Decorative Tooled Leather Maul Handle Wrap

by Pale Rider X in Craft > Leather

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Decorative Tooled Leather Maul Handle Wrap

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Why have a plain maul or mallet when you can make yours awesome? Mine was screaming for a makeover, so, here goes!

Tools and Materials

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Materials used:

Paper for pattern

Tracing paper

Plastic kitchen wrap

3/4 ounce veg tan leather

Tandy Super Sheen

Tandy Eco-Flo Hi-Lite Stain, Briar Brown

Fiebing's Black dye

Neatsfoot Oil

1mm nylon thread

Tools Used:

Craftool Poly Maul

Box cutter

Scissors

Swivel knife

Craftool stamps

Edge Slicker

Paint brushes and sponge applicator

Stitching chisel

Straight and curved needles

Pattern

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First, I made a pattern from plain paper to fit one half of the handle. When I had the pattern close, I folded it in quarters in order to make sure it was symmetrical. This might take a couple of tries to get it right. The pattern was placed on some 3/4 ounce veg tan leather and two pieces were cut out. It might look good with heavier leather, but my hands aren't large, so I kept it thin. (It would be a good idea to check the fit of your leather once it is cut out, while moistened, and before tooling).

Then I modified a pattern from Tandy's Lucky Eight Belt Book to fit the inside dimensions of my pattern on some tracing paper.

Tooling and Dyeing

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With the leather dampened, I placed plastic wrap, then the tracing pattern over my leather. I traced it out with a stylus, but a ball point pen works OK as well. The leather was cut with a swivel knife along the pattern lines. Then I stamped it with Craftools to bevel, background and give it some texture.

I painted the flower with Eco-Flo Super Sheen as a dye resist, and painted the background with black dye. I let that dry for a little while. Next I painted the pieces with Eco-Flo Hi Lite Briar Brown with a sponge applicator. This was immediately wiped off with a slightly damp paper towel. This makes a nice three color combination. While the leather was still a bit moist, I rubbed the edges with an edge slicker to make them smooth. Also, some Neatsfoot oil was rubbed into the back. (I used a couple of photos with a separate piece of leather after the project was completed for demonstration purposes).

Sewing It Up

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A stitching chisel was used to stamp out the sewing holes. I used two straight needles to sew up the top and bottom, and the first side. In order to sew the second side, two curved needles were used. A really easy book to demonstrate this is The Art of Hand Sewing Leather by Al Stohlman.

Finished

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The end product has a nice feel and should provide a very secure grip. Not to mention it will make my work bench look really terrific!

If you liked this, please look at my other leather Instructables, like my Winchester 73 Leather Rifle Scabbard and Buttstock Cover