Leather Stacked Knife Handle

I've always wanted to make my own full knife but lacking blacksmith skills and equipment I settled for just making a handle with a blade and hilt purchased from Ragnars. I attempted it a while ago but failed miserably despite it being a fairly simple undertaking. I took up the project again using the same blade which unfortunately had gotten some surface rust on it due to my spilling epoxy on it and attempts to grind it off (not the best of ideas). Ragnar sells excellent blades with great customer service, I was was just an idiot and let the blade fall into poor condition. I Googled "how to make a stack leather knife handle" and a good number of great sites came up with some outstanding advice. My next knife will hopefully look as good as the ones on other sites but here's my attempt.

First I picked up some leather from cow and moose. The black is moose and the brown is cow. I cut squares in them, covered them with rubber cement, clamped them together, let them dry, and then slid them behind the hilt on the tang. The tape on the blade is to prevent any accidental cuttings. Masking or painters tape works best as it doesn't leave behind a residue like duct tape.

I had the antler cut that was going to be the back of the handle. Cutting antler or bone is a stinky process, expect your clothes to have the stench until washing them. I soaked the antler in water to get the inside soft and then drilled a whole for the tang. I drilled two side holes in the antler where the center of the tang would be when the antler is slid over it. The holes are for the pins that were going to secure the handle in place. I slid the antler on put a few sheets of cardboard at the tip of the blade and then locked it into a vise. I wish I had done something other than cardboard like a piece of tire as the very tip of the blade broke in the vise. Once the knife was secure I placed my oiled up drill bit into the antler holes and drilled through the tang then the other side of the antler. I then placed two small pieces of brass brazing rods into the holes and loosened the vise. The antler falls back just enough to lock it into place.

I then sanded down the leather using a Dremel tool. Once I had the desired shape I polished the leather numerous times with leather conditioner. The handle came out virtually rock hard and felt nothing like leather. I was really surprised by this development as the leather before felt so flimsy but the clamping and conditioning hardened it perfectly. Next I soaked the antler again and tacked in a piece of brass bar stock and cut it to shape.

Below is the finished product. I was happy with how it came out but will make some changed next time.
#1. Use a leather that's colored all the way through.
#2. Use a piece of antler that has the corolla still attached or have a longer tang on a piece of antler that I can then screw a manufactured cap too.
#3. Have a larger hilt.
#4. Insert some colored plastic pieces like the kind you see on KaBar knives.
#5. Not let my blade deteriorate!!

Started with this table that was picked up at NYC market, it's half of a pair. The tables had a thick,thick veneer slathered all over them, wobbled, and had these small tiles on the top that kept popping off. I first knocked off the tiles with a hammer and flat head screw driver(teeny tiny were used to keep the tiles down?), then took apart the shelves.

Once the table was taken apart I strapped on a mask and started up my sheet sander with a 50 grit paper. I had to go through a number of sheets as the veneer just gunked up the paper. Any dark spots that remained as a result of the veneer had to be removed as much as possible as well you can see below what happened when I didn't remove the veneer well enough and applied a stain to it. The area outlined in red is botchy and sloppy.

I took the sheet sander once again to the boards stripping off the stain and digging into the wood. Unfortunately some areas I just couldn't get the stain out as it soaked to deep into the wood. Before screwing the table backed together I added some gorilla glue into the screw holes and wood glue to where the shelves connect to the sides to stop the wobbling. Below is the finished project. That's three coats of Minwax Dark Walnut.