Great days for doing indoor stuff!

Andrew Colglazier

Andrew Colglazier

Joined
Sep 14, 2006
Messages
4,409
The weather here is cold, cloudy, and a chance for rain, snow or sleet every single day for the rest of the week.

I'm currently making a sheath for my AK Bowie, and based on how it looks right now, no pictures of this monstrosity will ever grace the Cantina forum!!!

But who knows, it might turn out better than expected.

All I can say is, for a meaty knife, a meaty sheath is needed!!

:eek:

Andy
 
Have you ever had the experience that while a project is lying on your workbench unfinished, you can't help thinking "This thing is just as fugly as it can be!!"

But as the work progresses and the final touches are put on and the cleanup nears completion, the sense of surprise is gratifying?

Not saying what I am working on now will turn out well, just saying I've had that experience in the past and it gives me courage to keep trying new stuff!

My AK sheath is nearing its final stages. I'm also working on a Rusty SD knife, redoing the handle so it is more "my hand" friendly, and making a new sheath while I wait for the glue-up on the AK sheath to set.

I'm almost glad the weather is so crappy!

Except I don't get to go shooting tonight. :-(

Andy
 
i'm curious what's happening to the sgian dubh. if that one ends up less 'your hand' than you had hoped, i'd be interested in the remains.
 
All I'm doing, really, is taking the "horns" off the end of the handle so they don't poke me when using the knife, and I'm making the handle more symmetrical.

One side of the handle is flatter than the other, and the shaping around the end of the knife, where the flair at the end begins, is also not symmetrical. I'm just making both sides of the knife more alike.

I'm also removing the shiny finish (of the handle) and replacing it with a matte finish, which is more to my taste.

I'm also making a plain black sheath for it that will position the knife higher on the belt.

Wish me luck!

Andy
 
I finished the sheath I was making for my AK bowie. All I can say is, it turned out better than I thought it would, far better than I thought it would while working on it.

But the bottom line is, it is so ugly that it could only be loved by its maker!

Like most of the things I put my limited handicraft skills to, it will last forever but will never reap a compliment for beauty.

And, in my limited experience, it is far easier to make a sheath for a small knife than a sheath for a large one.

I continue gaining knowledge, and also respect for the fellows who do this, and do it well.

On the big sheath, the back spine at the frog is a total of 10 plyes (sp.?) of leather! I had to glue the outer layers, the whelts, the exterior reinforcements, figure out how to stitch what when, and had to learn patience! It is so tempting to start stitching before the glue has entirely set, but this is a mistake, as I have learned.

The sheath in its finished form looks like something that has sat in a museum drawer for decades, part of the collection of some obscure tribal researcher. It is primitive! And IMO, it matches the bowie pretty well.

I'm now waiting for the sheath I made for my Rusty SD to finish wet-molding before dying it. It looks (so far) much more.... well, better.

I'm having fun!

Andy
 
Here are some (not so good) pics of the sheaths I finished up during the past rainy days. I could only take a couple of fast snaps before the batteries died in my daughter's camera.

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It was fun! These sheaths aren't particularly beautiful, but they were a way to get my feet wetter in doing something different, and I learned a lot.

They are sturdy and will last a long time.

Andy
 
Those came out real nice. Love the background too!
 
aproy1101 said:
Those came out real nice. Love the background too!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Andy, you are too kind! They look better in these pics than in life. I made lots of mistakes which are readily observable if you have them in hand, but I have some new tools that would have made construction easier.

I went by my local Tandy store yesterday and met the manager who is a very helpful fellow named Victor. He had been to a hammer-in this past weekend where he was helping new knifemakers learn some techniques involved in sheathmaking.

He was still (lucky for me) in his "teacher" mode and took a lot of time to give me some tips and advice, for which I was very grateful.

Andy C.
 
Tandy is good for this and thats, but I get my leather from Siegel of Ca. Mas cheaper, and free shipping for orders over 75 bucks.
 
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