First sheath of 2015

alright, partially inspired by my other hobby (bow shooting) and partially by this forum due to my fondness of knives etc., i finally started working with leather myself this weekend.
these are my two first sheaths (ever ;) ), the bordeaux one being the first and made from a kit, the natural one being the second made from scratch.
naturally there is a lot to learn and a lot convincing the wife to do (to get more of the basic tools).



 
I threw together a little sheath for a very special knife. My friend here sent me a treasured knife that was his grandfathers. He is getting up in age and didn't really have a person that he wanted to pass it on to, he knew I'd cherish it and keep it safe. I haven't wanted to take it out of the packaging and carry it for fear of losing it.

Schrade 881Y (first in their catalog in 1953)

Yellow pigskin liner and a William Henry style clip.
 

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Thanks Greg and VilePossum, looking good sir, the lighter coloured sheath, the dark lines are they glue lines?

And that small lined pouch looks handy, nice way to keep that keepsake ! I haven't attempted any lined projects, no lining for one and mine are more tighter fitting so I've not gone that route but have always admired them!
G2
 
Thanks Gary. There's plenty I'd have done differently but I'm still getting used to lining and it was my first clip. The rest is just wrapping. :)
 
I like the idea of this thread. There's some great creativity out there.

Here's my first sheath of 2015 along with my first completed knife of the year.

8-9 oz veg tanned leather
Hand stitched and stamped
Sam Brown stud with retention strap





 
Solid looking sheath there, what does the straps do when unsnapped? is there a belt loop on the back as well?

G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Solid looking sheath there, what does the straps do when unsnapped? is there a belt loop on the back as well?

G2
Click to expand...

Right now the sheath is set up for sash carry or inside the waistband. I left the option open to add a frog, but there is no belt loop as of now.

The retention strap can be undone on one side and hangs free to allow the knife to be unsheathed. Or you could just take it off altogether.

If I do this style again I think I'll add a belt loop to the back. I'm also thinking that the matching thread looks boring. I need some different colours for more options!
 
Gary W. Graley said:
Thanks Greg and VilePossum, looking good sir, the lighter coloured sheath, the dark lines are they glue lines?
Click to expand...

embarassingly no, they are from the fine line marker i used to draw the outline on the rough side.
But I think i will try out your method of leaving more leather on the sides and cutting them off later.
 
vilePossum said:
embarassingly no, they are from the fine line marker i used to draw the outline on the rough side.
But I think i will try out your method of leaving more leather on the sides and cutting them off later.
Click to expand...

Right or wrong, I use a ball point pen on the grain side. I've never had an issue with any ink showing especially after sanding/beveling.

Chris
 
It wouldn't have helped in the case above, but a red ballpoint should be used, especially on sheaths that will be dyed. Red ink disappears pretty well in brown and other dyes.

Paul Long has a neat way of drawing his outline by connecting dots that he pierces, but I'll leave the explanation to his dvd's.

I draw on the skin side because if it doesn't get lost in cutting the pattern, it gets cut off by the beveler. If that black area is just a line and it bothers you it looks like you have enough space to grind it off.

Pretty work. :)
 
well, i could grind it off, i actually ground a bit off by hand, but seemingly i used the wrong grain (far too fine) and lack a decent powered grinder. might try a coarse sandpaper attachment for my proxxon.
 
I quit ball points some years ago. I'd do whatever I was doing and flip the leather over and not realize the ink hadn't dried all the way. Then grab another sheath and put er on the rock where I was working to do to this one what I'd just done to that one and then flip it over and then !@#$%^&* if there wasn't a spoltch of ink right in the center of the sheath. I use a Sharpie for marking whatever needs marking now and have for some years. You can get thin pointed ones with a clicker top like a regular ballpoint. Those clickers save time in the long run. Sharpies dry immediately and no ink transfer or smudges like would sometimes happen. !@#$%^&* ink splotches aren't that big a deal when you are dyeing your projects but when you just use warm oil like I do on the vast majority of mine they are pretty catastrophic. For outlining patterns etc I use a "pokey" tool. A modeling tool with a rounded pointed end. I trace around the pattern with this. Clean no mess and I can rub it out if there is an issue and I need to change something. There are only two tools that are always left on the workbench. Everything else gets put away but a roundknife and the pokey tool live on the bench.
 
I just use a pencil , I started off using a pen , but not for long . Early on I discovered that pen marks and wet leather ( wet forming ) don't mix very well :) .
Dave I'm not quite understanding what your " pokey" tool is . I know you explained it , but its early here and the coffee hasn't hit my bloodstream yet . Any chance of a pic ?
Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words .:)


Ken
 
Here are some modeling tools.

OvvVcWg.jpg


Mine has a spoon end, and one like Dave described.

Edit- fixed.
 
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Beautiful work, Mr. Graley!

I love the skull and crossbones - that is very nice looking!

best

mqqn
 
I work in batches as many of you know. Here are a few from the first batch of 63 sheaths for 2015. I've been doing these sheaths the past week. While I'd done quite a bit of other leatherwork this year so far, these are the first sheaths. Mostly because I was busy making the knives to go in them. This is a pretty representive group of the types of sheaths I make most of the time. Shown are a: Slot and Loop sheath (largest knife and sheath pictured), Horizontal sheath, (blue handled knife and a couple others), Slotted sheath (second down on the right) and the rest are Pancake Sheaths. I've got about 6 or 7 to do yet of other types of sheaths to finish this batch out.

3GxuNp8.jpg


This is a Pancake sheath. Its designed for right hand crossdraw carry so it carries above the left front pocket. This is what I call a Carlos Border Stamp although other foks call it a meander stamp. Its pretty popular. Every batch I usually have some orders for it.

m66yGu2.jpg



Here's a shot with the knife out of the sheath. This is my Compadre model, AEB-L and 5 7/8" oal. Brass bolster and Ironwood handle on this one. I'm pretty darn happy with this sheath. I really only spot one oops. In fact its one of my personal peeve things I check often, bothers my OCD. But it happened. Do you see it??

nEilwnP.jpg
 
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