How To Make a "Hobo Leather" Sheath!

[FortyTwoBlades]

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of machetes and other choppers, and many of them come without sheaths. Custom leather or kydex can be had from many skilled craftspeople, but when you have as many inexpensive choppers as I do it just doesn't make good financial sense to have them made for more than a select few of them! My solution to that common problem, was to turn to a material that most of us have in abundance--hobo leather! And by hobo leather I mean cardboard! :thumbup:

Now, a simple fold-over sleeve is something that most of us have likely done before for machete transport or mailing a sheathless knife (like a Busse) out for custom work. However, I wanted something that was a quick fix, but MORE than a temporary one. I've been using this method for about a year now, but never bothered (or remembered! ) to take photos of the process! I just thinned the edge on my Friedrich Dick "Italien Messer" cleaver and no longer trusted the plastic sleeve that it came in, and I

Step 1: Get a nice flat piece of cardboard with as few creases as possible. Make sure it's wider than the blade by at least a few inches.

Step 2: Trace the outline of the blade on the cardboard and cut it out. You can use scissors, but they can cause bends or wrinkles in the cardboard so I used a hawkbill pruner.

Step 3: Lay the piece you just cut out on a free space of the cardboard and trace it. This is easier than tracing the blade itself again. Then draw a border around the tracing about 1" wide. Wider is better than narrower--you can see that I started off a little narrow and had to correct myself. Then cut out this wider shape.

Continued in the next post...

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Step 4: Now it's time to start folding the larger form around the blade. Since the spine on the cleaver is straight, I started there. Then I drew "wedges" along the edge side of the border and cut them out to form tabs that could fold around the edge. If you experience any bad overlap when folding the tabs over, just trim the excess off with some scissors.

Continued in the next post....

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Step 5: After adjusting the fit of the tabs, fold them all around the blade and place the smaller cardboard cutout on top of it. I like to hold down on it with my knee after I get all the tabs in nicely because it leaves my hands free for the next part!

Step 6: Now it's time for tape! I like to use packing tape because it leaves a glossy waterproof surface and doesn't gum up with age/heat like duct tape does. Stick a few strips on either side of the sheath to pin the two halves together.

Step 7: Now finish taping! I attach strips of tape to the "small" panel of the sheath and crush the edge of the cardboard with my thumb while stretching the tape taught over the edge before affixing it to the other side. That snugs things up nice and firm. Do this along all of the edges, then cover any bare patches on the center regions of the panels for a little extra water resistance. Now you're done! You can freely remove the blade at this point and the sheath will hold its shape, and with just the right amount of gentle tension.

I find these hold up very decently under repeated use and just a little care. They make a very good sheath for stuffing in your pack. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out a good way to attach a durable belt loop or sling to it. They do the job just fine as is for now, though!

 

[nicholsmayer]

I've used cardboard for kitchen knives I transport to and from work for a while now, I've always used a folding method but this looks great. If you wrap them completely they even stay fairly waterproof, and if you want to hide the fact that it's cardboard you can use electrical tape. Only recommendation is if the knife has a sharp point to give an extra half inch after the tip, just to keep from poking through the other side Awesome either way. I guess I'm going to have to go find cardboard now.

 

[crazyengineer]

I've done something similar quite often for my machetes, even have a belt loop on it. I use duct tape for it, if you fold the duct tape over you can actually attach it to the sheath with more tape and it works great, my current one on my machete has lasted me like 4 or 5 years (gorrilla tape is tough stuff)

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I've used cardboard for kitchen knives I transport to and from work for a while now, I've always used a folding method but this looks great. If you wrap them completely they even stay fairly waterproof, and if you want to hide the fact that it's cardboard you can use electrical tape. Only recommendation is if the knife has a sharp point to give an extra half inch after the tip, just to keep from poking through the other side Awesome either way. I guess I'm going to have to go find cardboard now.

That's the nice thing about how snugly they fit--the scales generally stop the sheath completely so the point can't penetrate the cardboard. I always give the tip about a centimeter or so of extra space as insurance, but you don't want much more than that or an impact could cause the cardboard to buckle and fold onto the tip, which would then pierce it. Just a little extra space is all you want. :thumbup:

I've done something similar quite often for my machetes, even have a belt loop on it. I use duct tape for it, if you fold the duct tape over you can actually attach it to the sheath with more tape and it works great, my current one on my machete has lasted me like 4 or 5 years (gorrilla tape is tough stuff)

I just can't bring myself to use duct tape-style tape as the adhesive gums up with age and warm weather. Big pet peeve of mine.

 

[popedandy]

That's a great tip. I have a couple of really inexpensive choppers that could use sheaths and this method looks like it would work perfectly. Thanks!

 

[crazyengineer]

I just can't bring myself to use duct tape-style tape as the adhesive gums up with age and warm weather. Big pet peeve of mine.

ya, the gorilla tape isnt as bad....though still bad about it, but since it stays inside except when i'm using it, it isnt too bad

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I'm thinking I can probably find a way to make a frog by taping on a band of cardboard to act as the "catch" for it. I refuse to use duct tape for this sort of application. That gunky adhesive just drives me nuts!

 

[JD Mandrell]

Great! I've got a friend that goes overseas in the Army on varying deployments, that takes an Old Hickory 8" butcher knife in his pack as a camp knife, with a similar sheath of cardboard and duct tape.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Most folks I know just use a wrap-around arrangement with cardboard sheaths. I just like taking it one step forward and upgrading from "temporary" to "disposable semi-permanent." I think it only took me about 15 minutes to make from start to finish.

 

[upnorth]

Definately beats the hell out of nothing for the short term. I'm liking that cleaver also, but it just doesn't feel right to have ''Dick'' and ''cleaver'' in the same sentence.

 

[Storm Crow]

That is the best-crafted cardboard sheath I have ever seen. Well done!

 

[BonhamBlades]

love the knife in pics

 

[omniviking]

thanks for sharing. love the big blue knife also.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Definately beats the hell out of nothing for the short term. I'm liking that cleaver also, but it just doesn't feel right to have ''Dick'' and ''cleaver'' in the same sentence.

It emasculates the competition! The company is over 230 years old, so I doubt they'd be likely to change their name now but it a good litmus test of who's used their knives or not! Generally the only folks going "lol it says dick" haven't used them. Everyone I've ever spoken with that had used their knives had a ton of respect for them. It was a combination of that reputation and the unusual items they offer that no one else does that won me over and I'm glad I gave them a go!

That is the best-crafted cardboard sheath I have ever seen. Well done!

love the knife in pics

thanks for sharing. love the big blue knife also.

Thanks guys! If all goes well I'll be doing a short video of the cleaver in action this weekend.

 

[TheGame]

I have quite a few cardboard sheaths, but none that look as good as that. I guess I have a new way to do them now. Thanks for the tips :thumbup:

 

[zcd]

Very nice work, thanks for the idea!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Glad to be an inspiration!

 

[Brad "the butcher"]

I made one similar for my dads old ruko-solingen buffalo skinner(like a 5in sharpfinger) 20 plus years ago with a pizza box and electrical tape camping and it still holds up well.
I have my grandpa's ancient f-dick cleaver and it is a beast. Also have a new 6in sticking knife from them that is the wife's favourite kitchen knife. The blue handled f-dicks have a seriously ergonomic handle.

Side note :
Nice to be back on the forums again, my wife got laid off forcing us to cancel cable/internet these past 3 months so I had to quit University and get back to work........just got internet yesterday again and no cable, netflix and project free tv for 15$ a month is affordable. Tired of paying 140 a month.

regards