How To 119 Brahma Handle Help

Stephen W Huyssoon

Stephen W Huyssoon

Joined
May 31, 2018
Messages
227
Ok so my 119 Brahma is one of my favorite knives and I'm not sending it in because the handle is just a little loose because leather is not steel or wood or plastic . I know someone has figured it out, my guess is washers between the very back of the handle and the head of the screw that holds the handle on.

Does anyone have a solution?

If you don't know this knife and are looking to buy one, it's a great knife, really special. The blade steel is impressive and the handle is really special, wish a leather handle was offered on more knives.

Thanks for your time.
Stephen

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IMO, don't soak in oil. Oil deteriorates leather. Use parafin wax and light heat to allow the wax to soak in. I did this just yesterday to a Western L66. It looks/feels better than oil too.

You can do that with paste wax too but I prefer parafin.
 
So then no oil, no wax, no grinding because that will only work to the extent that there are more male threads than female threads and I'm not trying to pull the leather off to find out. Washers, brass, reamed out to fit. Can I get those in red ceracote?
 
Neatsfoot oil doesn't deteriorate leather....It preserves leather more than any other product and is used in the processing of some leathers, Buckskin for one....
 
kossetx said:
IMO, don't soak in oil. Oil deteriorates leather. Use parafin wax and light heat to allow the wax to soak in. I did this just yesterday to a Western L66. It looks/feels better than oil too.

You can do that with paste wax too but I prefer parafin.
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"Oil deteriorates leather" seems like a pretty massive blanket claim. I don't doubt that you have found success with paraffin wax, but that doesn't make a blanket statement about all oils degrading leather true. I can find claims by companies selling specific products that oil degrades leather, but I have a hard time finding data supporting your idea that oil is bad for leather from sources that are not trying to sell an oil alternative. I did find a 1997 paper on leather conservation for museums that suggests that climate control and physical support is preferable to oil or other treatments for museum collections, but there is a big difference between preserving an artifact unaltered in a vault and keeping it in usable condition. There certainly are bad oils for leather, but I think that saying all oils are bad is overstating things.
 
OMG! Just put a suitable washer in and tighten the nut. Don’t overthink it. The leather was treated at the factory it won’t need anything for a long time if ever.

Without knowing what it already has on it there is no way to know what to put on it now. Plus if you soften it it will compress even more. Making your problem worse.
 
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Wax has sugars in it and deteriorates leather. I have made my own Buckskin from deer I have shot and the main rehydration ingredient was "neatsfoot oil" and Naphtha soap...IMO's or not....

Even leather treated at the factory can dry out rather quickly... The museum term "physical support" is the best for knife handles. In other words, the Natural oils that the leather gets from human touch work the best. American Indian women use to chew the hides during the rehydration process for clothing or blankets.

In other words, tighten the screw or leather with a zinc washer or another leather washer and use it. The natural oils excreted by your hands will protect the leather. If it gets wet letit naturally dry out in the open, if to wet let dry apply a coat of Neatsfoot oil, this will reverse the water damage and also protect the leather from water...
 
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