[ckluftinger]

Stacked leather is easy to do: cut it into whatever shapes, drill / punch / cut the center hole and string them onto a steel post the same size as your tang, glue together, clamp, shape on the grinder, pull out the pin and push onto the tang. You can do final sanding / leveling on the tang, if you are using a bolster, ferrule, butt cap or pommel. I sometimes put a few brass or steel washers between some of the layers to give the leather more rigidity. You could use colored plastic (ABS, kydex) for contrast and stability, too. I usually finish it with furniture polishing wax to give it a nice luster. That's how I do it, anyway...
Wynnknives, those are pretty cool knives! i like the blade shape on the tanto. Very unusual bevel!