That surprises me, I didn't think cured leather had much if any moisture in it.
 
Eric. Have you thought of using a clamping fixture instead of doing it on the knife? Also, what vacuum pump do you use?

Frank
 
I'm curious how this experiment will turn out. For me, part of the appeal of a stacked leather handle is the slight resilience of the material. Will stabilizing the leather turn it into a big block of leather colored plastic or will it retain some resilience? Of course the downside is that untreated leather can soak up any liquid that gets on the handle ...
 
I have thought about stabilizing leather handles too. I thought if I were to do it I would epoxy and stack the leather pieces and clamp them until cured. Then stabilize the leather block as I would a piece of wood. At that point it could be drilled, fit and sanded as any other piece of stabilized wood.

I have used the Cactus Juice for stabilizing wood with good results. Plus, Curtis is a very nice guy and will help you any way he can.
 
Good to know about the cactus juice. I ordered some last week. I have been using a thin heat setting epoxy sourced locally, but the shelf life is only 24h once mixed. I waste a lot making sure I have enough to complete a project.
 
Got everything all sanded out and just like I thought , sanding was easier with stabilizing .Those "hairs" that happen on leather were completely eliminated . Feels good in the hand , theres still a very slight resilience in the leather , but not near as much as an untreated handle .By the way I didnt use any epoxy on the guards as I wanted to see if the stabilizer would fill this area .Looks like it did .When I rap the handle on a block of wood I dont hear any of that tell-tale buzzing that indicates a loose guard.
 
bladsmth said:
I have had similar results on stacked leather by flooding it with thin CA until it wouldn't absorb any more, then doing the final shaping.
Click to expand...

This was going to be my approach for the stacked leather I am doing.
 
I stabilize the leather before I assemble the handle. I find it makes it all easier, and cleaner. I had the same idea as you, and then just skipped back to the beginning and filled my vacuum with leather squares, let them soak, and take them out, wait a day, and fit them to the tang the next day. I have the same results with the sanding. Much improved. They actually work better this way. They still take the epoxy just fine to.
I am getting the cactus juice next week...I almost bought some last week, and something came up, but its clear sailing now. After talking to the Mesquite man, and watching some online videos, I can't wait to try that stuff out!
 
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I know this is an old thread but was wondering myself abt this procedure. Do you still cure the leather in an oven afterwards to set the cactus juice? I’ve stabilized wood but not leather.
 
If you used cactus juice or any curing resin, you would have to catalyze it the same as with wood.

Personally, I would suggest soaking overnight in BLO or just rubbing in several coats and letting it cure a week or so. That is how I do my Puukko handles.

The leather I soaked with thin CA was segments in a wood and leather Scagel style handle. It made finishing te handle much easier. For an entire leather handle I think it would be too hard and slick. I would assume stabilizing a leather handle with any resin would be similarly unsatisfactory.
 
I think K & G will stabilize leather handle blocks, I know they sell stabilized single spacers. A while back I think Steve Johnson did a WIP with a stabilized leather handle block. The only thing is if you stabilize your leather you have pretty much turned your stacked leather handle into Micarta, and you lose that leather feel. I think one would be further a head stabilizing just a leather block instead of the entire knife.
 
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