Wifey comes through with materials score!

[Blackhorse]

I had to share this. Just one pic though, didn't really seem to be a need. The story is enough.


Wife's office is re-engineering their entire floorspace...big job. Offices redone, entry redesigned from flooring to chandeliers. Cubes redone in toto. Closets emptied of junk accumulated over years.

Junk? Did someone say, JUNK?

<BH starts to drool>

So she calls me and asks if I would have any need for leather coasters. "Coasters?" I ask. "How big...how thick?" Turns out there were sixty six super heavy, undyed, leathers discs 3 1/2" in diameter and 3/16" thick...stamped with a company name on one side. So when stacked they total almost exactly 9".

Do I want 'em? Yeah baby!!! Bring'em to Daddy!!!

Each disc, if quartered and recut into the largest disc possible yields four small discs about 1 3/8".

The resulting stack then becomes 36" tall.

Stay with me here...ever seen a knife handle made from stacked leather? Heh, heh.

Think Randal, Kabar, Marbles, Fallkniven, etc. Sweetness. What we have here is between six and ten georgous knife handles that end up looking like this:

(Mama gets a nice reward for this one!)

If you Google "stacked leather knife handle" and click on ' images' you'll get an idea of the variations possible.

 

[BigCasino]

Nice, My old case hunting knife has a leather handle like this one, as a matter of fact it looks just like this knife if my memory serves me correctly

Nice score!

 

[Jimmy1973]

Aww, what a great score.I collect Ka-bar and Western Cutlery knives.Only the leather handled ones.I look forward to seeing your handy work. :twisted: 

 

[Blackhorse]

Another of my fav's. A good friend gifted me a Randal Number Two...a 6" "Fighting Stiletto" in need of restoration, so long as I didn't sell it, keeping it in the family. The knife is circa 1965 and has history with Air America in RVN. I had a new sheath made for it by Harry Savage (stunning job). And the rest of the return followed. There's a thread here somewhere on it under my name. The one below is a 7" example.

That one is easily the pride of my little collection. Second best in this genre to me is a piece done by Mike Stewart of Bark River Knives...a Randal Number One 7" Fighter pretty much like the photo above but made of modern CPM 154 steel. The one in the photo, being a BlackJack is likely A2 steel...the Randal originals were soft O1...very hard to break, very easy to sharpen.

Fun stuff.

 

[monbla256]

Sounds like you're gonna be in business for some "Randall" knives !!! I carried and still have a 6" #5 in 'Nam. BEST damn knife along with my delrin handled Case Trapper that I still carry in my pocket. My #5 was the easiest knife to sharpen and I loved how the handle was shaped. It fit my hand perfectly. Bo knew how to make a knife !! Looking forward to seeing some of your work with those leather discs !!

 

[Brewdude]

Sounds like a major score Dave. Looks like you'll have some great material to work with on future projects. Never knew about stacked leather on knife handles until this thread, but the pics are sure purty!

 :rabbit: 


Cheers,

RR

 

[RDPipes]

Now that's a Knife!  

 

[Blackhorse]

RR -

Indeed. The stacked leather washer handles are super easy to do. Coat the top side of a disk with slightly watered carpenters glue and slide it onto the hidden tang of that style of blade construction then torque it down to compress between a front and butt plate...let it set up... then finish. The Nordics do Birch Bark handles in exactly the same way.

Here's one in progress from an excellent tutorial at North Coast Knives:

 

[Growley]

Very cool story. I'm a bit of a "junk" collector by nature. There's always a use for things... I have to pass up most of the stuff I'd actually take home or I'd end up a hoarder.

I can't wait to see that handle in it's completion. So, once it's all pressed and dried, do you shape it by sanding, cutting or what?

 

[Blackhorse]

G wrote:

"So, once it's all pressed and dried, do you shape it by sanding, cutting or what?"

The answer is...yes.  lol

Read all about it:

http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_hints_tips12.htm


Get this...this guy sells 1/8" leather discs (mine are 3/16" so they are 50% thicker, which is fine) for $2 each. I got 65 big discs which will each make 4 discs the size of his. That's 260 discs at two bucks each for a dollar equivalent of...drum roll please..................

FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY DOLLARS!!!


So...see why I be dancin' the happy dance?

 

[Growley]

G wrote:

"So, once it's all pressed and dried, do you shape it by sanding, cutting or what?"

The answer is...yes.  lol

Read all about it:

http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_hints_tips12.htm

Dangit Blackhorse...you're going to get me bit by the knifemaking bug. I could so get into that.

 

[Blackhorse]

Crowley -

If you do, check with me and I'll send you to the right place for blades, etc.

Make yourself a pipe and plug knife set...that would be Arctic Cool!

 

[Growley]

Growley -

If you do, check with me and I'll send you to the right place for blades, etc.

Make yourself a pipe and plug knife set...that would be Arctic Cool!

That would be a great idea. If I take on another hobby now, my wife might go instantly gray.  :affraid: 

Maybe you and I can put together a combo for someone one of these days. I'll make the pipe, you make the knife.  

 

[Blackhorse]

That would be great fun.

It would be excellent to somehow match grain patterns by using one block for a strummel/stand/knife handle. They would all fit together as a desk piece. Now THAT would be a museum quality endeavour, eh Mon Ami?

 

[pepesdad1]

Outstanding score!

So pleased that the great lady is getting the attention she deserves.

 

[dshpipes]

Stunning work, as always, Dave!