The Stacked Leather Zone

Antler dyed blue with alcohol ink. Black leather. Resin in center dyed turquoise. Copper (I liked the redness ) aluminum.. I hade a dude in China make the blade $25 bucks
 
I've used vinagroon before.

I was never quite able to get rid of the strong smell.

But it did give me a nice dark black.

I have a jar stewing now that is cleaner (using bits of 15n20 and white vinegar).

Here is my first attempt with vinagroon.
c89GTCC.jpg


I will say...using dirty steel wool (above) I think affected the smell factor.
 
Nice looking results, I've found nuetralizing the begeezus out of it with a strong baking soda/water mix will kill the smell and stop the reaction but you reallly gotta soak it. I used to use all the tricky recipes you find online to make it but now I just grab some gunk out of the grinder bucket, dry it out, throw it in vinegar and hit it with a heat gun for 10 minutes or so. I let it settle overnight and don't even worry about straining it,after the muck settles I just dip from the top with a cotton ball. Steel grindings seems to work better than steel wool for me too.
 
Redmeadow Knives said:
Nice looking results, I've found nuetralizing the begeezus out of it with a strong baking soda/water mix will kill the smell and stop the reaction but you reallly gotta soak it. I used to use all the tricky recipes you find online to make it but now I just grab some gunk out of the grinder bucket, dry it out, throw it in vinegar and hit it with a heat gun for 10 minutes or so. I let it settle overnight and don't even worry about straining it,after the muck settles I just dip from the top with a cotton ball. Steel grindings seems to work better than steel wool for me too.
Click to expand...
I think I did 3 or 4 trys with thick baking soda paste rubbed in....

Maybe I need to do another try with my new batch of cleaner vinagroon. It certainly smells better than my first batch.

I've only done one "stacked" spacer on a hidden tang. Micarta, and alternating vulcanized spacers... maybe next handle I need to do a leather stack.
 
I've been lurking far more than usual lately - just haven't had a lot of time to post as much as I would like. This summer has been kicking my ass.

I love this thread and have been following it since it sprung up but haven't taken the time to contribute yet. Though I do not have very many examples, I have come to love stacked leather as a handle material - it is classic, great looking, and very functional with proper care. I am looking forward to whatever John has hiding up his sleeve...

(please pay no mind to the indoor pics - it's hotter than blazes outside so my coffee bar has to suffice for now)

CiaPu3L.jpg



It would be remiss of me to not take the opportunity to extol the virtues of stacked birch bark - simply amazing material. Also, the Helle below it is comprised of dyed oak, birch, and green leather spacers - kind of a neat effect.

FuJ5I2U.jpg
 
Vinagroon question - you soak the leather pieces BEFORE you stack the handle? Doesn't that compromise the usability of the wet leather pieces? I see John that you make up handle blocks free of being fitted between a bolster and a butt cap. This leads to my question. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top