Warning: I was trimming my rasp handle wrong for years until a guy in Kentucky pointed it out

I always cut the leather flush, but he showed me leaving a quarter inch overhang on the tang stops the metal from tearing through. Anyone else do it that way?

3 comments

3 Comments

zara_hunt2mo ago

My buddy in Oregon had his favorite rasp fail after two seasons because the tang cut right through a perfect flush wrap. He started leaving that little leather lip and hasn't had a single tear since. It's a solid fix for a real problem.

juliaa252mo ago

Flush is the only way that looks right to me. That extra leather just looks sloppy and unfinished. If the metal is tearing through, you probably need better quality leather or a different wrap technique. I have never had a problem with a clean cut.

parker_bailey29d ago

Jumping in to agree with @juliaa25 on this one. Honestly, I tried leaving that little leather lip once on a hatchet wrap and it felt all wrong to me from the start. The grip was uneven and it just looked like I gave up halfway through. Ngl, I have wrapped probably thirty handles over the years and a clean flush cut has never given me trouble, even with cheaper leather. Bad leather or bad technique is usually the real problem, not the flush wrap itself.