Basic questions about a sheath project.

J

jayjaygee

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Mar 13, 2023
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I have a cheap knife with a plastic sheath (similar to a mora sheath) and for fun I wanted to try making my first sheath. I want a belt sheath that I would call a "pancake" sheath that has two belt loops and the knife sits at an angle.

So I thought I would cut the belt loop off of the plastic sheath, leaving just the part that covers the blade with good retention. Then I thought I'd basically mold and pancake and glue some leather around it, and sew it up (badly) with a speedy stitcher.

My questions for you guys who know better are: what adhesive should I use to glue the leather to the plastic, and the leather to the leather (I'm thinking rubber cement for both, but will it really be stronger than the retention on the plastic sheath (which has good retention)?) and also, what am I not thinking about? Or is this a stupid idea? I know there are hybrid leather/plastic sheaths and they seem to be a good idea so the knife doesn't slice its leather sheath?

I'm basically a five year old playing with leather for the first time. I'm sure it will come out horribly. I'm learning. All advice welcome.
 
jayjaygee said:
I have a cheap knife with a plastic sheath (similar to a mora sheath) and for fun I wanted to try making my first sheath. I want a belt sheath that I would call a "pancake" sheath that has two belt loops and the knife sits at an angle.

So I thought I would cut the belt loop off of the plastic sheath, leaving just the part that covers the blade with good retention. Then I thought I'd basically mold and pancake and glue some leather around it, and sew it up (badly) with a speedy stitcher.

My questions for you guys who know better are: what adhesive should I use to glue the leather to the plastic, and the leather to the leather (I'm thinking rubber cement for both, but will it really be stronger than the retention on the plastic sheath (which has good retention)?) and also, what am I not thinking about? Or is this a stupid idea? I know there are hybrid leather/plastic sheaths and they seem to be a good idea so the knife doesn't slice its leather sheath?

I'm basically a five year old playing with leather for the first time. I'm sure it will come out horribly. I'm learning. All advice welcome.
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Contact cement. Scuff the plastic with said paper first. Glue both sides
 
Its a different type. Rubber cement is used in leather work when an item needs to be held in place and then removed. Often people would rubber cement leather to cardboard and then do any tooling that was needed. This helped the piece from stretching as it was tooled. Blue tape has pretty much taken the placeof that. Contact cement is used when you are removing the stuck on item.
 
Second the contact cement. Be absolutely sure to read the directions carefully. Understand that the parts are permanently bonded at the first moment of contact, so there can be no adjustments or do-overs. I learned this many decades back when I was attempting to place Formica on a plywood countertop. I stumbled ever-so-slightly and the Formica made contact with the plywood just slightly out of alignment... :eek:
 
Contact cement isn't going to stick to the plastic.

If you doubt it. Try gluing a small piece of leather to the plastic. Test it. Especially the kind of plastic used in the sheath.

There's plastic epoxy on the market.

But the end all is a mechanical connection between the plastic and leather like rivets or Chicago screws.
 
Choctaw Dan said:
Second the contact cement. Be absolutely sure to read the directions carefully. Understand that the parts are permanently bonded at the first moment of contact, so there can be no adjustments or do-overs. I learned this many decades back when I was attempting to place Formica on a plywood countertop. I stumbled ever-so-slightly and the Formica made contact with the plywood just slightly out of alignment... :eek:
Click to expand...
This happened to a coworker. He took the table top with the mid-aligned Formica to his friend with a walk in freezer and left it in the freezer overnight.
Popped right off the next day.
 
I'm pretty certain that contact cement will adhere leather to lots of plastic - maybe not Delrin. Certainly long enough to hold it together while setting mechanical fasteners. I agree with G Grasshopperglock - that the mechanical fasteners are essential for the long run. Scuff up the plastic as has been suggested and use solid pressure after you have mated your pieces. The more pressure the stronger the grip. 2 thin coats of contact cement on each surface (especially the porous leather) is not overkill.

As an aside - I have done lots and lots of contact cement work on boat interiors with laminates on the complex shapes of the hulls. 2 coats and lots of pressure with a roller and/or hammer and block were essential to avoid problems with delamination. A spritz bottle of lacquer thinner was our solution to peel off badly laid laminates. Not a practical solution for small leather work but was an easy way to remove the laminate. Let dry and start the process all over again.
 
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Horsewright said:
Often people would rubber cement leather to cardboard and then do any tooling that was needed. This helped the piece from stretching as it was tooled. Blue tape has pretty much taken the placeof that.
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For the visual learners in the crowd, do you have a picture of the blue tape setup in action? Are strips of blue tape simply applied in a layer across the back of the leather workpiece? Possibly two layers, at right angles to each other?
Many TIA.
 
RokJok said:
For the visual learners in the crowd, do you have a picture of the blue tape setup in action? Are strips of blue tape simply applied in a layer across the back of the leather workpiece? Possibly two layers, at right angles to each other?
Many TIA.
Click to expand...
Sorry no pics. But literally just on the back with the tape. Doing a belt, one strip the length of the belt. Something wider yeah just strips to cover the affected area. Helps prevent stretching from the impact of the tool strike. A belt can curve like a C darn near if ya don't tape it on the back.
 
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