Did I mess up?

Mitch,
I know some may not see it like I do but if I dont wet mold a sheath, it tends to have more "pull" on the knife. Just 1 view I wanted to throw out there. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in so I can get a better understanding myself :)
 
Landar15 said:
Yeah, I had dampened the sheath, molded it to the knife, set it on top of a heater vent, and then forgot about it when I left for work the next day. When I returned ten days later it had a pretty good amount of rust, mostly close to the welt. It cleaned off pretty well, but I can't get the pattern in the steel to show as well as it did. It's still there, just pretty faint. I'm fairly sure it's alloy or carbide banding of some sort. Now if I can just get it to happen again!

Walt
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Walt, Just don't leave the knife in the sheath for so long when you wet mold it.
1.) Put some oil on the blade, and wrap it in saran wrap,
2.) Put the knife in the wet sheath to mold it, and mold with your fingers.
3.) Dry it a bit with either a hair dryer, or heat gun on LOW setting.
4.) Carefully remove the knife, then push the places back into position that moved a little when you removed the knife from the sheath just now. In fact, if you want to have a very tight fit, you can partially "collapse" (from the edges of the impression inwards) the impression (mold) you just made with the knife in the leather.
5.) Let sheath dry for a couple of days near a heat source.
6.) Clean knife thoroughly and re-oil.
- Mitch
 
blgoode said:
Mitch,
I know some may not see it like I do but if I dont wet mold a sheath, it tends to have more "pull" on the knife. Just 1 view I wanted to throw out there. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in so I can get a better understanding myself :)
Click to expand...

Brian,
The whole purpose of the wet molding is to add friction; to add pull on the knife. Why do it, then, if not to add friction?
- Mitch
 
Brian, Let me ask you something. You're wet molding the handle too, right? the most important place to wet mold is the bolster/guard/choil areas. And the handle, in the listed area. The listed areas need to be "sandwiched" by the leather. So, the lower portion of the handle must be wet molded also.
- Mitch
 
What I do is after the leather has been died and dried, I apply bag kote. Once thats dried, the leather still has some forming abilities more so that a 3 day dried leather piece. Most of my sheaths are died and stitched within 1 days time or at least the next day if I can.

The leather forms itself around around the spots that it needs to but I dont force the leather to form.

here are a couple of pictures that do show that the leather "grabbs" the handle but I leave the leather stiff in the places it wants but I dont make it relax around the knife by wet forming. I dont think that there is a wrong way to do it I guess :)

wearing.jpg

ConsealSheathStraps.jpg


sometimes the sheaths arent as tight but the rigitity of the leather holds the knife in itself.
3sheathsin.jpg


good discussion......
 
Now, see the three in the bottom pic, if you want to add friction to those, wet mold those....those are perfect candidates to wet mold. Just from looking at them, I can tell that you can wet mold them so that those knives well have so much "pull" that you will have to struggle to get them out. (If you're looking for that, of course.)
Very nice sheaths, by the way. And you're absolutely right, there is no right way, or wrong way, to make sheaths.
But, I was explaining to you why we wet mold sheaths....always to add friction. Or else, don't bother doing it.
- Mitch
 
Brian, that little one that sits towards the rear in that top pic. How does that one work for you? That looks like it was wet molded so that it's nice and snug.
- Mitch
 
that little one worked well but it wasnt wet molded either. Just sort of molded itself I guess. They all seem to "snap" into place after a while, even those that have a more loose fit.
 
blgoode said:
that little one worked well but it wasnt wet molded either. Just sort of molded itself I guess. They all seem to "snap" into place after a while, even those that have a more loose fit.
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Hmmm. That's pretty cool that that happened. I like your sheaths.:thumbup:
- Mitch
 
I use acetone for wet molding instead of water,(before I sand and apply whatever finish to the wood so any staining can be sanded out so far I haven't had staining issues, but your mileage may vary) it seems to work as well as water, dries in 10-15 minutes, and best of all does not rust the blades.

-Page
 
sunshadow said:
I use acetone for wet molding instead of water,(before I sand and apply whatever finish to the wood so any staining can be sanded out so far I haven't had staining issues, but your mileage may vary) it seems to work as well as water, dries in 10-15 minutes, and best of all does not rust the blades.

-Page
Click to expand...
Page, Did you have any incidents involving the leather cracking, or "drying out" the leather (in a manner of speaking; you know... sucking out all the stuff that makes it pliable), with the acetone? Thanks.
- Mitch
 
Not so far, the acetone isn't really removing much, I wet the leather with it by dipping or pouring until wet (usually less than a second) then I mold the leather
>>>All of this in good ventilation<<<
when the acetone evaporates out everything that was there is likely to still be there, it feels a little stiffer, I'm sure that has something to do with some of the resins being moved around, I'm not an expert, but I have been doing this with tooling leather for 15 years now since I read about it in Hrisoulas' book with no cracking problems. I even use it for leather wrapping the tips of fencing swords, and if there is going to be a cracking failure that is where you will find it. As always your milage may vary, experiment before taking anything I say as practice, just because something has worked for me doesn't necessarily mean it will translate to your approach, materials, and tooling.

-Page
 
sunshadow said:
Not so far, the acetone isn't really removing much, I wet the leather with it by dipping or pouring until wet (usually less than a second) then I mold the leather
>>>All of this in good ventilation<<<
when the acetone evaporates out everything that was there is likely to still be there, it feels a little stiffer, I'm sure that has something to do with some of the resins being moved around, I'm not an expert, but I have been doing this with tooling leather for 15 years now since I read about it in Hrisoulas' book with no cracking problems. I even use it for leather wrapping the tips of fencing swords, and if there is going to be a cracking failure that is where you will find it. As always your milage may vary, experiment before taking anything I say as practice, just because something has worked for me doesn't necessarily mean it will translate to your approach, materials, and tooling.

-Page
Click to expand...
Thanks, Page. Something to keep in the back of the 'ol noggin.:thumbup:
- Mitch
 
I don't wet mold either. And I don't wax a sheath ever. To each his own I guess.
 
i spent some time making sheaths for a rennie type sword shop, I used acetone then for speed. fast, non rusting, great for single welt sheaths.

I've been using water lately, but considering going back to an acetone bath with a warm saddle preserver (the brooks kind) rub after.
 
Good looking sheaths. Long as they hold the knife securly it does not matter if it's wet moulded or not. Your rite in one respect, wet forming does lossen the the leather, ie. let it stretch. I normaly wet form a pouch type sheath before stitching, let dry then pull the flap over and tight and stich. If I don't I've had ones get a little loose. Basicly I have the welt glued in, the belt loop rivited and everything but the face flap glued and finished. I wet the leather, lay the knife in and fold the flap over and form, take the knife out and let dry, pull tight and stitch.

I've used acetone, and still do if I'm going to dye the sheath, but if I'm going to leave natural I use water as the acetone runs some of the oils out and makes my leather a little blotchy looking.

Mitch I think your rite that the banding I'm getting is a by product of the low temp cycles and the low temp work is the reason for the performance, not the banding. The banding I'm getting is more of an indicator to me that I did everything rite, kinda like etching and seeing a quench line.
 
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