Has anybody tried this?

[kaizo]

I was pondering on making a pouch sheath for the first time and to make things interesting I decided to make a sheath that protects the edge by gripping the blade from the side:

It worked relatively well in protecting the blade but I ended up with the following issues:

a) It does not have a welt so closing and drilling holes into the side was very difficult (I had to press really hard down the sides and the leather kept fighting back) so the stitching ended up being very messy. I probably should have wet the leather first.

b)The outer leather I chose was too soft so it ended up corkscrewing the leather off from the layer below when I was drilling. Also the reason why I couldn't use a stitch groover or stitching wheel resulting in a really messy bit of stitch work... X(

Has anyone tried this before?

Please excuse the messy stitching!!

 

[elof_alv]

I did the opposite once (no leather behind the spine) once with a 'wraparound' Scandinavian style sheath. I have wet formed a 'blade protector' which I saturated with beeswax, then when it got cool I stitched the outer layer over the knife with protector on.

You can use a 'temporary' welt during drilling to get things neater and then take it out for stitching.

 

[kaizo]

I did the opposite once (no leather behind the spine) once with a 'wraparound' Scandinavian style sheath. I have wet formed a 'blade protector' which I saturated with beeswax, then when it got cool I stitched the outer layer over the knife with protector on.

You can use a 'temporary' welt during drilling to get things neater and then take it out for stitching.

A temporary welt! A damn fine idea that thanks I'll do that next time

 

[sheathmaker]

This is my opinion only, but this seems to be a solution looking for a problem. Also it looks like when the sheath wears in a little and loosens up the sharp edge could slip on down and make the stitching vulnerable to a cut. Good luck, I hope it works correctly for you.

Paul

 

[KG4ULR]

Always been thinking about making a "Kydex" sheath to act as a liner and then wet form the leather around it. Not sure if it will work as financially I cannot layout money for heat guns etc to work or buy the kydex.

 

[kaizo]

This is my opinion only, but this seems to be a solution looking for a problem. Also it looks like when the sheath wears in a little and loosens up the sharp edge could slip on down and make the stitching vulnerable to a cut. Good luck, I hope it works correctly for you.

Paul

Thank you ! and yeah after making one I've got that feeling as well. I think it was one of those moments where I say to myself it was a nice idea but its hard to improve on a tried and tested classic. Back to the drawing board for me!!

 

[elof_alv]

Always been thinking about making a "Kydex" sheath to act as a liner and then wet form the leather around it. Not sure if it will work as financially I cannot layout money for heat guns etc to work or buy the kydex.

You don't really need the heat guns and such, you could just use your oven (make sure you clean it well afterwards). And if you were planning to wrap it up in leather then it doesn't need a 'perfect' detailing and finish as it will be hidden.