First sheath of 2015

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,587
Actually two or really three, as I was doing three bali sheaths at the same time, all three were finished up about the same time, need to photograph the other one, as it has a neat skull and cross bones on it, but here are two of the sheath for the start of this year, might be a big year for Bali sheaths I'm thinking.

One is for a nice blue anodized BM4x series knife and the other is for a Mike Snody latchless bowie, which has a chiseledged grind, if I had a Mike Snody $ embossing that would have been even neater but, I didn't and the fellow wanted the butterfly which is a nice embossing too.

(pardon the pic as I was against the clock to get these in the mail this morning)
J_sheaths.jpg~original


So, lets see what your FIRST sheath for the new year looks like gang !

And here's a shot of the third one, was able to get a better shot of this since it didn't leave today

R_Sheath.jpg~original


He wanted the Skull and Crossbones, and wanted a contrasting embossing from the burgundy sheath, so it's lighter than the sheath, basically the leather colour, but I used Fiebings Highlighter, you apply that to the embossing once it's dry, carefully dab off the excess and it leaves darkness in the impression from the embossing, this was embossed nice and deep using my C-clamp method for the embossing which helps provide a crisp emboss image as well as helps to lessen any bounce or double strike from the usual maul method.

R_Sheath_Skull.jpg~original


G2
 
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Thanks and yes, burgundy is my fav colour too, the other two were also nice and fitted up well, just didn't have time to get a nice shot of it though.
G2
 
Nice work G2, really love your Skull and Crossbones, tried that stamp a few times, but we don't get good resist products down here in SA.
 
Gary your work is simply insipring. If I'd tried that I'm sure I'd of had a mahogany streak right down the center of the skull! Your close up pics are really cool too.
 
You guys are too kind, really appreciate it, photography is one if my major passions too.

As to the skull & crossbones, I don't use any resist on that, I've heard that some people use that but I've never had any. On this I just carefully use a very small artist paint brush to 'paint' the dye around the embossing, once the dye has dried, that's important because when you apply the Hi Liter you have to dab it off and using a damp paper towel you could mess up the surrounding dye'd area.

Fiebings Hi Liter is the stuff I use to bring out the detail in the embossing.

Here's a thread where I show how I do the hi liter thing

G2
 
Gary , you are a true gentleman that I really admire. I always look forward to your posts & the pointers you so freely give . Thanks !

Joe Sangster
 
You are most welcome Joe.

And come on guys/gals, I know someone else has a first sheath to show for 2015? Now I also know some of you make a good size batch so it would be hard pressed to show which one was first for the year, but just a general showing would be nice ;)
G2
 
Well if you will accept a photo that's already been posted then I'll put mine up .

This is my first for the year .

4c911b79e4ba6346e71420bc0663fa82_zpsd51a7590.jpg


If we remember this thread it would be cool to drag it back to the top and post up our last for the year in 11 months time :)


Ken
 
Nice cleanly made sheath Ken and that's the intent of the thread as well, to be able to look back a year from now and see.
G2
 
Thanks Gary for the embossing tips, I do something similar, I fear our local dyes are just not up to the USA quality.

What I've recently come across is a latex product that you paint on the artwork you want to resist, then peel off to reveal the base colour.
I've yet to try it but I've seen results on another leather forum, and it works well.
I bought the product from an art shoppe
 
Sounds interesting, the resist stuff is probably real good for some things but I figured I'd get it in places I don't want and would end up leaving glaring spots, so I don't attempt that. I don't do that very often actually, just once in a while I'll get a request or I get a wild hair to try something different.
G2
 
Eldergeek said:
Thanks Gary for the embossing tips, I do something similar, I fear our local dyes are just not up to the USA quality.

What I've recently come across is a latex product that you paint on the artwork you want to resist, then peel off to reveal the base colour.
I've yet to try it but I've seen results on another leather forum, and it works well.
I bought the product from an art shoppe
Click to expand...

if this is what i think it is, it might be worth a try. used similar stuff way back when doing plastic miniature painting. if it doesn't get into the leather the advantage could be that it sticks to pretty much every surface. you could also try other air hardening latex solutions.
disadvantages could be that the edges might peel of easily...
 
My first sheath (pocket slip) of 2015 is my first real attempt at any leather work other than a Chapstick holder I made for my wife a year or two ago. A couple years back I thought that leather working seemed like it would be quite a bit of fun so my wife ordered me some leather scraps and tools for a holiday or birthday or some other special occasion, then I made a trip to a Lobby for Hobbies to pick up some thread and a couple other items. I made her the Chapstick holder to show my appreciation and everything has sat in a box in the garage until today.

I posted a thread over in the Traditional sub-forum asking how others carried their traditional knives so that I could get an idea for a better way to carry mine more often. A fellow member, harronek, suggested that I try making my own. After seeing some pictures of his work I thought it might actually be fun to dig out the box of leather and give it a go.

Although they aren't anything beautiful to look at, I had a lot of fun making them and I plan on actually using them in the next few days to see how I like them. I based the design, very roughly, on the Mainstreet slip sold by KSF. Mine isn't near as good looking and I don't know if it will stand the test of time quite as well but, I liked the design and figured the worst that would happen is I'd have a little bit less leather and thread in a box in the garage, haha. I didn't really try to get perfectly straight lines or perfect stitching (obviously), they were just an experiment to see if I could actually make my own sheath/slip.

So here they are. My first attempt is on the left and the second attempt is on the right.






Feel free to laugh, encourage, make fun, or offer constructive criticism. As bad as they look compared to some of the gorgeous leather I've seen around this forum, I'm actually kind of proud of them! So I'd like to offer a big thanks to harronek for the motivation to stop just watching TV this afternoon and instead work with my hands a little bit while watching TV this afternoon, haha. I may just be lurking in this sub-forum for a while and trying to step-up my game a little bit. I'm sure it would take decades to be anywhere close to some of y'all but, this definitely made for a fun afternoon!
 
Good to see you have come over here to where the real action happens :)

There is a wealth of information lurking here , my suggestion is to go to the top of the page and read through the tutorials , that's what got me started and there is a huge amount of info , tips and techniques there .
Keep those sheaths coming .

Ken
 
Good deal! Sometimes the hardest part is getting started. You've done that now, knock out some more. You've identified a couple deals so work on that on your next one. Couple things I see that you could do for relatively little investment that would really add to those two sheaths: get an edger (probably a #2 for that project) and rub your edges after edging. You can use a piece of canvas or a hardwood stick, a pen or really anything. Use saddlesoap, wax (bee's or parrafin), gum traganath or my new favorite Wyo Quick Slik or heck saliva and then rub with your canvas or whatever and you'll get some nicer edges. Then a little finish on top of your dye. I use BagKote but everybody has their favorite. Those couple of little extra steps will make your projects "pop". Great first effort and I think thats the whole purpose of Gary's thread here is to post up what you're doing now and then come 1/16 (or 16/1 for Ken) see how far you've come. Lots of help here a guy needs to only ask.
 
Thanks for the motivation and help Ken and Horsewright! I'm definitely going to be doing some reading and probably try a few other projects over the weekend. I brought a couple long scraps of leather and some thread and needles to work today so that I can work on my stitching in my downtime. I'll need to pick up some supplies and better tools before long I'm sure. I don't even have any dye or finish, just the random assortment of different leather scraps that came in my scrap box and a small set of tools that I pieced together with very little knowledge on the subject...
 
Gary, your skull embossing prompted me to buy the stamp a while back but my dye work hasn't been as good as yours. I haven't done anything with it but make cuffs for my daughters friends so I'll put more effort into it if I use it for a customer, but I'm still not sure I can get to your level without a lot of practice! I love your camera work too. Need to work on that as well.

I've not been able to do much work for health reasons, but I'm waiting on one of my favorite customers to send his sons new knife. I'll try and remember to take a pic after I'm done, and I'll post it here.
Eldergeek said:
Thanks Gary for the embossing tips, I do something similar, I fear our local dyes are just not up to the USA quality.

What I've recently come across is a latex product that you paint on the artwork you want to resist, then peel off to reveal the base colour.
I've yet to try it but I've seen results on another leather forum, and it works well.
I bought the product from an art shoppe
Click to expand...
Leatherworker.net? If so, I'm keen to try the product myself. Really cool work if we're thinking of the same thing.

JBravo, I agree with Dave. The best thing is to just get at it and make small changes as you go along. You can get a lot done with very little equipment. In lieu of an edger (although it is a good small investment) you can sand the edges to knock off the corners. To me the stitching, burnishing and finish work are the biggest signs of quality. Like Gary pointed out in another thread, an extra 15 minutes goes a very long way to improve the finishing work. Everyone with even a mild interest in leather work should give it a shot. Even if you don't plan on taking it to a hobby (or beyond) level it's fun and worth the effort just to see if you can do something great. :)
 
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Thanks sir, it takes a little time for sure.

And JBravo the key is progress not perfection, and that thread he mentioned here, is a handy bit of insight it's been a while since I typed that.

G2
 
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