Pro's and con's of stacked leather washers (handle) on knives

[Seriousbladeno1]

(if inappropriate place - please feel free to move this)

I would like to ask you guys on your opinions,on knife handles made of stacked leather washers.

A lot of knives,especially those designed for military have handles made this way since long time ago.....

What I see as part of its pro's is that every wood handle will actually crack at some point - under certain pressure or impact, but stacked leather washers should only compress and decompress without failure,if I am correct.

As per con's I would only guess - could be water/wet environment,(depends how well is handle made and treated)

What's your opinions and experience guys?

Thanks

 

[The Aflac Duck]

every wood handle will actually crack at some point

Well, I don't know about all that...

I had a hammer with a stacked leather handle that held up fine for years. I'd imagine the handle on my hammer saw a lot more abuse than a knife handle.

 

[craytab]

What I see as part of its pro's is that every wood handle will actually crack at some point - under certain pressure or impact

Every handle will fail under certain "pressure" or "impact". Some more realistic than others but everything will fail when taken past its limitations.

Myself, I don't own many wood or leather handles. I prefer FRN, micarta, or G10.

 

[Velitrius]

I'll give you the pros as I see them. I'm quite fond of the stacked leather handle, so you'll find my pros subjective:

They feel great...whether it's hot or cold, wet or dry, I got no issues bare handed on the leather.

I like the way they look. There are some truly beautiful colors that can be achieved with the stacked leather.

I think the handles just get better as they age. Kinda like your favorite baseball glove.

I can tell you what might be "cons" to some, albeit they aren't to me:

They're not impervious to the elements. I've seen old knives with the leather in deplorable condition. I have treated mine from time to time with mink oil, Huberd's boot grease, and this baseball glove stuff called "Leather Love". I maintain my knives, so I find no difficulty in maintaining the handle as part of the knife. I wouldn't use them for a lot of water use.

You get a rat-tail tang if you want the washers. Some will be concerned that this is a weakness in a knife, but if you use it to its limitations, you won't have any trouble.

Speaking for myself, they're awesome.

 

[Henry Beige]

I love leather washers, mostly for the feel, but they look great, too. Sure, they require some care, as does a carbon steel blade. If you are lax, you can grow some patina, not necessarily a bad thing. I have a couple of knives with stacked leather handles, a Marbles and a USMC Ka-Bar, and like them there. But they are really great on hatchets and hammers. No hammer is as comfortable for hours on end as a leather Estwing.

 

[Seriousbladeno1]

Thanks for all your points you made here guys, I can agree with all you said here, yes leather is very friendly and warm material for handles on knives, and from "classic" old materials probably most durable way of making handles,from time to time you can see military knives from people's collections here on BF that have seen 2 nd world war and leather washers are still holding tight, just over period of time got this "gloss" appearance, which is fantastic to see on some pictures. It would be very interesting to know, since when and by whom was this method of making handles on knives invented first....