SUP

Afraid not. That is 4 1/2 hours away.

Sounds painful - later! Stitches always seem to me to be more painful than actual wounds - that needle pulling through skin - leather too, after all!

If you want to learn about leather and know nothing about it, a good way to start is to first learn about different classifications of leather - on google - broadest classification is real and faux. I presume you want to work with natural leather, in which case one way to classify is by tannage, in its broadest form - veg-tanned, chrome-tanned. Get an idea of how they look and feel - again google - then walk into a leather store if you have one close by and look around. Ask questions. There are too many types and classifications to just explain in answer to a very general question.

ALthough I like a wooden handle and do not want to cover it with anything.

I will have to reshape it to get a more comfortable hold. So maybe the wood first and then the Plasti-dip? Yes AlZilla. I would appreciate the grip blanks. I will send you my address separately.

That's a good idea dikman and chuck123wapati. Actually the handle is quite thick (not visible in the photographs) and I can hold it but because of the angular faces, it is not too comfortable. My concern is that it might slip. So the wood or leather on either side - I can certainly do that. How do I get hard leather though? Is it available? Will soaking and drying make it hard - like when wet molding? I have found a bag that is absolutely hard - like cardboard and there is nothing needed to stiffen it. So something similar. I could not find anything like it in Tandy though, even when I asked, back in January. They could not even explain how to make leather hard in a similar way. I am thinking of gluing wood or leather on either side and then covering it with something waterproof - wood and leather can both rot if wet and it will get wet when sharpening the knife, since I use water on my whetstones. On top of the waterproof layer, I can wrap thinner leather of any sort, to get it to a shape that is convenient to hold. At the most if it gets mold, I can re-wrap and do not have to do the entire thing.

Thank you Gezzer! Appreciate that.

Thank you for that input, Gezzer and Tugadude. What you say makes sense but I am so new to leatherworking, I will probably have to pay the knife maker. Not skilled enough yet to trade leatherwork.. I will look for someone and see how it goes. That knife is so sharp and a pleasure to use I don't want to just keep it aside. New to Georgia too for that matter so a bit of a search for a local knife maker is in store for me. LOL

This is the significant other who found the needle in his moccasin which his wife made for him.

Yes. I had to resize the photographs before I could upload them. Here they are now. It has a flat, straight handle - a rectangular piece of metal which is only shaped at the area where it is screwed into the blade.

What is round leather? Oh I see. The round leather cord. Yes I can do that but will it be tight enough on a flat handle?

Thank you chuck123wapati. That is a great article. I especially like the ones which use thicker strips! I like the idea of split or roughout veg tan - for friction - but suede might absorb things on my hands. Are splits and roughout veg tans as absorbent as well? That is my concern.

Yes. I agree. I like the idea of a leather wrap too, Tugadude. About the soft veg tanned leathers, I am not yet familiar with the different types. I have only come across the milled leather scraps from Tandy. This is a chance to learn about them. I think I will call Springfield leather and discus it with them. I am looking up Plasti-dip as well. It would be the perfect solution. Seeing different Aluminium articles and the way they corrode and stain, I will at least not have to worry about that. Thank you Tugadude.

I bought a hand-made round knife on a whim, as it was reasonably priced. It is wicked sharp right out of the box and it does not appear to have been recently sharpened or stropped. It has a flat Aluminium handle and I am concerned it might slip when I am using it. I would like to wrap it in leather. I am not sure of the type of leather to use. It has to be soft enough to wrap. Will chrome-tanned leather work or will it damage the Aluminium in the long run? Has anyone had experience with that metal encased in Chrome-tanned leather? If not chrome-tanned leather, what other type of leather would work for wrapping a knife handle? I have only just started leatherworking about 4 months ago so am still learning about the best uses for different leathers. I know a wooden handle would be best but I have no experience in woodworking. So wrapping seems the best option. I would appreciate some guidance on this.

A slight detour from the topic but once, long ago, when I was still in college, I was washing my hands and suddenly noticed bleeding on the base of my palm. It pricked a bit and I finally pulled out a cover-slip about 1 inch by 1/2 inch across! It was embedded in my palm and I have no idea how it got there! Surely I would have noticed a wound large enough to embed it and then to heal over. An absolute mystery to me, even today 40 years later! Anyone else have such mysterious happenings?

Thimbles! Why didn't I think of that? First thing I am ordering those leather thimbles! It will be a relief. Thank you Sheilajeanne. I strop my knives whenever I use them and sharpen as needed. That is another addictive thing about leatherworking - the knives and how many I am sorely tempted to buy! Not sure how to sharpen an awl though, Littlef. I am sure there will be a thread about it somewhere on this site. I will look it up. I might also need to improve my chiseling technique. I have been thinking about it and it is possible the chisel holes are not straight and therefore the problem with the awl as well. Yes, TomeE. I try to let the cuts bleed - they do anyway! but if it is very deep, I have discovered that if I immediately hold it closed and bandage it up, it dries and heals very fast. Not much pain or swelling either. So healing time, even for a deep slice is down to about 3 days. Have such a cut now and I can barely see the scar. And opening boxes Tugadude? I had no idea how to do it until I worked in an Amazon warehouse for 6 months some years ago. Now I do it like a pro and show anyone around too!

Bruce says the makers mark is continental European for sure. I need to look into it some more.

Thank you. You are both absolutely right! My husband keeps telling me the same thing each time he sees droplets of blood around the place. The thing is, I go in with good intentions and then forget! I cut myself usually when hand sewing - poke myself with the awl or needle, or like I mentioned above, when trying sheaths on the tools. I have not cut myself when actually cutting leather yet! All those precautions I have read from all of you - I spend all my free time on this site to learn as much as I can - it is the unexpected where I cut myself. But I am learning.

Since I started leatherworking, I have cut myself so many times! After the first 3-4 times, when I went around with numerous band-aids on my hands, I went and got an anti-tetanus. My house is overflowing with band-aids and triple antibiotic creams! Currently I am waiting for deep cuts on my thumb and fore-finger to heal - pretty deep because I sliced it with a sharpening thingy for serrated knives, while trying on a sheath for it. Does everyone go through this or am I particularly clumsy? I suspect the latter!

Thank you. I will do that.

This brand mark appears on a saddler's knife. Does anyone know which company this is? I have also uploaded a photograph of the knife.

This is wonderful! I want to make a belt for my husband and was wondering how to go about it and this really helps! Thank you!

Thank you. I will report to a moderator about it.

Put this question here because I do not now where else to put it. Why do so many links on this site lead to one with Chinese/Japanese or some other east Asian characters with flashing lights etc.? At least 4 different ones today, in the last 15 minutes. Specifically I was reading posts from 2014-2015.

I have seen several people wonder about reducing photograph file sizes and I thought I would post some information about that. Pardon me if I am posting something already known. There are many options but I have found the easiest one is Irfanview. I have used it for years, over several laptops, and it is very easy to use. It is a free download and I have not had any problems with viruses either. The files I use are always .png. As far as I know, it does not accept .doc files. I think there is a paid version as well, but I have never needed it. Used it yesterday to post information about my stitching horse, with photographs.