[Vincent C]

The wooden part of the grip on my montante trainer is cracking near the hilt, so I need the grip replaced.

Does anyone know of someone in the DC Metro area that can do grip and leather replacements? I'd rather not have to ship my trainer and be without it for a longer period of time.

Thanks.

[Matthew P. Adams]

That is totally fixable. If you put wood glue into the crack, and then wrap the wood with string gluing it down as you go.

You weight the string, smear glue around one end of the handle but only about an inch at a time, then you don't have the glue drying before you wrap the string around it. So smear another inch of glue, wrap more string, until you have the whole thing wrapped up, then weight the end of the string and let it dry. You don't even tie it, the weights hold the string tight until the glue dries. Then cut them off flush and do a leather wrap, you can use a leather shammy from an auto store.

You smear more wood glue on the string wrap, then wrap the leather around the grip, then wind more string around the leather with weights again. This holds the leather in place until the glue dries, but then you unwind that second layer of string revealing your newly repaired and re wrapped sword grip.

It's a lot easier than it sounds, and you can do the whole leather wrapping business without glue to make sure you've cut it to shape correctly before gluing.

http://www.yeoldegaffers.com/project_grip_2.asp

This skips the initial string under wrap, which I would not do, because it will be needed to strengthen the glued split in y our handle.

[Vincent C]

Awesome, Thank you!

[Mark Moore]

Matthew, if I didn't know better....I'd swear you were from the South. "Super- glue and duct tape can fix anything." Great advice...I've done the same thing myself. ....McM