knife with leather handle tutorial

[Mulesaw]

As suggested by @Tugadude, here's a bit more information about the knife leather handle project.

I didn't want to put more pictures in the last post since it was technically a "show off" post, so this is more of a technical description including the few jigs I made in order to get it to work.

1) A lot of small patches, each 1" x 1.5"  were cut out from some veg tan leather and some black leather that I had. 

2) the patches were soaked in water for about an hour or so, then left in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight (casing)

3) A model of the tang of the knife was made. The tang on this knife was wedge shaped, so I made a similar one in steel.

4) A compression plate was made. This is a small square piece of steel with an elongated hole in it. It will slide over the model of the tang.

5) a small piece of pipe was cut to a length of approx- 1.5". 

6) two anti-surface-marring discs were made. I used some old gasket material, but the important thing is to have something to protect the leather from the jaws of the vise. One of those discs have an elongated hole.

7) Holes were cut in the leather patches, to make elongated holes. length of hole depends on where on the tang the patch will end up.

8) the patches are stacked on the model tang. We tried to alternate the black and veg tan patches. The veg tan patches were put flesh side to one another, and then two sets of those were stacked (4 veg tan total)

9) The entire tang is now covered in leather patches.

10) The anti-surface-marring disc is put on the model tang and it is backed up of the compression plate.

11) The anti-surface-marring disc is put in the open vise, the stack is then inserted, the pipe is placed over the end of the tang and the vise is tightened.

12) We compressed to approximately 75% of the original length. And we left the stack in the vise overnight.

13) The stack was removed from the vise. Due to the wedge shape it was easy to gently hammer out the model tang. Now there is a basic leather handle.

14) leave the handle to dry at least a day, there is a lot of moisture in it still. Once dry start basic shaping with a knife or a chisel or whatever tool you like.

15) Our knife blades are not intended for this type of handle, so I had to cut of the end and make a small slit with an angle grinder. In this slit I silver soldered a 3mm (1/8") threaded rod.

16) the pommel is made out of two pieces of brass, each approximately 5/32" thick. I drilled a 3 mm (1/8") hole in one of them and a 10 mm (3/8") in the other.

17) those two pieces are silver soldered together.

18) the retaining nut is turned on the lathe, or you can do it with a file and a drilling machine as well. It is a piece of brass of slightly smaller diameter than the large hole in the pommel. A hole is drilled and the correct thread is tapped (the same thread as the small threaded rod that is silver soldered to the end of the tang). A slit is sawn using a hacksaw.

19) Shaping of the pommel is done using a file. When the leather is dry, you can mount it all on on the knife blade and finish the shaping. 

20) We glued the pommel and the last piece of leather with a bit of contact glue to prevent it from turning in case the leather dries out even more in another climate. Finally the pommel and the retaining nut are filed/sanded on the bottom, so that the retaining nut is flush with the threaded rod and the pommel itself.

 

 

 

 

[PastorBob]

17 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

As suggested by @Tugadude, here's a bit more information about the knife leather handle project.

I didn't want to put more pictures in the last post since it was technically a "show off" post, so this is more of a technical description including the few jigs I made in order to get it to work.

1) A lot of small patches, each 1" x 1.5"  were cut out from some veg tan leather and some black leather that I had. 

2) the patches were soaked in water for about an hour or so, then left in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight (casing)

3) A model of the tang of the knife was made. The tang on this knife was wedge shaped, so I made a similar one in steel.

4) A compression plate was made. This is a small square piece of steel with an elongated hole in it. It will slide over the model of the tang.

5) a small piece of pipe was cut to a length of approx- 1.5". 

6) two anti-surface-marring discs were made. I used some old gasket material, but the important thing is to have something to protect the leather from the jaws of the vise. One of those discs have an elongated hole.

7) Holes were cut in the leather patches, to make elongated holes. length of hole depends on where on the tang the patch will end up.

8) the patches are stacked on the model tang. We tried to alternate the black and veg tan patches. The veg tan patches were put flesh side to one another, and then two sets of those were stacked (4 veg tan total)

9) The entire tang is now covered in leather patches.

10) The anti-surface-marring disc is put on the model tang and it is backed up of the compression plate.

11) The anti-surface-marring disc is put in the open vise, the stack is then inserted, the pipe is placed over the end of the tang and the vise is tightened.

12) We compressed to approximately 75% of the original length. And we left the stack in the vise overnight.

13) The stack was removed from the vise. Due to the wedge shape it was easy to gently hammer out the model tang. Now there is a basic leather handle.

14) leave the handle to dry at least a day, there is a lot of moisture in it still. Once dry start basic shaping with a knife or a chisel or whatever tool you like.

15) Our knife blades are not intended for this type of handle, so I had to cut of the end and make a small slit with an angle grinder. In this slit I silver soldered a 3mm (1/8") threaded rod.

16) the pommel is made out of two pieces of brass, each approximately 5/32" thick. I drilled a 3 mm (1/8") hole in one of them and a 10 mm (3/8") in the other.

17) those two pieces are silver soldered together.

18) the retaining nut is turned on the lathe, or you can do it with a file and a drilling machine as well. It is a piece of brass of slightly smaller diameter than the large hole in the pommel. A hole is drilled and the correct thread is tapped (the same thread as the small threaded rod that is silver soldered to the end of the tang). A slit is sawn using a hacksaw.

19) Shaping of the pommel is done using a file. When the leather is dry, you can mount it all on on the knife blade and finish the shaping. 

20) We glued the pommel and the last piece of leather with a bit of contact glue to prevent it from turning in case the leather dries out even more in another climate. Finally the pommel and the retaining nut are filed/sanded on the bottom, so that the retaining nut is flush with the threaded rod and the pommel itself.

 

 

 

 

wow.  Lots of good stuff, @Mulesaw.  Thanks for sharing the steps and pics.  Really like the note, "DO NOT TOUCH".  I guess even at sea, people touch stuff they shouldn't.  LOL.

[chuck123wapati]

great job of it !!! A little info for you, the hidden tang type blades are made for that leather handle the typical /historical way to secure it to the handle is to peen the end of the tang down over your pommel which would have had a slot cut in it. The original US army Kabar is probably the best modern example of that attachment method.

However many hidden tang knives are made exactly as you have done it with a threaded pommel. i have seen and made both types. 

[Mulesaw]

4 hours ago, PastorBob said:

wow.  Lots of good stuff, @Mulesaw.  Thanks for sharing the steps and pics.  Really like the note, "DO NOT TOUCH".  I guess even at sea, people touch stuff they shouldn't.  LOL.

Thanks, Yes you really never know when someone thinks it is a good idea to remove a project from the vise, so the note normally helps in this respect :-)

 

 

[Mulesaw]

5 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

great job of it !!! A little info for you, the hidden tang type blades are made for that leather handle the typical /historical way to secure it to the handle is to peen the end of the tang down over your pommel which would have had a slot cut in it. The original US army Kabar is probably the best modern example of that attachment method.

However many hidden tang knives are made exactly as you have done it with a threaded pommel. i have seen and made both types. 

Thanks Chuck.

That makes sense. I hadn't thought about it before, and I actually tried to round the end of the tang with a file, but it was also hardened. I tried 3 times to anneal it by heating it to redhot and then slowly cooling it down (I even packed it in mineral wool insulation) But it was still too hard to file let alone threading. So that's why I soldered in a threaded rod.

I am a bit uncertain if it would have been possible to been the end of it since it was so hard, and the handle would also have been a bit longer than Anna wanted. But I actually think that the original Mora knives with the red wooden handle were made the way you describe too. They have a small copper disc, like the burr of a copper rivet an then the tang is peened.

Brgds

Jonas

[chuck123wapati]

18 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

Thanks Chuck.

That makes sense. I hadn't thought about it before, and I actually tried to round the end of the tang with a file, but it was also hardened. I tried 3 times to anneal it by heating it to redhot and then slowly cooling it down (I even packed it in mineral wool insulation) But it was still too hard to file let alone threading. So that's why I soldered in a threaded rod.

I am a bit uncertain if it would have been possible to been the end of it since it was so hard, and the handle would also have been a bit longer than Anna wanted. But I actually think that the original Mora knives with the red wooden handle were made the way you describe too. They have a small copper disc, like the burr of a copper rivet an then the tang is peened.

Brgds

Jonas

that's some good steel my friend, I would have done the same.

[Tugadude]

I'm always impressed by the members here who are capable in multiple mediums beyond just leather.  Chuck makes some beautiful knives, for example.  So does Rossr.  I appreciate all of the knowledge and skill they bring to their work.

[Mulesaw]

On 3/10/2023 at 3:00 PM, Tugadude said:

I'm always impressed by the members here who are capable in multiple mediums beyond just leather.  Chuck makes some beautiful knives, for example.  So does Rossr.  I appreciate all of the knowledge and skill they bring to their work.

Thanks Tugadude

I think that being able to do something with your hands, be it leatherwork, woodwork, metalwork or needlework etc. will automatically give you a basic understanding of a lot of other crafts, things like precision, ingenuity, patience, understanding of a pattern or an instruction etc.

I guess it will also very often give people a lot more inclination to try something new. 

And very often I find that especially for knives, there are other materials involved, like antlers, wood and leather for the sheath, and those materials complement each other, and just looking at those combinations is a joy.