hand stitching sheath

[Natlek]

How to keep thread clean when hand stitching sheath ? My hands are clean so it is obviously that leather make that ? On picture is leftover thread from previous sheath I make , wrapped over new thread coil .Look how dirty that thread is ? Is there any trick to keep thread clean ? Maybe drop of CA glue in holes ?

 

[FredyCro]

That doesn't look like a waxed thread for stitching leather?

 

[Natlek]

That doesn't look like a waxed thread for stitching leather?

It is waxed thread for stitching leather , Fredy .

 

[Hengelo_77]

I think it is the dye comming off the leather. See it as a good thing, that sheath would have made dirty stains on clothing etc.
Try natural or pre-dyed leather.
Also drilling holes leaves a weaker stitch then punctured holes

 

[seanj]

Most likely the dye coming off the thread. Try tapping the threads down lightly with a small tack hammer and it should clean them up, and that will also seat them down further in the leather. I learned this from a video on Weaver LeatherCraft by Chuck Dorsett. It's the one about making a leather sheath. Wish I could post a link.

 

[Horsewright]

Yep dye transfer. One of the reasons I will won't dye leather. The other being in hard use dyeing leather seems to lessen its life span by bout half. I will use tannery dyed leathers. These seem to have a normal life span and small chance of dye transfer. If this is tannery dyed leather (its called drum dyed), they didn't do a very good job. A stitching groover will help your stitches stay down even better that tapping, Tapping stitches is pretty handy trick though and I use it often when a stitching groove isn't possible. A few examples of drum dyed leather not bleeding onto the stitching:

I think your leather is your suspect.

 

[Natlek]

I think it is the dye comming off the leather. See it as a good thing, that sheath would have made dirty stains on clothing etc.
Try natural or pre-dyed leather.
Also drilling holes leaves a weaker stitch then punctured holes

I have no idea what kind of leather it is .I bought it on Ebay from Germany ,10kg leather scraps for 30 euros including transport .And I was not wrong , since I didn't have any Now I have some leather to make many sheaths .

I punctured holes on other sheaths on drill press but this one is too thick and i was afraid that I would be no able to punctured holes straight so i drilled them .

Ok , I drill little large hole on this sheath then on other one , 2.5 instead of 2mm. and with careful pulling thread thru holes it stay clean .... I'm just wondering why I asked....since it's a waxed thread and it would get dirty anyway ??

Ok guys , thanks for replies
I have one more question . This is polyester thread so why it is waxed ? Polyester is quite durable ? Color of thread come from colored wax or what ?

 

[A.McPherson]

Wax makes it easier to pull through multiple layers of leather. Kind of acts like lubricant.

 

[Horsewright]

Yep what A.McPherson says. Nice job on that sheath.

 

[Pinoy Knife]

after hand sewing use the same stitch marker you used to mark the stitch location to "Clean it up " followed by a quick blast with a heat gun to let the excess wax melt in a bit.
it defines the threads you sewed in very nicely.. a "Old Leather working buddy" showed me this many years ago..