leather handle

[snakeeyes]

A quick question, i'm considering doing a leather washer handle, iv'e read all the tutorials and think i know how to go about it, heres the problem, its a kukri handle and one with a considerable downward curve, i think there may be a problem applying the downward pressure and getting all the intricate shapes in the leather. Any advice or opinions, especially from anyone who has attempted this would be very welcome, at the moment it's still only an idea,
Chris.

[irbailey]

I'd use a thick sole leather (10-12oz) and skive the pieces into a slight wedge shape to allow for the drop of the handle. Generally depending on how you've shaped the tang, wet washers will compress enough to follow the curve anyway. Soak the pieces in cold water and then clamp them up to dry either on some form of clamp or better still on the handle itself (making sure to clean up the tang afterwards!)
If you make a pommel with a tubular piece threaded internally brazed onto it you can apply a large ammount of pressure to the epoxied washers once you're ready to do the final fitting of the handle.
Just make sure you allow the washers to dry 100% before fitting, or you may end up with a sloppy handle