I propose a dual.... I am calling you leather benders out....

Fiddleback said:
OK. Its been a while since I've bought leather and my supplier is no more. Where are y'all buying leather?
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I just get my stuff from Tandy. They have a shop just down the road from my mother-in-law's house in Louisville, so I just pop in there when we go for a visit. My wife and daughter and spending a couple of days there for a visit since she works for the school system and it's spring break this week. I just wrote her up a list of what I need, and the nice folks at the Louisville store will get her set up:)

I've often thought about making a little something for my Woodsman, but the sheath I got from Heber is just too dang nice to worry about wasting leather making an ugly one for it:) I'm all about making multiple pants for my favorite users depending on how I want to carry them. My favorite khuks have 2 and 3 sheathes a piece:)

As for wet-molding, I have to admit that I'm super guilty of it. I wet mold the hell out of my stuff because I'm not a big fan of retention straps and want the knife to lock in place without one. On top of that, I usually smoke my gun holsters at 125-135 degrees until dry to set them up rock hard like a natural kydex. It works fine for my Glock and other guns I don't mind to get a little scuffed.
 
Fiddleback said:
OK. Its been a while since I've bought leather and my supplier is no more. Where are y'all buying leather?
Click to expand...

Andy, Jantz sells real nice rectangular sheets...all 100% useable. They are on the thick side. Since I know you are only gonna make one sheath this year, I'll give you a fair price on what you have left over when you are done. :-)
 
I bought from Wickett/Craig for several years and enjoyed the product. Early last year got a couple of sides that had hard spots through the leather. Those are places where the leather had not been tanned through. Couple of other leather guys had the same problem at the same time. Passed down this way Chuck Burrows>Sandy Morrissay and then to me. They both were using RJF with good results. That's the reason I switched, plus I can buy double shoulders (less waste than sides). The actual cost per foot is less as well. Not downing W/C, just find a lot of pluses with RJF Leather.
 
When hand sewing I use a diamond awl, the "diamond" being the shape of the blade. It's tapered and will go through several layers pretty easy. The shape makes a hole that will close up on the thread. A drill press will work using a 1/16" drill bit or even a small finish nail. You don't have to turn the drill on when using a point. Only thing to really watch is getting the leather level so the holes stay in a good line. I've tried the drill, but always go back to the diamond awl.

Best steps with the awl are to glue in the welt, make the holes through the top leather and the welt. Glue everything together and go back through the first holes and through the back piece. Much easier than trying to get through three pieces of leather in one pass. Last step is to go through all the holes from the back side. This just relieves any tightness and makes the stitching that much easier.
 
Yeah, I tried the drill but was having issues keeping it true going through 3 pieces of leather, the face stitching looked good, but the backside was a mess. So I got a awl , but am having a hell of a time getting it sharp
 
A good awl blade should be sharp when you get it. Once in awhile you can run the edges on strop or ceramic stone to bring it back. If you're using a stitch awl which is round, it's tougher to get the point sharp and tougher to use all the way around. Here's a link to a top quality diamond awl.http://www.sheridanleather.com/Awl_Blades_p/dt-awl-blades.htm I use an Osbourne awl and haft. Tandy has the diamond awls and haft, but have found them to break pretty easily. My current awl has been used on over 200 sheaths and assorted gun leather and still going strong (wish I could say the same for my hands, but that's one reason for getting a Tippmann).
 
Thank you, I have been struggling with a Tandy setup, it's a diamond awl, but the edges came literally round and there is just no way I can punch it through two layers of 8-9 ounce . Thanks again
 
I am unclear as to why a drill press would not go through three layers of leather. I chuck up a larger needle in my press - (sharpen the needle tip to a sort of a diamond tip) turn the drill press on and I don't even need to press that hard when going through three or four layers of 8-10 ounce leather.

How are you using your press?

TF
 
Sorry I was unclear, I don't have a drill press, wish I did. I was trying to freehand it with my makita impact and a1/16 inch bit. Went through like butter, but I couldn't keep the drill true enough to not make the backside look like ass. So ... I got a awl and handle setup from Tandy, which came very dull, which I have been trying to sharpen. I was referring to the Tandy awl not being able to penetrate 3 layers of 8 ounce by hand pressure. Your earlier posts were very informative, I'm going to get the higher end awl that you provided the link to, and also only attempt to go through 1 layer + welt at a time. Thanks again
 
I actually use a hand drill for mine. I mark both sides and drill halfway through the back side first. Then flip to the front and drill all the way through. The predrilled holes on the back guide the tip of the awl through in the right spot. This works better for me than the drill press method because I could never get the sheath to lay flat in the right way so the spacing was right on the back.

Rick, that's too bad about W&C. I'll have to check out RJF the next time I need to order. Will they skiv it down for you to a lighter weight?
 
Paul, just set a slack bucket out in front of RLo's forge at TR and he'll fall in it at some point.
It'd be a mad injun chase to put him in the lake! (trust me I know about mad injuns, I be one)
This has been a pretty entertaining read so far.
 
RJF will split down to any thickness at no extra charge. I get 4/5, 5/6, and 7/8 and have just tried their pre-dyed leather, too. Really nice stuff to work. It's not what I use for sheaths because I like, and need to, customize color for a lot of sheath work.
 
crex said:
Paul, just set a slack bucket out in front of RLo's forge at TR and he'll fall in it at some point.
It'd be a mad injun chase to put him in the lake! (trust me I know about mad injuns, I be one)
This has been a pretty entertaining read so far.
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I'm planning to bring the grinder again so I will need one for sure. I might have to go bigger than 5 gallons though, I don't think Rick would get wet past his shin otherwise...kind of a tall lanky fellow you know. I'm thinking Patrone this year, that shine kind of dimmed the lights on me last year!

Guys, I have my sheat wet formed but I have to upgrade my user ID on this thing to post pics, I think. I got in trouble for mentioning my dot com here so it looks like I am going to have to come out of the closet as a knifemaker.
 
So here's where I am so far....

I'm doing a larger cross draw, low hang sheath. It's incredibly impractical (but I've got 20 field ready sheaths...I thought I'd make one that looked pretty rather than a practical one).

I'm adding a removable pouch to the sheath where you can put a small stone or matches, etc..

Sketch:
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Stamping done on main pieces:
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Smaller pieces for pouch:
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First pass of stain and coating. I tried a new method I read about online that worked Okaaayyy (i'm not thrilled). Basically its dribbling an oil stain into a gel treatment then applying it carefully with a sponge. It's supposed to give a cool, striped look to it and it KINDA worked. I'm hoping once it dries I can buff and re-apply some sealer again to see if it'll clean up a bit.
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Tomorrow will be gluing it up. Monday I'll try to get it all stitched up.
 
I have been taking crappy process pics on my cell phone. I should be done with one or two by Monday.

I am thinking nothing outside the box for my first one - so I may have to try SOMETHING on the second one. ;)

TF
 
Here is the sheath I will be entering into the race here:

This one I made to be donated to a raffle. I was sent a pristine JK Pheonix to make some pants for. I really wanted to practice on my processes on this one. Take my time, do it right, and do a few things I had never done before.

1) I used an oil based (Feibrings Saddle tan) dye. I really liked it.
2) I did some border stamping and really enjoyed it.
3) I really took my time with edging and planning.

I am proud of this sheath and feel it is as good as I can do right now.

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I know it isn't crazy - but I desired simple lines and to expand myself in a few small ways I had not in the past.

TF
 
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