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Critique my sheath

T

The Gopher

Joined
Mar 4, 2011
Messages
176
Hi guys, I think my sheaths are ugly, so I went to the library to get some Leatherwork books, watched some YouTube videos, and tried to get better at this stuff. Tooling was a first for me, as was stuff I just never new to do before like edge coat and gum tragacanth. I think the dye is probably too dark and a little splotchy, and there was a spot of glue that didn't allow the dye to soak in. Let me know what you think, the good the bad and the ugly.




 
I like the way the dye turned out--it really gives the sheath nice character. Nice work.
 
Do you know how to case leather? I think your leather was a little damp when you did your tooling. It doesn't look bad, mind you, and you did the important things of keeping the basketweave straight - but do some research on how to case leather properly before stamping. It can help a lot. Moisture content makes a huge difference.

Jason
 
Thank you sir, no need to be polite, I can take it :) I will look up how to case leather. Thank you!

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Looks good Gopher, I'd say you're well ahead of the curve. Just a couple things I might have done differently. Most of us leave a border between the tooling and the stitch line. I can't tell if you stitched over the edges or if you just cut the stitch groove to the edge. You might stop the groove(and stitching) at the horizontal stitches on the patch and at the groove you matched the top of the front panel with. It seems to just clean up the look a little. On the patch for the stud, I would have skived it down much thinner or maybe even made it a "shield" that went all way to the top of the front panel. The final thing is I would have preferred a fold over loop as opposed to the slots.

In the end it mostly boils down to practice. Get better at how YOU do things as there is not a single best way for everyone to do something.
Good luck and keep posting!
Chris
 
Not too bad at all. Here's a few ideas for the next one and the next one and the next one. Like Chris said keep making em even if it is just to practice. Traditionally a basket stamp is done at a diagonal angle to the object being stamped. Having it in line like this bothers my eye a little. I will do belts in line but that is about it. Everything else is done at a diagonal. Your basket stamping is crazy straight so very well done. Thats the hard part and ya nailed it. Chris mentioned the border and I would agree with that. Also seems like you've got some over run with the basket eating into your camo stamping. When that happens you can re stamp the camo and that will help clean that deal up. Dump the Edge Kote, no really, get rid of it. Probably the most useless product made by Fiebings and I'm a Fiebings fan.. Any edge where you have two or more layers of leather coming together sand. i use a dedicated 120 grit ceramic belt. Then rub with a piece of canvas with the leather edge damp from Gum Traganath or Wyo Quick Slik. Rubbing is what produces those good smooth and dark edges. On the casing also research a product called Pro Carv. Works very well for me.
 
Gopher, you have received some very good tips here. Pay attention and follow the good advice.

Now without anything to back it up, I'd say you may be working a little fast, perhaps impatient to see the final results and in doing so you are skipping a few of the refinement points that will make your sheath look better.

The straight strap you used to mount your stud should be about half as thick as it is, and then should be skived top and bottom down to about zero. This will make it lay down really smooth on the front of the sheath without that big "step" transition. Also you might try a more stylized shape, like a chevron or some other carved shape for the bottom of the overlay, and then take the top all the way to the mouth of the sheath.

See the attached photos below for examples of the chevron and diagonal basket weave stamping. The second photo is diagonal geometric.

Also, for my taste at least, the retention strap leather should match at least one of the components of the base sheath.

Good Luck

Paul
 

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Thank you, thank you, thank you both, these are the things I need to learn!

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Paul, Chris, and Dave, I need to print off your responses and keep them handy! Paul, patience is something I've struggled my whole life! Combined with not really knowing all this stuff in the first place is a bad combination. I looked up your videos, maybe I'll ask my wife for those for Christmas! Thanks again everyone!

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Oh yes, I did have a follow up question. The basketweave on the top portion, is it necessary? does it make the whole thing seem too busy?
 
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