Calvin Richardson Shrike sheath W.I.P. - Final pictures posted **Picture Heavy!!**

wildmanh

wildmanh

Part time Leather Bender/Sheath maker
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Messages
7,764
Here is a WIP thread for one of my current sheath builds; A Custom sheath for a Calvin Richardson Bowie. Bawanna was saying that this forum was to slow. Hope this helps liven it up for him and everyone. ;)

Left side of the Shrike. It has a 9.5" blade that's 2" wide and 5/32" thick. Made from 1084 carbon steel.
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Trying to figure out the scale cut out and how I want things to fit.
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I think I have the fit just right.
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All of the sheath pieces are cut out. I'm now doing a Mock up of the front to see if I like the plan.
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The belt loop was tooled and edged before I wet formed it to shape.
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A Mock up of the back. I'll stitch the belt and tie down loops in place after they dry.
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****Update 1****


Got the loops glued and stitched to the back. Not sure if you can tell, the Scale cut out has been burnished also.
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Welt is glued to the back.
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The front and overlays glued to the back to check fit and trim before marking the lines.
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Stitching lines are marked and the overlays are stitched in place.
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Overlay borders are all tooled.
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Front is all tooled and the welt and front are glued, ready to get put together.
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All glued up and clamped in place to dry.
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**Update 2**

All stitched up.
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Edges all square
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Edges all square
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Edges all square
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Edges all square.
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Burnished the edges and applied the leather dressing.
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Burnished the edges and applied the leather dressing.
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Tooling the 1st keeper strap.
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About to tool the 2nd keeper strap.
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Tooling the 2nd keeper strap.
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Both straps finished, shown with the sheath. The straps color will lighten as they dry.
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Keeper strap #1 installed.
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A close up of the installed strap.
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Keeper strap #2 installed.
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A close up of #2 installed.
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Both keeper straps to show contrast.
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**Final Update!**

I finally got around to taking some good outdoor shots of the finished sheath. Last night, it snowed about 1.5" which I thought made a good back drop. I think I'll let the pictures do the talking. Thanks for looking!!


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Guess I should start that Khukri sheath WIP thread soon. :foot:
 
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The customer saw the following custom sheath that I made for a SOG and wanted one just like it. After getting the knife in hand for it's fitting, the sheath morphed into the one that you see above.

Custom sheath for my SOG NW Ranger 2.0
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cul4u01 said:
Yup...just what the boyz said.
Click to expand...

Yep what he said.

Lol no really, excellent work mate. That's a great looking bowie, love the swedge/back edge design. Sheath is coming along great. I've been meaning to get into leatherbending, at least have a crack for my two VUKs :)
 
Thanks Gents! I plan on updating the OP as I get more done on the sheath. The simple Scalloping for the border takes longer to do then the standard border that most of my sheaths get, but it sure looks nice.

The main body was cut from 12-14oz Saddle skirting, same tanage as the SOG sheath. The Belt and Tie down loops were cut from 12-14oz Saddle Skirting from a different vender and the front over lays are from 6oz tooling leather. Each type of leather will finish slightly different and age differently also.

Am going to start a Khukri sheath in the next few days, wonder if I should do a W.I.P. thread for it too. . . .
 
Excellent rigs man, I mean top notch brotha. I love the Calvin Richardson Bowie... I cant stop looking at it. Can I get a little more info on the steel and wood. The handle design is also very cool.

The sheath is coming along nicely and it really compliments the knife design, you have a very good eye my friend. Very Impressive
 
gurkha berserka said:
Excellent rigs man, I mean top notch brotha. I love the Calvin Richardson Bowie... I cant stop looking at it. Can I get a little more info on the steel and wood. The handle design is also very cool.

The sheath is coming along nicely and it really compliments the knife design, you have a very good eye my friend. Very Impressive
Click to expand...

Thanks Gurkha Berserka. Calvin Richardson has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CalvinRichardsonKnives 1084 Carbon steel is like Japanese SK5 steel which SOG and Cold Steel used for a while. Not sure about the scales, I sent a message to the owner. . . The handle contours are different then anything that I've ever used, almost strange at first. But they work really well.

*edit* Owner says the scales are Black walnut with a Trueoil finish. *edit*

cul4u01 said:
Need you ask? You know us...:) But, of course, we want pics...........
Click to expand...

LOL! Nope, I don't need to ask. In hind sight, I was being silly, LOL!!
 
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Great looking rig all around. I like that even clean and new it still look really classy, but I can imagine 10-15 years down the road when it is "properly" worn it is going to be even better looking. We are some lucky folks here with the skills of some of our fellow "Cantinistas". Almost anything you could need we have the folks who can do it. And better yet, we get to see pictures of it, Love it!
 
Thank you Shavru! Yes, there are a lot of good craftsman on the forum.

I just finished adding 7 new photos to the OP. . . The sheath let me build the sheath that I imagined the knife should have and he's really please with the progress so far.




FWI: Will probably start the Khukri sheath and it's WIP thread tomorrow. The sheath in queue in front of the Khukri sheath is now finished.
 
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Starting to look perfect for that blade. Great re-imagining of the smaller sheath for the much larger Bowie. The original in that size would not have looked as good as it does with the overlays, but for the smaller one the overlays wouldn't have looked as good as without. Interesting, when I see them I know but I never would have been able to figure it out without seeing the results like you do.

When you choose the leather for the welt. Do you generally try to match the thickness of the blade at the thickest point or slightly thinner so there is a bit of retention or slightly thicker so it is easy to draw without any surface friction? I notice you use a retention strap and neither of these particular sheaths are molded so was just curious on your thoughts about retention.
 
If done correctly, I think a single overlay at the mouth looks fine on some shorter sheaths. For instance, I've done it on 5-6" sheaths that weren't tooled and it looked fine. With tooling, it could be to flash. LOL!

Choosing the welt thickness can be tricky. Leather can compress when stitched together. I prefer my welts to be the same thickness as the blade or slightly thinner. Do to the shape of the blade, if you made the welt the exact shape of the blade, you couldn't insert or draw the knife. So some areas of the welt had to be wider. I always like a little wiggle room spine to edge. This sheath, in areas has more. For retention, you need a keeper strap and or, a welt that's slimmer then the blade for a friction fit.

All but the inlays on this sheath are made from Saddle Skirting. Skirting is sold by the side (Standard tooling leather is sold in single or Double shoulders or bends or sides). The side includes a shoulder, the back and butt, also belly leather. A Side can range in thickness and stiffness. This hide is over 1/4" thick at the top near the butt. It should be noted that Saddle skirting is Stiffer and denser then standard tooling leather. For larger sheaths, gun belts and work belts, this is wonderful. Makes building smaller pouch sheaths really hard. LOL! Belly leather is not stiff, very flexible and stretchy. Good for some stuff, not good for others. I picked leather that was in the middle of the hide, so no belly and not so thick as the top of the hide.

The piece that I picked for the welt was just under 5/32" thick. The blade is slightly over-sized 5/32" thick. Steel has a rough finish from the mill. From what I've learned, it's commonly sold over sized so that the customer can polish out the rough finish and have the thickness that they ordered, instead of it being undersized. Though it is sold pretty much any way you want it, for a price. The welt is about 5/32" or slightly thinner. This will give a friction fit, while allowing spine to edge wiggle. The keeper strap probably won't be needed, but leather stretches. If, down the road the leather stretches and doesn't provide a really snug fit, the keeper is there to take over. I'm going to build 2 keeper straps, one from the loop leather and one from the front and back leather. They will both finish differently. The customer can choose which he likes best and he will also have a spare.

Sorry if that was long winded and a little disjointed. :foot: Wasn't sure how to properly convey my ideas. Shoot, I may have just confused you all worse. LOL! :foot: :o
 
As for overlays on smaller sheaths; I think they do work, If you use just a single overlay. I have done a few sheaths over the years with a single overlay at the mouth and they looked pretty good. Some were on larger bowies like this, but one was for a 5" bladed knife and it worked just fine. Two would have been to busy.
 
Thanks for the info about how you decide on welt thickness ect. For some reason that sort of thing is extremely interesting to me. Also, I can imagine the smaller sheath you are talking about with the single overlay and I see what you mean if I imagine it in different sizes it works in some looks silly to me in others. Thanks that helped a lot. Not confusing at all, great help actually.
 
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