stacked leather dagger

[trogdorr]

This is my first attempt at a through tang dagger. I ordered 9 feet of 5160 and I have been trying some new things. The handle is stacked leather and is unfinished in the picture. The finger guard is steel and the end cap is brass. I'll post some pictures of the process later. Being that the leather is unfinished at the moment and I do not have much experience leatherworking, I thought I would ask what some of the more experienced makers have done to stain and finish their leather. Are there certain brands you recommend or dislike? Any pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking,
Trogdorr

 

[David Stifle]

You have some leather spacers there that need to be replaced, they will look bad when you finish the handle. Otherwise, the knife looks good, although I would like a longer guard, that's a matter of personal taste, though.

As for finishing the leather, I sand it down to 2000 grit, then take it to my buffer, using a soft buffing pad and low speed, and take it to a nice shine. I then dye it, and apply a sealer. Some people use wax, some use spar varnish, or other sealants. A leather stacked handle is far more work than people think, but I love them. You have a good shape there, just replace the spacers that will mess up your handle and "git er done":thumbup:

 

[trogdorr]

Thanks for the advice, replacing the rings may not be possible for they are epoxied in place and the cap is pinned and would be rather difficult to take off without damage. I"ll probably try taking it down a bit more to even things out.

 

[David Stifle]

Good Luck! I've tried that in the past, I usually ended up screwing up the handle. It's easy to chase it until it's perfect, but by then the handle is just too small. Before you do that, you may have to just accept a less than perfect handle this time around.

 

[trogdorr]

less than perfect is OK with me. I just started making knives so "good enough" is about all I can ask for. I like it so far though, it almost looks like I knew what I was doing

 

[David Stifle]

I agree, and daggers are twice the work:thumbup:

 

[trogdorr]

Finished the handle by sanding down to 1500 grit. Stained with Minwax "Traditional American" wood stain. Sealed by rubbing hot bees wax into the leather. What did I do right/wrong?