Do yo prefer to choose the sheath options?

Patrice Lemée

Patrice Lemée

Joined
Aug 13, 2002
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5,703
By options I mean either:

A) Have input in how it is built, if made by me. (Left or right handed, height and angle)
B) Decide if you want to have the sheath made by a third party.


I am working on a little Damascus fighter and although I know how I would want the sheath, it may not necessarily what the eventual buyer likes.



Thanks for you input.
PS: Sorry of this is not the right forum, I did not know where else to post it? :confused:
 
Pat unless it is a commission'ed piece and they have told you what they want outguessing the public is hard at best! I usually build what I feel is right. The majority including me are right handed, so unless I am asked I usually go right handed. I often let the piece speak to me and tell me what kind of sheath looks best, and how it will carry the best!

But if the client looks at the knife and sheath and says I love it but don't like the sheath, well then you are building a custom sheath to fit the customers needs. It's one of those things that you risk when you build a speculation piece, I have only had a request for something custom about a sheath a few times and I was able to add the to the finished sheath. One was a request for the owners name and the other was a pouch for a small sharpening stone. The stone request got a new sheath and the old one was recycled on the next knife of that style.

So to answer your question I mainly decide when I build a sheath as far as options! If a client has thought it through and he or she wants a custom sheath to go with their custom knife then I set down and try and guide them through what they want! Some things that customers think they want don't always work, and usually talking through why that might be a bad idea is enough to have a meeting of the minds!
 
Personally, I would only make a sheath to my specifications if I was intending to keep the knife or give it as a gift. If you're thinking of making it for one you'll sell to a customer who is buying a custom knife, I'd be inclined to suggest showing them what you have in mind and get their approval or feedback on design changes.
 
Almost all of the knives I've made are customs/commissioned, and I usually tlk through the different sheath options with my clients. For the few that I've made "just because", I'll make a sheath that I think works well with the knive.
 
I have been selling my knives with a kydex sheath and a tek lok option, this covers just about any carrying position and everything has gone great with them. Now there is a leather option and I think almost every sheath request has been vastly different. I think I am going to offer a few options and styles then keep it at that.
 
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trypppyr, sometimes I must admit, it is a crap shoot but a well made sheath sells!

Most of my knives I build are for use, I don't really build for collectors so most folks are looking for a good usable sheath.

I have a couple of lines in my bio that I send out with each knife and hope to put eventually put it on a web site if I ever get the website up and running. It is truly how I feel,and it goes like this I want the finished product to look so good, you just have to pick it up, to feel so good in your hand that you don’t' want to put it down and every time you use it, you have to say to yourself; “I love that knife”!
Capturing those three factors in each build assures me that the knife will become a piece that is used and treasured by its owner!

I look at it this way, when the buyer decides to buy if I don't have something available at that moment that compliments the knife, then I may not be able to sell them on the time factor it is going to take to build that custom sheath you want, if that is what you want!

I have found that the average person buying from me at this time wants a good use able sheath that reflects the piece. Whether that be a traditional style hunting knife or one of the 1800's style pieces I like to make, so I try to tailor the sheath to the knife, either drawing on my experience or research to match the sheath to the time period!

I have this philosophy that a knife is naked without a sheath, so maybe that is why I build sheaths for my knives. So far it has not been too much of a problem building the sheaths for a knife that doesn't have a buyer. If I start to end up with a bunch of sheaths that don't have a knife, well ..................then I may have to re think this idea.:D
 
Sorry for the late reply. I appreciate your feedback guys.
Wonder where I could post this on BF to get buyers/collectors take on this?
 
I have to agree with Dixieblade. Seems like if ya make one type of sheath everybody wants something else. So next time ya make the something else and they all want the other. Either way quality will sell. Just might make take a bit.
 
Patrice

I suspect that the owners of the knives you make don't take them to the woods and baton them through tree trunks. Your knives are elegant and they should have a sheath designed by you to match them. If a customer wants a different sheath than the one you made I'm tempted to suggest that they should pay extra for the 2nd sheath. What would you do with the first sheath? Realistically you're not going to use it for a different knife. It's wasted time and material because it was made to fit that one knife.

- Paul Meske
 
Dixieblade57 said:
trypppyr, sometimes I must admit, it is a crap shoot but a well made sheath sells!
Click to expand...
That is a stone cold fact. Very few people will buy a "user" fixed-blade knife if it doesn't come with a sheath; they want the full package. They want to put that puppy on their belt ASAP and go hunting/fishing/camping etc! They do not want to fool around with sending a knife back out to have a sheath made by someone else. "Collector" or "art" knives are probably a different ball of wax.

I am ridiculously lucky; I have very little interest in leatherwork, but my fiance enjoys it a lot. So we're able to include a sheath with every belt-knife I make. Mostly, they are simple pouch or flat styles, but sometimes a client wants special features. That's the whole point of "custom".

Regardless, we focus on the basics, like sturdy saddle-stitching, a welt to protect the stitching from getting cut apart (you might be surprised at how many sheathes overlook this), fit and finish, riveting down the keeper-strap (if required) and orienting it so it's not in the way when you actually draw the knife to use it. (again... most sheathmakers seem to not give a hoot about this. Most high-end and custom sheathes have keepers that are cumbersome and difficult to open, stay directly against the sharp edge when you draw the knife, and slide around the handle willy-nilly. That's just plain dumb.)
 
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I have tried it both ways, I have made the sheath before hand and shown it in the for sale thread, and I have offered a right or left hand sheath, made to the customer's specifications. I have come to realize that the knives that showed a sheath in the thread sold, and the other ones with "sheath to be made to customer specifications" did not sell. People want to see what they are buying.
 
As a neophyte hobbyist I strive to learn with every knife I make, sheath included. Most of the knives I've been asked to make had no sheath requirements so I was free to make what I liked, usually no rivet kydex of my own styling. As a buyer I prefer to see the sheath included, but have purchased regardless of sheath, usually letting the maker know what kind of sheath I prefer (deep with no retaining straps), color I see, and that is about it. So far almost every sheath I've bought unseen has been adequate, a couple surprised me, but all were functional, which is all I am after. Most collectors that collect for the sake of collecting seem to plan on getting another sheath made for most knives, so if that is your market you may wish to hold off, however including the sheath regardless give a more complete view of the knife as your creation. I would say keep making them to expand your creativity and continue the learning journey as a knifemaker.

But I have different opinions than many on BF, so take it with as much salt as you want (I hate salt)....
 
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