Hello all , just trying to get some answers on the forum from any members who have made or own knives with stacked leather handles and what you have used to seal the leather ?
Thanks
Thanks
sealing a stacked leather knife handle ?
- Thread starter airborne09
- Start date
I've not made a knife handle, but I have made other stacked leather items. I glue the pieces together using leather cement or similar, sand it down and then seal it all up with melted beeswax. With a lot of burnishing it seals up very nicely.
I've had a few Estwing hammers with stacked leather washer grips over the years. The varnish they use on them at the factory is absolutely mingin, it's slippery wben new and soon ends up as a crackled mess.
So I sand it off and replace it with Danish oil or sometimes a Danish oil/Boiled linseed oil mix.
My current one was made in about 1960 or so (I bought it secondhand) and I use it every working day.
It's been dropped down muddy trenches on shuttering jobs and used far harder than any knife I've ever seen on this site.
I'll fire a photo up later so you can judge if the look is ok with you.
So I sand it off and replace it with Danish oil or sometimes a Danish oil/Boiled linseed oil mix.
My current one was made in about 1960 or so (I bought it secondhand) and I use it every working day.
It's been dropped down muddy trenches on shuttering jobs and used far harder than any knife I've ever seen on this site.
I'll fire a photo up later so you can judge if the look is ok with you.
Bere we go, its about sixty years old and I don't know about the first years but it's been used a LOT in the last five.
Day to day use, shuttering, on roofs, commercial property fit outs, pub fitouts, you name it.
It's very dark, but much of thats from usage.
The modern Estwings with leather washers don't last so well as they use a few placky washers for the blacks and whites and they crack. Think on mine the black and whites are either rubber or at least far more flexible than on the new ones.
Day to day use, shuttering, on roofs, commercial property fit outs, pub fitouts, you name it.
It's very dark, but much of thats from usage.
The modern Estwings with leather washers don't last so well as they use a few placky washers for the blacks and whites and they crack. Think on mine the black and whites are either rubber or at least far more flexible than on the new ones.
I have not used stacked leather as such but I have used leather in layers for scales and I have used evostik for the purpose which is my goto adhesive for leather.
I agree with @demographic, these are two Estwings I re- handled & used boiled Linseed oil on, it does darken the leather quite a bit but combined with burnishing makes a nice finish. Right one oiled, left one not, the colour lightens a little with time. An old image, they look better now with more oil & burnishing but both fairly dark.
Ahh, nice one.I agree with @demographic, these are two Estwings I re- handled & used boiled Linseed oil on, it does darken the leather quite a bit but combined with burnishing makes a nice finish. Right one oiled, left one not, the colour lightens a little with time. An old image, they look better now with more oil & burnishing but both fairly dark.
You'll have spotted that the inner steel section has a date drop forged onto it.
I assume they don't change the date on the drop forging dies every day they start work so my guess is that the date is when the dies are made.
I have one with very loose washers that had a 1937 date on it and Estwing patented their hammer style in 1932 so it's an early one.
Then if you look at the side of the head where it meets the shaft, on yours its kind of a V shape and on mine its kind of squared off.
From looking on the internet I think* they stopped that head design in about 1960 as thats the latest I know of like that.
Not positive though and I'm not gonna take mine to bits to read the date on it.
Ignore the fact that the top one (old style thats squared off) has the straighter claws and bottom (new style head side with the V) has curved claws
Also the transition from the leather washers to the steel shaft on the newer hammers is more gentle. That means the last few washers are very weak and liable to breaking.
The older style of washer transition is more stepped and in my eyes anyway its stronger.
Sorry airborne09 for going off topic...
That's cool demographic having a 37 stamped one.
I'm in Spain & don't see too many old ones, it was typical that after wanting one for ages I found two within a few weeks of one another, at least they're a 16 & a 20oz, that was 2020 & I haven't seen a leather one since just a blue "plastic" handled one. One had it's end plate missing so I made a brass one.
I've looked about & I can only find one image of the date casting, I know 63 was the oldest & can't remember what the other one was. I cold blued the bare steel, it wears away but thought they could look good once.
That's cool demographic having a 37 stamped one.
I'm in Spain & don't see too many old ones, it was typical that after wanting one for ages I found two within a few weeks of one another, at least they're a 16 & a 20oz, that was 2020 & I haven't seen a leather one since just a blue "plastic" handled one. One had it's end plate missing so I made a brass one.
I've looked about & I can only find one image of the date casting, I know 63 was the oldest & can't remember what the other one was. I cold blued the bare steel, it wears away but thought they could look good once.
That 22nd of Jan 63 pic kind of tallies with what I think about the change in head design in about 1960 as yours has that V shape on the side of the head.
I'm not positive by any means and if anyone finds proof I'm wrong I'd be happy to see it.
I'll see if I can ratch the 1937 one out as the washers are pretty goosed so the numbers a4e mostly visible.
I'm not positive by any means and if anyone finds proof I'm wrong I'd be happy to see it.
I'll see if I can ratch the 1937 one out as the washers are pretty goosed so the numbers a4e mostly visible.
