I guess I am now one of yer resident cow killers.

[MrKnifekid]

Yep. I did it. I've made 3 leather sheaths and they all came out looking like crap.:grumpy:

The first one i made was for the bk-11/14/14 with scales And I made the stitching holes waaay to far apart. I also made a 5 sheath and i accidentally made it left handed, so i cut the belt loop off and added a strip of leather for a belt loop to the other side.

I made the 16 sheath with the scraps I had left, and I think it came out best. I used a Maglite D-cell holster as the swivel. And... PICS!

Please leave me positive or negative feedback . Thanks.

 

[FCFER]

Honestly, not a bad start man. As you work with leather, you'll learn how to manipulate it better and make better stitches.
Look into using vegatable-tanned cowhide. IMHO, its the best to work with as long as your careful and take your time.
Google is your friend! You can find several tuturials on how to wrk with veggie tan.

 

[MikeyJ]

Hey MKK, everybody had to start somewhere, and from my perspective, those don't look half bad! Hang in there and keep going with it. You will improve. My advise is keep every one of those and use them as comparisons as your skills improve!

You're doing it, and that is a lot more than I can say for myself! Good job, bro!

 

[DerekH]

Honestly it isn't as bad as some of the first attempts I have seen. Here would be my suggestions. First off, draw and smoothly cut the edges. It looks like they were cut out with scissors and that will leave them jagged like that. If you must cut them with scissors or something, go back and clean up those edges and make them smooth. Second, the stitching area needs the same. Draw one smooth continuous line and keep the holes in that line with even spacing.

Those two things alone would take your work up nicely, and I think you would feel more confident about your results. Again though, I have seen first attempts come out much worse, so don't be disheartened, just treat them like learning experiences.

 

[jdk1]

Not a bad start at all. If it does what you intended, then it was a success. Let me say I'm no expert by any stretch, but there are a few things to try. I always make a full-sized model from poster board first. It helps a lot. I also would try thicker leather. The above suggested vege tanned cowhide. From the pics, I'd say your leather looks a little soft. I personally have a really hard time unless the leather is sort of stiff. For spacing, use a little spacing tool. It looks like a stamp with 5-7 or so little pyramids. You tap it with a hammed and it leaves a nicely spaced set of impressions to follow with your awl. If your leather is thick, you can use a hand drill to make the holes. I also hand stitch with a long (very, very long since it's easy to not have enough) piece of string/artificial sinew (sp?) and needles on both ends. Everything you need can be found at a Tandy's Leather store or online. I've never made a small knife sheath, but have made several khukuri sheaths and revolver holsters. And yes, several looked like total crap, but worked Below is my last khuk sheath. It was much better than the first and works well. Good luck and keep with it. I learn more everytime I make something.

 

[BaldingEagle]

Not so different from my first efforts. But the end result is that you have something made by your own hands and you can be proud of that. If you have a Tandy leather store near you, you can get first hand advice as to tecniques and materials/tools. Also, as already stated, there is a wealth of information and tutorials on YouTube. If you use contact cement in addition to your sewing, you can actually sand the edges smooth and even. Keep at it. There are plenty of dead cows out there to practice on. I love doing leather craft.
All the best
Balding

 

[JES600]

MKK you put what you call a failure up for all to see, with the hope of constructive feedback. That's not a failure. That's how you succeed. Your efforts are one-thousand percent better than I could do, I'm sure. You've got some of what I believe to be the best custom sheath-makers out there perusing this forum, so it's a great place for feedback.

And I like dead cow. To eat. To wear. To house my knives and other toys. So it's all good.

 

[Skystorm]

Don't be discouraged, your off to a good start. An overstitch wheel from Tandy will get your exact stitching placement and a gouger to make the line for you will set you back 15 or so. Contact cement, preferably barge cement will let you hand sand the edges without using power tools. A double welt with that style of sheath is preferable and will let you tuck the leg loop into it rather than tacked on the back. A few places will sell veg tan leather by the sqf rather than a whole shoulder or side, sometimes I will as well depending on where my stock order from hermann oak is at.

Leather work takes alot of practice, patience, and learning and more practice. Once people have tried a few they understand why sheath makers charge what they do. It requires a lot pf precision and attention to detail.

Keep it up:thumbup:

 

[RogueBowie]

Good first try, I'd say all you can ask for from your first sheath making attempt is a sheath that functions, you can work on making them pretty as you learn and move forward. Looks like you got the working part down!

 

[Mundele]

First I'll echo what they said and add a tip. For making holes, I ended up using a dremel tool with a small finish nail chucked in it. Cut the head off, chuck in the nail and turn it on. Use a piece of sandpaper to sharpen it. Use this as your drill to make holes. It almost burns holes through with friction when you have it running fast and makes a really clean hole. You can fold it over and make the hole through both pieces of leather at once.

I'd also recommend soaking your leather then wrapping it around your knife while wet then press it and let it dry. Veg tanned leather will conform to the shape really nicely. Do wrap your knife in plastic or something first.

--Matt

 

[Sagewood]

Keep it up man, you are off to a good start. Few things to remember, take your time, keep your leather cutting tools SHARP, and practice, practice, practice. You'll hear from nearly everyone thats done leatherwork that they didnt like how their first sheaths turned out. It just the progression of your own craft. But you need to make those first couple of sheaths to learn the basics, advance your skill, and use what you have learned on your next project.

Like I mentioned earlier, you need to keep your cutting tools sharp, like hair shaving sharp. If you are having trouble cutting the leather, its probably because your cutting tool is dull. You can use a utility knife for the straight cuts, and use an exacto knife for the tight corners and such. Use a straight edge(i.e. ruler) to cut those long straight lines.

For the punching holes I used the shaft of a broken drill bit sharpened to a point for quite awhile. Then I just chucked it up into a hand drill and kept it as perpendicular to the work as much as possible. For spacing of the holes, you can use a regular old kitchen fork. To make an evenly spaced stitch line from the edge of the sheath, use a drawing compass, and draw a line about 1/4" wide along the sheath edge. For stitching, learn the two needle "saddle stitch" method. That alone will make a difference in the appearance of your work.

I hope some of this helps. Be sure to post your work in the future!