Just finished off a sheath

I have had too many people take a scary sharp fillet knife and run it right through the sheath by plunging it in fast. Luckily, only one person was cut doing that, and it wasn't severe.

I now show my customers how to put a knife in the sheath. I tell them to imagine it is a $20,000 samurai sword. Slide the spine slowly in along the back part of the sheath and "feel" the blade slide down the sheath. If you meet any resistance, you stop and pull back a bit.
 
That's awful!! The thing I run into occasionally is when my welt gets misaligned and the blade cuts through one flipping stitch....then a new welt and new stitching.
 
I made a knife for my brother a while back and gave it to him at his birthday party. He showed the knife to his friends and they each put it back in the sheath without any care. Each time the knife went in crooked it carved a big slice out of the inside of the sheath. Sorry to see all your hard work ruined. Nice job on the sheath though.
 
Dang it hate when that happens. Here's my theory on what happens and how to avoid it most of the time. I think all the dampening and wetting of the leather during the making process is the culprit. I think what happens is the welt and sheath leathers dry and or move differently if not drying. That puts a slight twist in the welt layer. Sometimes so slight that its not noticable other times quite noticeable. This twist in the welt is what causes above. Obviously the knife is straigter that the sheath and it is not going to follow that slight twist going into the sheath. What I've gone to doing is using a pair of needle nose pliars and inserting that into the sheath a couple of times first before putting in the knife. This allows the sheath to straighten out form any twist that might be there and allows me to see if there might be any problems before I put that sharp knife in there. Might help ya some. Particularly on a pouch sheath like that. Then there is things beyond the ken of normal man, or at least me. I simply wont' make one of my pancake sheaths for one model of my knives. Sooner or later its gonna come through the front of the sheath. Some geometrical alignment of the molecular something or nother. Nice job on the stamping by the way. Lots of help over and Sheaths and Such if so inclined.
 
A customer at work received a fillet knife from me , removed the knife had a look at it and returned it to the case. I was walking into work and I just continued. A bit later I heard he had to go to first our safety station and then into the hospital. Dang that was BAD ! As well I never did get paid for that knife. That was the bad: the good was I kept looking around and found a way to avoid that happening. I found Schrade would place a thin metal liner in the cases of fillet knives.I managed to get a bunch of very thin sheet scrap stainless I was able to sign out after a rebuild project. I used this inside the case of every fillet knife I made from that time on. The metal case was folded over on the spine side of the case with the welt side left open. When you put the knife into the case it actually just slide down on the side of the blade usually at the tip. Perhaps today Kydex is a better way to go?
Frank
 
Bummer. You know how when you make something all the little things bother you that others don't even see. Well this is your chance for a do over, but this time don't put a hole in it.
 
That is why Hartsfield used metal sheaths for his chisel ground knives.
With leather sheaths they would just slice them apart.
 
All my fillet knives get kydex sheaths. Thy are to thin and to sharp, with kydex thy just slide right in and snap into place. Here is one I finished a little while ago.

12509666_10209119968863354_4282789153928067759_n.jpg
 
JTknives said:
All my fillet knives get kydex sheaths. Thy are to thin and to sharp, with kydex thy just slide right in and snap into place. Here is one I finished a little while ago.

12509666_10209119968863354_4282789153928067759_n.jpg
Click to expand...

JT nice fillet knife. I think Horsewright got it. The sheath did take a slight curl after drying. There was also a ram factor involved when I put it in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top