Stacked Leather Handle Finishing???

David Stifle

David Stifle

Joined
Nov 20, 2008
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I'm getting ready to do a stacked handle, and last time I had a lot of problems getting a nice smooth, burnished finish. I sanded, buffed, used an old bone to smooth, and never did get it to my satisfaction. Can one of you guys tell me how to do this right? Thanks
 
I have polished the edges of sheaths with a polished piece of steel and it came out really nice. I haven't done a full handle though.
 
Use leather that is dry and stiff .Dont use an oily type of leather , it wont sand well. Sanding to and fro , along the direction of the knife will raise the hairs one way and using strips of old belts ripped into any convenient width to do the "shoe-shine" motion , will raise the hairs another way . As soon as the shape is contoured , wipe on some C A glue ,just enough to hold the hairs in "solution"so you can sand them finer . The glue also helps prevent dirt and discoloration from getting in the leather .
 
Thanks Eric, I'll give it a shot. Have you ever tried to get that fine, smooth finish on a buffer? I haven't tried it, but it seems logical, maybe with a hard wax?
 
As Willie said, burnishing with steel seems to work well. During my time doing leatherwork, I had a few vaguely spoon shaped burnishing tools that I used. I would actually venture to say that you could probably use an old stainless steel spoon and get a decent result.

I also agree that you want to use some older, dryer leather. Perhaps leave some in the sun for a while and see if you can get it to go crusty on you. You could also try cutting out your stack pieces, then lay them out on a cookie sheet and dry at low heat until nice and crispy.

This will also ensure that you get a nice tight stack, and it doesn't shrink on you down the road, leaving gaps.

You may also want to experiment with something such as tung oil, if given enough time to dry properly, it may let you achieve a terrific finish. That's a bit of blind guess, but I think there may be merit, based upon my experience with tung oil and wood.


IIRC, I saw a "How it's Made" on Estwing hammers/axes, and I remember them either dipping the leather handles in oil or varnish before finishing. I think that you may need some kind of surface binder to keep the fibers down and allow them to form a solid surface, depending on how porous or fine grained the leather is, and how well cured, moisture content, etc.
 
The way I do it is somewhat non traditional. I cut oversize squares and stack 7 or 8 up. Get them good and wet first before stacking, then to the shop press and compress them. Leave in the press over night. Next day separate and let dry for a couple of days. I then re stack with acureglass liberally coating both sides of each piece and compress again on the shop press. Use wax paper between your pressing plates. After it's cured I take it to the band saw and trim the edges where it overhangs and is not square. Vola, a block of leather that won't absorb water and is easy to sand and polish and won't rot. I normally have several blocks on hand done this way and will often place colored spacer material between the blocks to add interest to the finished handle.

In the past I've also just wet and compressed, then after drying soaked with super thin super glue and it did OK.
 
I do similar to Will.
I cut squares, punch holes in the center, slip them on a well waxed piece of 1/4" thread-all, and put end washers on. Then I run bolts tight from both ends, compressing the leather tightly. I flood the assembly with thin CA from all sides, let sit and cure for a day. flood again, and let cure for another day. I go to the grinder and pre-shape the handle blank to a cylinder with the center a bit fatter than the ends. I again flood it with CA twice. After the CA is cured, I unscrew and drive out the thread-all mandrel. This will give me a hard and easily shapeable leather handle blank. When the final shaping is done on the knife, I give it one last CA coating, a final sanding, and a light buffing.
 
Thanks Guys. I think what I did wrong was not letting the leather get hard. Appreciate the responses.
 
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