I'm going to re-wrap one of my sword grips and I thought I'd try stingray skin for a change. Does anyone know whether stingray wraps like cow leather or is the process different (cut, soak, glue, wrap, shrink)?

Hi Ian

I have had some good success with trimming it as best one can to the appropriate size with a bit of overlap. Then soak the piece in water. It will become very supple. Then I wrap it around th e grip and bind it down as tight as I can with some string. After it has dried I will cut away the overlap (have found a roto saw blade on a dremel to work pretty good). this can be done on the grip or off. There is some flex in the skin so usually I slide the grip core out and then trim. Trying to keep the seam gap nonexistent to minimal. Then put some glue on the inside and slide the core back in.

Best to get small grained skin. They work a bit easier. The nobs are dentin like your teeth so they can be tough to trim and cut.

Hope this helps.
Craig

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your advice, do you skive the ray skin at the seam like with leather?