Ak Leather Boom

bubbaskyjacker

bubbaskyjacker

Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
868
hey all,

Finally got around to getting some pant-less Busse blades some leather chaps.

Baby Boom pocket sheath- I love this Clever Cleaver looking blade.

BGAK, my apocalypse, book of Eli , when the bullets run out , last line of defense blade . I wanted a sheath I could strap to a pack, carry On my baldric, strap to a motorcycle, horse , goat, bat, or just on my person In the back yard being a garden ninja.

Both sheaths are great and purrty, simple elegant lines made by Chad Pirtle - I really didn’t know what I wanted and he worked with me to get some epic stuff. Great service , great guy.

Will post more when I resize the photo
 

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I love the look, smell, and artistry of leather products. I go especially nuts if the stitching is hand done and in the traditional saddle-stitch technique.

That said, I just cannot bring myself to sheath my knives in leather. I fear the possibility of rust.
 
PABladeGuy said:
That said, I just cannot bring myself to sheath my knives in leather. I fear the possibility of rust.
Click to expand...

If you've got a collector grade blade or one that's special to you that you don't wanna use, to be on the safe side, that's a good call on storing it unsheathed.

Additionally, I've heard there's a difference if the leather was tanned with vegetable derivatives or chromium based solutions.

That's what's liberating about blades that are "users." I have no fear of using/abusing INFI.
 
Pirtle made a sheath for my custom shop EU-17 Magnum, and it's the nicest leather sheath I've ever seen, much less owned. By the way...he's agreed to make my sheath for the incoming Trough Raider. Superior craftsmanship and a pleasure to work with. Highly recommend.
 
Beautiful work! Especially love the AK sheath. Wouldn’t mind getting one of those!
 
Thanks for posting and sorry for my delayed response. Had to get through Blade Show to get caught up on email and social media, still working on that! Glad you like the sheaths and I hope they serve you for many years to come :)

There was a pretty good discussion on the pros/cons of leather in the CPK forum a few weeks ago and I can provide reference links if desired, but leather being the cause of rust is largely not factual. Humidity and moisture are the cause of rust. Leather was being used for centuries before anyone even knew what Kydex was, and while thermo-plastics have a great fit for the knife market and I use them myself at times, nothing is going to replace leather anytime soon.

Here is a recap of what I wrote in that discussion:

..humidity (at healthy levels) is not as much a factor as changes in humidity. I have old carbon steel knives in a humidity controlled safe, in their old leather sheaths and in 20+ years they have not changed. Real problems happen when someone leaves their air conditioned 72 degree house into a 95 degree day with 80 or 90% relative humidity, then come home back to the air conditioning and take their knife off their belt and leave the knife in the sheath. This scenario and many others will literally cause water to develop inside the sheath, neither Kydex or leather will dry out fast enough to not cause rust.

..leather choice is a big factor. I have seen a lot of new sheath makers choose Latigo, it's cheap at Tandy and on eBay, but it is cured with salt. Anyone into guns knows why Brownings from the late 60's, early 70's need extra scrutiny ;)

Anyone selling a sheath should be using the best leather they can source and should be able to tell you all about it.
 
Chad, thank you very helpful bit of info to hopefully dispel some myth.
What kind of leather do you use? In The pictures above the leather looks thick. Bridle?
 
PABladeGuy said:
Chad, thank you very helpful bit of info to hopefully dispel some myth.
What kind of leather do you use? In The pictures above the leather looks thick. Bridle?
Click to expand...

No problem! I use English Bridle from the oldest American tannery in operation. Each piece is split to an appropriate size for the knife it will carry, on large knives I generally use around 12 oz, thinnest I will usually go is about 8/9 oz for the really small ones, folders and accessories.
 
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