Norm
I soak my leather handle spacers in Shellac cut with some lacquer thinner. When the air bubbles stop, I take them out, squeeze them and hang them to dry.
They are a little brittle, but will be treated throughout to minimize future leather type issues. They will finish up nice also.
Just my 2 cents.
Tim

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
Albert Einstein

At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".