Nice piece Skip! Has anyone ever re-leathered an estwing? I have a hammer that has a very tired handle.
I have never seen it done very well. I don't think you can do it very well at home.
When they make these, they leave the pins that go through the bottom plate extra long. Then stack up the leather well past where the handle really ends. The extra long pins make this possible.
They put the bottom plate on and mount it in a hydraulic press and press the leather very hard.
Last they trim off the extra pin and head then up over the bottom plate.
The only thing I have ever been able to successfully do, when the handle is only a little loose,
is cut a ring of hard fiber, open on one end (kind of like the letter C) , and pry open the leather rings where it is going to go, and drive it in with everything well slathered in glue (epoxy).
This tightens up the handle leather some (not like factory pressure) and then you have to try and cover the open end of the spacer with another little piece merely glued on.
It works, but only if the handle is a little loose. If several rings are gone there is no way.
Removing all the leather and starting over you would have to recreate the entire Estwing process, welding on new longer pins you can trim later. Then build the entire hydraulic clamp outfit. I never saw anyone go to this length.
yours Scott
