A pair of sheaths for matching knives

SBranson

SBranson

Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Messages
2,912
I made this pair of knives from a 3" ball bearing and handled them from a single block of Koa. So I made matching sheaths.

Still learning and I can never seem to get it "perfect". It's so frustrating.
Still there's something in these that I feel is a bit more refined.
A ways to go yet but I feel like there's progress. You can't see it but these are the nicest edges I've done to date.


RogerKnives_5_01.jpg


RogerKnives_6_01.jpg


RogerKnives_7_01.jpg


RogerKnives_8_01.jpg
 
I think they are both Beauties. Those handles are outstanding the leather work is perfect.
I like everything about them.....Great job !
 
Stuart, the refinement really shows in these two. The generous border, meticulous stamping, creased outer edges, stitching (straight and uniform), contoured belt loops, etc. etc. You nailed it on these, my friend. I can bet the edge finish is equal to the rest of the quality.

Paul
 
Very nicely done! I do like the way you sculpted the mouth of the sheath to match the knives guards, very subtle but very meaningful. Its those little touches that make a sheath look as if it grew out of the knife. A squared sheath mouth would have been awkward and only a knife cover, well done.
 
Thanks! Yes I think the curved mouth is a crucial feature for me. It's something I spend extra time on to close the gaps.

Paul, thanks. One of the points you touched on is something I have had a change of view about. Until these, I looked at the stitching as the "edge" of the sheath by design. The change I feel is that I used to take the stitching, primarily, to be functional and designed around it. By adding that little extra room between it and the edge it's changed so that though the stitching is functional, I look at it more as a feature of the design. Part of that change includes straightening out the lines of the sheath.
I used to follow the curves of the blade closely, particularly recurves because I thought that curves indicated "flow". Well, I think the straighter lines actually create more "flow" by quickening the travel of the eye. Also, the relationship of the edge of the sheath and the panel gets to remain constant and follow the essentially straight lines of the tooling. Again more of the parts tying in to each other, creating homogeneity....

Anyway, I'm not sure I'm explaining myself clearly or just rambling but the few subtle changes I made on these I think are improvements of design and also highlight precision in the workmanship. I also added a step to the edge finishing and it has made a big difference to the final product.

Now to stop the stupid mistakes...:p
 
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I completely understood the last post as I had some of the same issues myself and treating the edges and stitches as a design feature made a huge difference for me, I found I never had enough room to really put the stitches where I wanted them once I dressed them down. The straw in the camels back so to speak is when I cut some threads dressing the edges down on one - went back to the drawing board after wasting leather like that.
 
Eaglestroker, you already know it now, but for the benefit of the new guys......NEVER EVER run your stitch groove until AFTER you have glued the whole thing up and done the primary sanding and squaring of the edges (as demonstrated in both my DVDs). Then and only then is it safe to run the stitch groove. This will yield a constant and even stitch line border working off of a semi finished edge that won't change much if any in the final edge finish.

Paul
 
Fantastic looking sheathes and knives as well...I can see a strong ed fowler influence in them. Id assume you've studied with him?
 
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