Decorative Tooled Leather Maul Handle Wrap

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

Step 1: Tools and Materials

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

Step 2: Pattern

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.

Step 3: Tooling and Dyeing

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).

Step 4: Sewing It Up

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.