Custom Leather Work = satisfied trail rider!

N

NoBite

Joined
Jan 5, 2003
Messages
23
I had been searching for a way to attach a good knife to my half-chaps so I could always have it available when out trail riding. Yeah, I can carry a folder, and often do so. But, there is just something satisfying about a fixed blade ready when needed.

I looked for sheath-makers, even diving knives and such. Finally, I pulled a Marbles out the closet because I really like the sheath and thought it would be secure and look right. But, how to attach it to the chaps?

Upon much discovery, I located a custom leather-worker. Here is the result.

SheathFront.jpg


The leather guy told me my chaps were not that sturdy. He was afraid that if the knife got caught on something, it would pull right out. So, he used a second piece of leather as a backing.

SheathBack.jpg


I am very pleased with the result. Didn't need a new knife. Found a great use for the Marbles and have a unique, good-looking system that will be quite functional when I'm out riding. What do you think?
 
It looks like you are ready to hit the trail. Your setup appears to be functional but let us know after using it a few times.
 
As a frequent rider myself, I congratulate you on a nice idea. I like it a lot!
Happy Trails,
riata
 
We head out for a week-long ride this Saturday. I will report back here when we return. I've tried the chaps on and the knife is very secure. Got to see how it is on my horse, but it sure seems like it will work well.
 
NoBite said:
We head out for a week-long ride this Saturday. I will report back here when we return. I've tried the chaps on and the knife is very secure. Got to see how it is on my horse, but it sure seems like it will work well.
Click to expand...

Thats a nice idea for the knife, and well executed.
Where are you going on a week long ride at? I've been getting more and more into trail riding as I've backed off on going to horseshows, would like to find some new places. Most of the public stuff in ohio is only good for a couple hours, less than 10 miles of trail usually. The places with more trail don't have horse friendly camping very handy so you can't make a weekend trip or anything like that too easily.
 
Matt, we are fortunate to be within a few hours, or less, of some great trail riding. Next week we will be in western Tennessee near Camden at a place called Bird Song Trail Ride. The riding is easy, friends plentiful and the food delicious. Great way to start the trail riding season. Most weekend will find us either in the Land Between the Lakes area of Kentucky or Shawnee National Forest of southern Illinois, both only an hour away. Missouri has very good riding throughout the Ozark Riverways and there are quite a few other places to go in western TN.
 
I pretty well figured I'd have to get out of ohio. Luckily none of those places sound like too terrible of a haul if a guy could get a couple good days of riding in.
I am lucky in that I have a metro park about 3 miles from home with about 8 miles of trail. I can haul over, ride the whole thing, and have the horses back in the pasture in about 2 hours. So I kill alot of afternoons that way when the weather is fit. I've been wanting to get in some bigger rides though so I will definitely look into your suggestions.
 
(( Apologies for the confusion, but ... I forgot we are keeping all sheath work in General Knife Discussion until hopefully we get a Sheath forum! So I'm moving this back.))
 
Okay, back from a week-long trail ride. The setup worked flawlessly, just as I had hoped. The knife was very secure and by rotating the chap just a bit, the angle was perfect. The leather attachment system proved to be very strong. We rode through creeks several times and even through a deep hole that my horse had to swim through. I raised my feet back to put them on the horse's butt and still the knife did not slip a bit. We banged through thick brush and though the leather now has "character," no problems. I am very satisfied with this setup.
 
That's good to hear. First glance at the photo seemed to look like the setup would be good to go. Now it is field tested and works great. Nice work on this one.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
(( Apologies for the confusion, but ... I forgot we are keeping all sheath work in General Knife Discussion until hopefully we get a Sheath forum! So I'm moving this back.))
Click to expand...

JD has a sheath forum!:thumbup:
 
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