finding a good stingray skin distributor

kevin adams

kevin adams

Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
239
ok, so i got to looking for some stingray skin and couldn't find a distributor that didn't make me a bit leery about sending them my hard earned money, can anyone recommend a good one?
 
Kevin, there are several Culpepper for one but the one I use is http://ostrichmarket.com/.Mostly because they are a distributor and supply many of the dealers with hides and they carry alot more than stingray.Very good people, and it also helps they are about 5 minutes from my day job.About 95% of my leatherwork both for guns and knives is done with exotics.Dave:)


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http://dcknivesandleather.blademakers.com/
 
wow, great sheaths and holsters, wish i was making knives when i was stationed there at Patrick AFB bout 8 years ago. I really appreciate the info. Seeing as your obviously the sheath man i thought i'd ask about any advice or tips for doing a concealex or kydex core and stingray outer. Any thoughts?
 
lol, So true John ol 'buddy.Kevin I don't work with Kydex, but the technique is not dissimilar from leather in that respect.Basically make your Kydex core and apply your adhesive to the rayskin and glue up, trim up at the sander and attach your eyelets.Rayskin is tough to cut, so be prepared and finish your edges with black dye then buff.
Wish your were making then too, I have been here most of my life.Dave:)
 
Kevin,
Your talking with the right gents here ! You should see some of their work in person ! I lucked out meeting Dave here on BladeForums and have had the pleasure of meeting with him in person and seeing both his and John Johns handywork. The photos just dont do them justice once you've seen the real McCoy in person. Just curious, rayskin and kydex seem like an odd match to me. They both certainly have their place but Kydex seems more of a hard use item and rayskin a bit more on the showy side where a well made leather sheath would last a lifetime of regular use. I guess I could see it being sweet having the most whoop-azz kydex around ! Sorry if I'm picking your brain, just like to know what others are thinking. -Josh
 
well the kydex part is a request, and from what i've read rayskin is some pretty tough stuff also, i as a rule prefer leather as well, but this is for my brother in law, who has done so much for us. he likes more modern stuff, but i figured i would throw in a little touch o meself ya know!? also add some class to the whole thing.
 
I'm not a big fan of kydex either, though it does have it's uses and is a popular material.It actually looks pretty good covered in rayskin. I have seen it on pieces made by Greg Lightfoot and the results were quite attractive, and probably tough as hell to boot!
 
I've not used any exotics yet, but at some point I'd like to try an inlay of some kind on a sheath. Poking around the ostrichmarket site, it seems most things are pre-dyed. Is this about the only way to find exotics? If so, how do you work with them in making a sheath (ie, dyeing the rest of the sheath, wet moulding, etc.?)

Thanks!
 
Paul, well other than catching your own most hides are dyed.Some snakes and such like rattlers come undyed and you could probably special order some undyed.
When doing inlays, your exotic is glued to your inner liner (with or without padding ). Then a "window" is cutout of the outer piece.I burnish,and dye the edge of the cutout.Then attach the outer piece and and continue with assembly.when wet molding with inlays,I use a sponge to apply water on the inside and outside of the sheath, and try to keep water away from the inlay.Form to the knife and dye as normal.Dave:)


http://dcknivesandleather.blademakers.com/
 
I wonder how extensive the tanning process is on stingray skin ?? we shoot several of them per year, some 48" across the back..... I'll have to do some research.
 
Kevin,
Keep us posted on your results with this project. I'd love to see the finished product. -Josh
 
DC KNIVES said:
Paul, well other than catching your own most hides are dyed.Some snakes and such like rattlers come undyed and you could probably special order some undyed.
When doing inlays, your exotic is glued to your inner liner (with or without padding ). Then a "window" is cutout of the outer piece.I burnish,and dye the edge of the cutout.Then attach the outer piece and and continue with assembly.when wet molding with inlays,I use a sponge to apply water on the inside and outside of the sheath, and try to keep water away from the inlay.Form to the knife and dye as normal.Dave:)


http://dcknivesandleather.blademakers.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, Dave! I'm new to leather work and this is how I think about the process of making a pouch sheath:

-start with un-dyed veg tanned leather (at least I assume it's not dyed, but is that true?)

-cut out and sew up the sheath/welt

-wet mould it to the knife

-dye

I once tried dyeing the inside of a sheath before sewing and moulding as I was having trouble getting dye everywhere inside after assembly. It may have been because I was using water based dye (EcoFlo) at the time, but this was a mess with dye running everywhere. Looking at those pre-dyed exotics made me wonder how you would approach assembly without having the same problems I did.

Thanks again!
 
You can start with pre-dyed leather too, but the edges still need to be finished after cutting.Second , get rid of the Eco-flow, it's crap dye.Use Fiebings oil dye.I dye all the surfaces inside and out, as raw leather showing looks bad and half done.It's just like doing a knife,it's all in the details.As far as dyeing near the inlay I use a small sable brush, or Q-tip. And don't forget you need to put a sealer over your dye such as Leather Sheen, tan-kote, or bag-kote.Dave:)
 
I just bought some Fiebings Pro Oil dye and used it on my last sheath. There is no way I'll be buying any EcoFlo ever again. Every time I ask about it at Tandy and describe the problems I've had, they just give me a blank stare like I must be crazy, so I can only assume they have a very high profit margin on it and like to push it.

Anyway, thanks again for your tips, and I apologize to kevin for derailing his post!
 
not at all, i always get all kinds of info from you all, thanks so much, and if i get it to look like anything more than a dogs dinner i most certainly will post some pics!
 
My local Tandy store has some Ray skins in stock...I was kinda surprised at the different colors they come in...
 
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