So this is my first leather sheath I've made, I actually started with a PVC mold that I was planning on using, and it was just scratching the crap out of my machete. Even though its cheap I wanted to preserve it so it lasts a lifetime, so I bought a shoulder of leather on sale at Tandy and all the other bare essentials for stitching this thing together. I used a 1/16" drill for the holes, and enlarged them with a small screw driver when stitching..ghetto!
So the first problem I had was the sheath was WAY too small when it was completed, I actually couldn't even get the blade into the sheath a major miscalculation on how much the thickness of the leather effects my template. I had a moment for a bit where I thought it would be a waste but then I thought to make this little mold here out of particle board to stretch it out, it took all I had to jam that down into the sheath, even then I could only get it down maybe 2/3. For the bottom portion I taped up the blade with lots of layers of masking tape to stretch it. Worked like a charm. The welt got squished considerably, but at least its still there. Lesson learned.
After 3 layers of my 1:1 mix of beeswax and neatsfoot. Also lesson learned, too much oil in this mixture for 3 layers but the colour is great! In the future I'll be doing 1 layer of this mixture, and the rest pure beeswax. Natural veggie tanned piece on top for comparison.
And some final pics:
I have to squish the mouth to get the blade out or the welt will be cut up.
I can side carry straight vertically:
or switch with my dangle attachment really easily to a more diagonal carry:
The straps were stitched in separate from the main stitching so if they fail over time I can easily re-stitch them in.
So the first problem I had was the sheath was WAY too small when it was completed, I actually couldn't even get the blade into the sheath a major miscalculation on how much the thickness of the leather effects my template. I had a moment for a bit where I thought it would be a waste but then I thought to make this little mold here out of particle board to stretch it out, it took all I had to jam that down into the sheath, even then I could only get it down maybe 2/3. For the bottom portion I taped up the blade with lots of layers of masking tape to stretch it. Worked like a charm. The welt got squished considerably, but at least its still there. Lesson learned.
After 3 layers of my 1:1 mix of beeswax and neatsfoot. Also lesson learned, too much oil in this mixture for 3 layers but the colour is great! In the future I'll be doing 1 layer of this mixture, and the rest pure beeswax. Natural veggie tanned piece on top for comparison.
And some final pics:
I have to squish the mouth to get the blade out or the welt will be cut up.
I can side carry straight vertically:
or switch with my dangle attachment really easily to a more diagonal carry:
The straps were stitched in separate from the main stitching so if they fail over time I can easily re-stitch them in.
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. I attach the straps on my Tracker sheath using Chicago screws so they can be replaced as well. It seems prudent, especially if snaps are involved as they fail easily over time. Again, that's a gorgeous sheath. The nice thing is you can replace the machete if need be and have a sheath to last a lifetime. Thanks for sharing your work. The openness of everyone here to share their ideas makes this forum a real asset.
