Bow Handle Leather

[Shakes.602]

I have a Nice Finger Grooved LongBow, and I dont want to Lose the Grooves. Is Buckskin a Good Choice, or will it get Slimey in the Sweaty Heat??     Maybe a Heavier Leather, Soaking Wet, and Allowed to Dry with Twine Wrapped around it so it will Dry with the Contours??  :confused:   Any Help or recommendations will be Greatly Appreciated!!  

[walkabout]

i tried something new on a recent finish by taking some buffalo leather and wrapping it inside out on the handle, then lightly misting it with water and gently heating it with an iron, this caused it to shrink tight as well as brought the grain of the leather up, making it grippy(kinda like the rough leather work gloves). it turned out pretty well. one thing is that if you get one spot more than another it causes the color to be darker/lighter so maybe spray/iron once before you put it on then do it after its on just to get it to form. oh and im sure you know not to hold the iron in one spot long.lol. it dont take alot of heat to do.

[walkabout]

wet+ heat shrinks leather better than just getting it wet, people use steam to  shrink and thicken leather for various things, this is where i got the idea.

[Shakes.602]

THANK YOU For The Great Info Richard!!  I know there are a Million and One ways to Treat a Handle Area. From Wrapping it in Twine, Right Up to Stitching the Leather On!!              

[walkabout]

no problem. as far as how to's i dont think there are any, but george has a section on his site on them. the cord wrapped leather might work but again youll probably get minimal shrinkage. i use titebond on some leather grips to secure them but if you try the iron/ steam it probably wont hold and the leather will shrink and gain thickness anyway so it tightens up good as long as you get the leather trimmed good before you lace then steam it.i suggest if you got it to try a scrap piece to get the method down, some leather will have natural thick/ thin spots that will shrink/swell more than others and those spots can be picky either way. oh and of course this is grain side out not smooth. just using the steam setting on the iron works too but its hard to control the amount of steam and i dont like that with bow wood at all, lol so i used a little pump spray bottle and used it to work one area at a time till it was the way i wanted it.

[Roy from Pa]

A nice soft tanned doe hide will wrap right around that handle. Spray the back side of it with an adhesive in a spray can, then stitch her up. Will conform to the grooves and fit like a glove.

[gudspelr]

I'm assuming you want leather to go along with the looks of the bow?  If that isn't too much of an issue, I just got one of the Posi-grips from Blake at Eclipse Broadheads and really like it.  I have a grip with grooves just like you're talking about and was worried I'd lose that.  The grip feels great and formed really well around the grooves.  He has them in different colors, including brown.  Just a thought

Jeremy

[BigJim]

Beaver tail is real thin. I have gripped a couple bows with finger grooves and they turned out real nice.

bigjim

[Shakes.602]

I  DO  have a Rubber Posi-Grip!        

[Silent Bear]

I usually soak dear leather in hide glue then wrap it on around the handle, the leather and glue shrinks when dry and forms a nice comftorable handle