Sole authorship---sounds good but is it factual? By this I assume that the knifemaker mined the ore that was made into steel,raised the stag that provided the antlers for handles,manufactured his grinders, made his own grinding belts, manufactured his own buffing compounds, and possibly tanned cowhide from cattle he raised in order to make stacked handles. In order to put his logo (indicating "sole authorship") on his blade he made his own stamp or etching equipment. The acid he used to etch his damascus blade was made in his kitchen, no doubt! It seems more realistic to me to assume that hundreds of people were instrumental in that knife becoming a reality.
There are many great knifemakers in this country that hurt themselves in the market place by not producing a sheath that is of the same quality as the knife they produce. Letting sole authorship stand in the way of a sale does not enrich the maker but does chill a sale. Some makers such as R.W. are excellent (Underline excellent) sheathmakers that greatly enhance the saleability of their knives. He is not the norm in the field however. Most knifemakers do not make good sheaths, nor do they care to take the time in order to do so. In order to make an attractive package, they let the pros take over and avoid the hassle. To spend several hours designing a pattern that will give a proper fit, purchasing leather, dyes, finishes, thread, needles and awls, the hand tools necessary to do the finishing touches does not make the individual sheath a cheapie even if poorly done.
Enjoy "sole authorship". It sounds like an expensive alternative to purchasing a good sheath that has the cost absorbed by the customer. This, admittedly, is of little concern to the knifemaker that enjoys leatherwork enough to do a real professional piece of work!
I have been involved in leather craft for a period of over half a century and have made thousands of sheaths, belts, holsters etc. This is not a hobby of mine, it is the love of my life! I am not posting this as an attempt to sell sheaths. To be perfectly honest, Ihave one helluva lot more than I care to do,
and limit myself now, as I am getting to the age where I wish to spend more time relaxing and less time under the gun from knifemakers that wanted their sheath yesterday for a knife that was ordered six months ago,
Greg Gutcher, Jr. owner of Sullivan`s Holster Shop and maker of sheaths for the Randall Knife company, and myself are moderators for sheathmaking on knifeforums.com. If you have questions or need any kind of assistance in your sheathmaking efforts, contact us and we will try to help all we can!
