Preventing Leather Rot From Iron Oxidation

[AaronR]

I'm working on replacing a knife handle for a friend since the original one has much rotted all the way through. I've been mulling over various methods for treating the new discs (see image) to prevent new rot. Will some application/mixture of waxes, oils burnishing &/or sealers keep the iron from eating into the leather over time or am I just worrying about the inevitable?

[ade]

In an idea world get the tang galvanised,but first clean off all rust with emery cloth.

Mask of the blade and borrow some of your wifes clear nail varnish,and cote the blade.

But thats me i'm cheep,if i wanted to spend cash i would probably buy some spray epoxy paint.

Ade

[RandyScott]

The steel in the tang does not seem to have been adversely affected by the rust/oxidation and as long as the resolution prevents moisture and air from getting to the tang, there would not be much chance of further oxidation/rusting. So, how to prevent moisture in the new leather disks? I have seen several threads on knife forums where the disks were soaked in an epoxy resin, the disks slid over the tang, any open space around the tang was also filled with the epoxy resin, the pommel mounted and the entire assembly brought under pressure to squeeze the disks as tightly together as possible till the epoxy cured. Clean up any squeeze out as it occurs. A slow curing, i.e., 24 hour, epoxy was recommended. After curing, grind, shape, sand and polish the handle till completed. There are other materials, such as spar varnish, polyuerathane, boiled linseed oil, tung oil, etc., which may serve as well. I think the first question to asked is 'how is the knife to be used?'. Is it destined to be used daily and hard or will it become a drawer queen. A drawer queen can merely be treated to be moisture resistant and a hard user to be water proofed.

[AaronR]

Wife? heh, not this bloke.

Interesting recommendations on the epoxy. A two-part wouldn't allow you much time to get the disks on and would be hell to clean up. Since it's a handle probably doesn't matter if it's rock hard after setting. You wouldn't be able to point me to the knife forums by any chance Randy?

I'll have to check with the guy about intended use. He went ahead and ground the edge back to razor sharpness, so I'm guessing he's intending to use it for something.