what kind of adhesive is used for glueing leather handles?

M

maddog2020

Joined
May 25, 1999
Messages
973
Hi, I was thinking of glueing up some leather washers to make a knife handle. What kind of glue is used to secure the leather washers to the knife tang?

I hope this isn't a trade secret, Camillus has been making leather handled knives for a long time
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TIA,

Ray 'md2020'
 
Hmmmmm....just plain old rubber cement? Oh, I will have tp try it out. So far I have had people tell me to use Barge Cement, sloe set epoxy, and now, rubber cement.

Thanks, ghostsix - I will give it a whirl.
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Ray 'md2020'
 
I have used Barges rubber cement for sheath making, and find that it works very well. It is available in hardware stores in my area, and is sold in yellow tubes. The only problem is that Barges says to apply a thin layer of the glue to the two surfaces to be bonded, and allow to dry for 15 minutes or so and then press together to bond. Might be slow going for a bunch of leather disks.

Might be worth a try.... Maker sure to keep all surfaces clean(clean with acetone or something similar. Even finger oils can cause problems.

Good luck,

Thomas Zinn
 
Maddog2020,
There is NO adhesive used on 7" Marine Combat &, to my knowledge, there never was.
The handles are tight by compressing the leather washers (alot) during installation & then pinning on the butt cap with the washers still under great pressure.
After shaping & machining, the handle is then dipped, but this is mostly to prevent the leather rotting, not to keep washers tight.
I do believe that Western used some glues in their handle washers, but that was mostly fiber washers that cannot be held tight by compression.
I think an epoxy or rubber cement would work for a custom knife, but I recommend using the compression technique aswell, as the leather can (& will) shrink over time.
Hope this helps.
Phil
 
Thanks for the reply tzinn1348, and Phil Gibbs.

Wow, just plain ol' compression? I am amazed...simple, and effective. Now all I have to do is figure out how to compress it THAT tight....lol.

I managed to remove the old handle off the Khukuri, and now I have to decide on the handle material to use
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Thanks again everyone.

Ray 'md2020'
 
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