restoreing stacked leather on a KaBar?


CoryD

CoryD

Tracker
Joined
Dec 31, 2011
Messages
172
Likes
11
Location
Poy Sippi WI
Ok, heres the problem. I have a KaBar that I got from my father. Its a recent new one, made in the last 15-20 yrs or so. He never really took care of it all that well, and the stacked leather washers seem to have dried out some, allowing about an 1/8th inch of "slop" in the grip ( The leather can slide back and forth abit). Is there anyway of saving the leather thats on it, or would i have to get the handle re-stacked? (I havent learned how yet, so sending off to be done may be an option) It still has a decent edge and does eveything I ask it to, not to mention it's from my pa, so Id very much like to "restore" it . Any help would be appreciated. Thanks gang!
 
I had a similar experience with and old Case that was my grandpa's hunting knife. The leather washers weren't quite as dried out as yours (they were apparently preserved my caked on deer guts), but the restoration was a process. There are a lot of quality leather cleaners and conditioners out there. To restore mine, I just used stuff I had around the house: Zymol automotive leather seat cleaner/conditioners and Dr Marten's wonder bsalm. The knife has been through a lot and it'll never look like new, but it looks much better now and feels great in hand.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk
 
Theres always this option
DSC00782.jpg
 
Have you tried any thing such as leather conditioner? I would try going to a shoe store and buy a bottle of conditioner and smother the leather in the conditoner. After a few days the leather will either have absorbed the conditoner or not. If it does the problem is solved. If not then look into finding out how to get the handle replaced.
 
You can buy the leather ''washers'' on ebay, and i have replaced them on one or 2 of my kabars. One way is to drill the pin out of the handle, i have cut the washers, and off set them then super glued them back together. It worked great. Kabar does not rebuild handles, but, there is a guy who does restore them, its expensive. Try doing it yourself, i'd never done it, and it worked out great. If its only a little slop, dry rejuvenating the leather it might work. With only one washer bad, i'd get some off ebay, sand it down, slip it in, and glue it, bet you'd be pleased after you finish it.
 
Food oils will go rancid!

Eagle said:
Try soaking in olive oil ,may take a few days/weeks? to swell up whats there and take out the slack
Click to expand...

I'd be just a little concerned that the olive oil will go rancid over time.

A soaking in Neatsfoot Oil Compound might be a better option.
But with the amount of slack you state, I doubt that either will swell the leather to the amount you need.

Just my .02, Double Ott
 
I was thinking maybe mineral oil. I tried some leather conditioner and mink oil, but it didnt seem to do anything
 
Get the handle & mineral oil warm, then soak it. As was said, it might take a while. Be patient, let it soak for a week or so. If that doesn't work, USA Knifemaker sells leather washers for handles.

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37&products_id=2895

http://www.usaknifemaker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37&products_id=2896

A little saddle soap once on a while keeps my leather handles in good shape.

Good luck with the restoration! On a knife like this it'll be worth the effort
 
Mineral Oil...

CoryD said:
I was thinking maybe mineral oil. I tried some leather conditioner and mink oil, but it didnt seem to do anything
Click to expand...


I know a few guys, including myself who have a "thing" for stacked leather. We bring the girls out every once & awhile for a beauty treatment with mineral oil (food grade).
I don't think that soaking your handle in mineral oil will help you out, but it sure won't hurt it.

Here's my stacked leather:
All American made...Bark River, Case, Ontario, Randall, Scagel, Marbles, K-Bar, Pal, Hess.
 

Attachments

  • Stacked Leather Knives 005 (640x425).jpg
    Stacked Leather Knives 005 (640x425).jpg
    288.8 KB · Views: 161
Last edited:
I used heated Sno Seal on mine, it worked pretty good, but mine was dry rotted, not loose.
 
There 3 ways to go. My first choice would be Lexol Leather Conditioner. Buy the liquid and soak it in the stuff. Duluth Pack recomends the stuff for the leather on their packs. [url]http://www.lexol.com/product_leather_conditioner.aspx#[/URL]#
If you don't care for that. Try baseball glove oil, like Rawlings Advanced Formula Glovolium. The old school way would be plain Neetsfoot oil. No matter which you choose, I would pour the oil in a jar and stand the knife handle in the oil and just let it soak, for 5-7 days, to rehydrate the leather.
 
Ok, well, Thanks for all the options gang, I'll try what I gotta and let you know how it turns out.
 
Rather than starting a new thread, thought I'd re-open this one, since I seem to have a similar problem. Forgive me if I use the wrong terminology, as I'm no expert. Here we go:

I have a Camillus Marine Combat Knife that is one of my most used knifes. The stacked leather ring closest to the pommel is largely disintegrated (see pics). I believe the pommel is what you call peened on, and I don't have the tools to remove it. I was thinking of possibly adding leather ring(s) to fill in the gap without disassembling the knife. I have been using it with a piece of cord wrapped around the gap, which is a pretty un-elegant solution.

This is one of my first knives that I bought new when I was a child, so it has a lot of sentimental value and I still love to use it. Any advice on how to repair it to full strength would be appreciated. I have never re-handled a knife, so replacing with a whole new handle is not an option I'm willing to take one with this knife, and I'd like to keep the original look as much as possible. That said, other non-leather ideas for replacing the bad ring would be welcomed.

Thanks!DSCF0401.jpgDSCF0398.jpgDSCF0402.jpg
 
I'm thinking I may need to be more specific.

The washer that needs to be replaced was burned at one point (me being dumb). I was thinking that I should clean out the damaged leather and insert new leather with glue or cement. I guess my main questions are: Would it work to slide the new washed in from the side with a small slit, rather than over the tang as intended? If so, how can I compress the new leather without being able to clamp it?

Would it maybe work to sand the new pieces until they squeeze in with glue, then condition the whole handle once the glue has dried to get some expansion?

Again, any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Well, I decided to just remove the pommel and install some new washers after looking at some inspiring posts here, particularly nosmeller's awesome rehandling job on a similar knife. I only replaced a few, rather than the whole handle, and decided to sand the finish down to get a different look. The replacement washers were the oval Kabar kind, while the original Camillus ones are round, and I like the new contour.

It's not the prettiest thing, but I'm happy to have done it and kept my old knife going.

View attachment 81132
 

Attachments

  • DSCF0406.jpg
    DSCF0406.jpg
    36.5 KB · Views: 92
Last edited:
Birchbark washers make a more durable handle, they look great, and don't shrink. You cut washers that are oversize, compress into place with a lever, re-pinning the end piece while under pressure. Then you can rasp or carve the handle to shape, then sand and polish. Finish with boiled linseed oil or gunstock finish or leave as is. Birchbark won't rot, swell or shrink nearly as much as leather.
 
I missed the second page, the rehandling and repair jobs look great. You can add washers of bone, antler, ivory, buffalo horn, etc to make a unique handle with leather or birch bark.
 
Last edited:
Thanks a lot, and thanks for the tips on the birch bark. I'm going to look for some more projects now. I got the leather washer from knifekits.com. Is there anywhere to purchase birchbark pieces, or do you make them?
 
I live in a rural area in northern Mn, so I collect bark from my property and from areas to be cut for firewood.

I have a knife made from an old file I will finish the handle with brass, birchbark, antler and buffalo horn. It will have a Finnish style birchbark sheath. I will try to
Post pics.

You should have access to cherry bark, it may work depending how thick it is. It woul have a beautiful, unusual color.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top