Page 1 of 1
I'm sure this has been addressed here before now....
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:45 pm
by Ribbit
Found this western fixed the other day. The guard is very loose, as if one of the leather/plastic spacers may be missing. I "fixed" a Pal 36 one time with nylon string, wound tight then slightly expoxied to firm the entire knife up.
But this "space" is too large to apply the winding technique in my opinion. (unless that is the only option).
First of all, why does this happen? Drying out?
Could it be soaked in mineral or Wd-40 if that is the case?
This is a nice piece...would like to get 'er fixed up.
Thanks!
Re: I'm sure this has been addressed here before now....
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:11 am
by djknife13
I have fixed a few by epoxying a leather piece into the space but usually when a piece falls out it is because the leather has deteriorated in the center of the handle and others soon start letting go. I have heard of guys drilling out the pins and taking off the pummel and replacing all the washers but getting the pins drilled perfectly is beyond me. I have a bunch of Westerns and they are very common where I live, so I usually aren't too concerned with keeping it original so for a number of them, I have replaced the leather with wood or bone epoxied between the spacers and pinned through the space between the double tang.____Dave
Re: I'm sure this has been addressed here before now....
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:05 am
by Ribbit
Dave-
Ive just went up to the barn and pulled down an old piece of harness leather. My plans are to replace the "blank" area with a cut/sanded leather strip. Your advice has provided confidence in moving forward.
This is one nice piece that the grandson will enjoy someday...once I determine that he is old enough to understand that he cannot stick this thing inside his boot and carry it to school, on a date, to the prom...etc!!!! Like I was able to do....haaaaaaa!!!!
Re: I'm sure this has been addressed here before now....
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:06 am
by muskrat man
yes you can make a filler washer to tighten things up. If all the washers are rotted they should all be replaced for a serious repair but that is a labor intensive job.
Re: I'm sure this has been addressed here before now....
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:42 pm
by Bill DeShivs
Don't soak it in oil. That will further deteriorate the leather.
Cut the leather spacer to fit over the tang and make it as close to the outline of the handle as you can. Make only one slit in the leather.
Epoxy it in place, and once it has cured, grind/file/sand the washer down-sanding/filing, etc in one direction only until it is flush.
Color-match with leather dye if necessary.