Leather handle wrap help

[Rei]

Hey all,

While working on designing a new saber the wife said cutey "build me one", so I had to oblige. However I've been having some issues finding the handle wrap I'd like to use.

I've done some forum searches and couldn't find much on the subject.

What I'd like to find is some real leather handle wrap (Tsuka Ito) from s US source so I can do a traditional twist wrapping. I've found the cotton type over here, but the only place I can find a source of the leather kind is out of Japan, and the shipping is killer :)

I've been thinking about going to the fashion district, but my gut says any leather from there will either be too short, too think or cut to wide.

Anyone have a secret online source?

Here's a comp of what I'm planning to do;
5432

Thanks!

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Have you checked Tandy Leather yet? Also, check with Jedi-Loreen as she works leather. She may have another source or two.
Unless I'm off in estimation, you'd want Finished upholstery split or glove weight.

[Arashi]

I would suggest Tandy as well. How wide are you wanting each individual strip? You may have to buy a sheet of leather + a leather strap making tool if you want the strips wider than 1/8" or 3/32"

[amichaels]

You're going to basically want something garment or upholstery weight, because even a lot of chrome tanned you can get from Tandy will probably be too thick. One cheap way to get the leather you need would be to hit thrift shops and look for a jacket, bags, old furniture etc that you can cannibalize the leather from. Tandy is really expensive and leather prices have been going up dramatically in the last year. :(

You also don't NEED a strap cutter, though they are handy to have. You can use a cutting mat or some surface you don't care about, a yard stick and a box cutter.

[Loachri MacTalabh]

If your not dead set on leather, Ito - Silk cord used to bind the tsuka (hilt) on a Katana, would look nice, and easier to find and use.

[Rei]

Thanks for all the replies!

I've been checking out the silk and cotton Ito which could work too if I run out of options.

Nice suggestion of the thrift stores. I didn't even think of going that route, if I could find something thin enough that might work. Would just have to make sure I didn't snap it when trying a tight wrap.

I did take a look at Tandy a while back, didn't see anything that would work though. It all looked like tough stuff.

I ordered half the parts this weekend to get started, should be fun.

[AC Sabers]

When I did my rahm kota lightsaber I found the leather on ebay. You may want to look into it, they have some just for sword hilts.

[captain_mills]

Just a suggestion, since you may not have thought about it yet, but try a saddle shop! I live in Wyoming and we have saddle shops on every corner of every street. However, if you're not in a place to find a saddlery shop, then you can do a search for them online. The silk would be my suggestion too, as it fits the oriental style you seek. However, if you're set on leather, every saddle shop I know sells supplies for the die-hards who make their own saddles. Thus, you'll find various widths and qualities of leather, and strapping and such as well...

:)

[amichaels]

You can sometimes get decent sized scraps from ebay, Tandy or other leather sellers too. Tandy sells upholstery leather remnant bags but they also have it by the square foot on their website. Most of the time saddlery shops carry leather that's too heavy for what you're making. You can get faux leather from Wal mart now, and it and the thrift store type stuff you can usually sew with a machine just like regular fabric. Tandy has some good deals on garment weight leather right now though. I just checked their website and they have black garment weight leather on sale for $3.19 a square foot. In case you weren't sure what the ounces means, an ounce is as a general rule 1/16" thick.

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/Leather/9114-01.aspx

[stegasp]

Cut the strips off of a jacket! No. I'm kidding, of course. When I made my Jedi robes, I got the leather for the belt & boot-straps from Tandy. They're great.

[Raith]

speaking of ebay... all i searched was leather ito, and this came up... should be WAY more than you need for a saber... Good Luck with the build!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tsuka-Ito-Black-Leather-4-m-/320717079733?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aac3a44b5

and thank you for asking about it... I was trying to think of what to use for the wrap on my Dark-Saber(s) and didn't know what to use... I think that a Tsuka Ito wrap will do quite nicely...

[Rei]

Oh nicely done, thanks! Last time I checked ebay there wasn't any leather.

And, my pleasure :)

[hebert466]

by the way...the saber looks like it will be great, can't wait to see the finished saber.:mrgreen:

[Raith]

No problem Rei. The seller has black, brown and even has Deer skin (rough leather)... I think i'm gonna get some leather ito to wrap the steering wheel in my car with... not sure whether i'm gonna go with the leather for my saber though... I like it, but i can get a roll of 50 meters of Black cloth ito for 30 bucks (plus shipping)... 50 meters would re-wrap the Tsukas on both of my Katanas, my 2 Bokkens, and a couple of sabers...

[Rei]

Thanks for wrap tips everyone, I now have some nice leather wrap waiting for me to use it.

This is only my second saber and I've been trying out some cram-fu, so the wife can bash it about if she likes. Three things I've learnt so far: 1) never use 4x AA battery holders in a small hilt, they're just too damn big. 2) Metal rigging is awesome, but again isn't for small hilts. And 3) sanding down PVC pipe with a Dremel makes one hell of a mess :)

On to some pics;

Grinding out a washer for the back of an AV switch.
5674


PVC pipe to hold battery pack snug.
5676


Buckpuck also held in tube.
5677


Inside close up.
5675


I still need to pickup the blade holder, LED etc and connect/solder everything, but it's coming along.

[Piocor]

Hey there. I'm new to the forums here and I saw this topic and had to reply. I'm curently designing a asian style saber and also had trouble finding leather wrap for the hilt. I spent over 5 hours 1 night checking out leather stores and suppliers. I found this site http://www.japanese-swords.com/index.htm which deals with japanese swords restorations. They have a synthetic wrap that feels exactly like suede, but does not wear-out as fast and does gum-up after sweating on it. They also sell silk wrap and other supplies neede to restore a japanese sword. Good luck

Piocor

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Fred has been in business for decades & has excellent quality products.

[Nick Knight]

You can try here. All kinds of cool leather stuff.
http://www.exoticleather.biz/exotic_leather_skins_and_hides.htm