Leather Cobra wrapped Thai Stick from Aranyik distict of Thailand!

ndoghouse

ndoghouse

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
7,751
OK brothers and sisters more fancy pants. Nope not a Khukri but thats coming soon too. Im prolly getting too deep into something I've never done before but WTF? I went and secured me a Cobra skin from a farming operation in Thailand and it finally will have a permanent home. Who the heck wouldda thought they farm snakes? Not me! Anywayz I bought a blank Aranyik blade on the auction place a few years ago but had to shape, sharpen, and make a handle for. Since I had some super dense Ipe (desert ironwood)I decided to use that for the slabs. Not really talking much about that except that the color of the scales and snake skin matched so well.
OK lets get it on!

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First I got to mock it up on cardboard. I wanted to carry it Baldric style but just in case otherwise I think im gonna put a belt loop on it too. I can always remove it if needed. I didnt use a dangler belt loop because it would ride way too low so I left that off.

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I cut out the leather for the basic shapes I wanted and will trim it out later once i figure out what I want to do.

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Once I figured out how I want to carry and draw it I cut out to the shape I wanted and also cut out the welts. Im using a water based glue so I dont stink out the wife!

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Once i got it cut out I tested the fit of the knife and I do believe I got it perfect! Aint that some sh*t!


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Sorry buddy! You lived a good life eatin rats and such but your hide wont go in vain!

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Next step I figure was to laminate the skin to the leather but before I do that I had to make stitching grooves along the edge in the leather so I could sew it up and keep the threads below the surface so they dont get exposed to wear like otherwise would happen. I could not glue the panels together yet because I still got to stitch the belt loop on to one panel and I aint got my dang tools yet to assemble the belt loop.

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Sam Browne stud for the retention strap.

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This is how I want the parts to assemble but got to wait on a tool. Im using all brass furniture. Ill update soon as I get my tools. I have to bevel the edges of the leather and burnish them to get a good finish so hopefully will be soon! Also I got to figure out a shoulder strap to carry it once this is done. Will work on that later.
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Well sir you have done gone and done it, ya fell down the rabbit hole didnt ya?????? I am really liking what ya got going on, that baldric set up looks familiar lol. I see ya did your groove for your stitching lines, now when you space them they will stay nice and straight. Great looking so far brother cant wait to see the end result.
 
I'm likin' this every much. You are an inspiration to us all :thumbsup: :cool:
 
Thanks guys! It has been fun. Looks like my tools are in Austin TX which is about 30 miles away so hopefully they will be delivered monday! I bought a couple pricking irons (damn expensive they are ) to get the stitch spacing right and also a couple Japanese edge bevelers (damn expensiver they are ). I can see how this hobby can get expensive quick!

pugs75 said:
Well sir you have done gone and done it, ya fell down the rabbit hole didnt ya?????? I am really liking what ya got going on, that baldric set up looks familiar lol. I see ya did your groove for your stitching lines, now when you space them they will stay nice and straight. Great looking so far brother cant wait to see the end result.
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Yeah Pugs im way deep into that rabbit hole. I dont think ill be able to climb out now! Yep I copied the setup for the sheath you made for one of my VUK,s. Somehow I got off on measuring the "D" rings and ended up using for 1" straps. Looks like you use 3/4". Anyways I decided to use the larger ones instead of waiting for more parts. I think it will be fine...i hope? Its a much heavier knife so should be fine.

On the same day I mounted that cobra skin I was going to go walk the dogs and soon as I got out the front door there was a copperhead coiled up there about a foot away from me so ironically I got another skin soaking in some tanning solution. I think it should be done now. Snake karma I guess? I dont usually kill snakes but if they are in a dangerous area or endangering my animals then they got to go. I was going to do a sheath for my draw knife so that might just be the thing for that snake.

Question for ya Pugs:

What do you do to stiffen up the side panels for a knife sheath. I wet them and then let them dry a few cycles but they still are not as stiff as yours (dont go there fellas. Family channel ya know:)). I was going to wet and try heat gun to dry faster but ill have to test a piece first. It did stiffen up good enough but mainly wondered for future projects.

Oh. one more question:

Ive tried using snap rivets but seems they are all made for thinner leather. I cant get the burr/post or whatever its called to retain well because the shaft is too short. They seem to be all around 5-6mm? I thought maybe I could skive off some material but dont really want to take that route if parts do exist. For 5mm thick leather seems like you would need to add a few mm to the post so it would have to be about 7-8mm which is about 1/4 inch roughly. Just curious is there something specifically I should be looking for?
 
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Good questions Danny, On the leather you have to use the right thickness, I dont use Chrome tan leather the chemicals in it can lead to rusting your blade, I use Veg tanned leather. For larger blades I use 8-9 oz leather and for smaller 6-7oz. If the leather is not very stiff it probably wont stiffen up enough for you. Wetting them will make it a tad tighter but when you use it, it will soften again. If you dry it out to much it will actually take the oils out of it and cause it to crack. There are some good leather places to get it from, As your learning you can get some from Tandy Leather as it is a bit cheaper and if you mess up no biggie. The snaps it depends on the leather thickness, if using 8-9 oz, line 24 snaps will be fine, 6-7 oz, line 20, the posts are long enough to be able to set with no issues. if you need longer ya got to look online for them.
 
OK I think I got ya! I did notice they use "Line xx" to classify them. Im using closer to 9-10 oz leather so looks like I might need line 24. I did see that description on the auction. Also they distinguish between regular alloy and marine grade so I guess that dont matter if using brass or copper but would if using carbon steel or something like that that would rust.. Im still looking into that. since I got a good deal on it because the surface finish wasn't great. Thats what made me inclined to use the snake skin. I know there are tricks to improve the surface with certain chemicals but i aint ready for that yet. Hey on another note tho my tools cam in today! Whooohoo! Christmas in June! I barely got them unpacked so will update soon!

As far as the leather type I have veggie tanned stuff because I hear it is easier to burnish the edges and work with for what im doing.
OK! Im gluing a few pieces together now that should have been an integral part of one of the sides and I knew it would bite me in the end and its bitting me hard now as I suspected. Will splain better soon.
Thanks Pugs for your input. You know it is greatly appreciated. If I can reach anything remotely close to your works then Im a happy mofo! OK.

On another note: Im a new grandpa once again officially and my daughter just had her last kid after eight uh... I lost count now! Anywayz shes doing well and I need to start makin Khukris and sheaths for them soon enuff so got plenty to do.! One of her daughters is a rock hound and serious about rocks! Shes been watching me make flint knives and Im pretty sure she will do it soon! OK...Nuff of that! more later my friends!
 
OK fellas! Here's my new love! Just a few days old.

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Sorry to interrupt yall from the leather but had to do it! Kids happen! I always thought.. well...all babies look the same and we always talk about who he or she looks like but when they are this new they just look like a baby like all the rest of them but I have to say she is a cutie! Shes 6 pounds 7 oz. momma says and dont ask me how long she is. I didnt get a spec sheet on her. Guess that dont matter much but she does have long fingers so she shouldn't have any problem wrapping them around Yangdu's Katunje. I just need to make her some pink pants!

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Krystiene with her Pawpaw!
OK back to leather soon. Got me some tools in and had some problems to work out but think I got it figured out! Getting ready to stitch! Stay tuned for more completely unknown results! You guys are great! Thanks for your support! more soon!
 
Grats on a beautiful little granddaughter, she's gonna wrap you around those long fingers Paw, in a great way, enjoy that precious bundle brother.
 
Mopar has been rather quiet and absent of late, nice to see ya posting. A sure sign hopefully all is well.
 
Ha!!! Just takes a pretty young face to bring us all together again eh? Good to hear from ya MBob! It has been very slow around here. Same thing happened when Mr. B's new grand daughter came into our lives! She woke us all up and got things started again! She must be into school by now eh? If not then shes prolly fishing getting ready for school! Thats just what ya gotta do to prepare for higher education:0
 
I don't post much, but I always keep up with what's going on in the H.I. forum.
But as you mention, it's been pretty quiet lately.
 
Lets make some noise MBob! Got some updates on this Thai stick anyway. Hopefully tonite! Im stitching now. Man! Thats some slow going stuff!
 
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