Horsewright
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2011
- Messages
- 13,153
This WIP/Tutorial will cover how to do a Bleed knot for a lanyard string. This knot comes from western saddlery and is used on saddles extensively. In the old days it was part of the construction of the saddle, how some of the parts of the saddle itself were kept together. Nowadays, they are used as tie strings to attach say a jacket or something to the saddle. My own personal saddle has eight of them on it. Anyhoo, in the western world the knot is commonly called a blood knot. Yes there is another blood knot used in fishing and other uses but these knots are not the same. The knot were going to address is bled through, or pulled through itself and thats where the name comes from. I once asked an oldtime saddlemaker why it was called that. He said: "Cause ya darn near cut your hand everytime ya do it!" I'll show ya how not to do that.
This knot makes an excellent knot for a lanyard string and that will be our purpose here. I put one on every knife I make with the exception of kitchen knives which I don't make many of anyways. Its expected on knives in the cowboy world. In fact I often get asked to add one to a knife of someone else's making that I have in to do a sheath for. After you've done it a few times it becomes quick and easy and I don't even charge for that. Ours is a family business and my daughter did this for all our knives from the time she was in the 6th grade until she moved out for college. Back then I was working in large batches and it wasn't unusual for her to do 50 or 60 knives in a short time. She was great at cutting the strings too. That let me do tother stuff.
So ya need a string. I like to use a firm oiltan leather for this. Some oiltans are spongy and they don't work well. Other leathers will work too but ya want some that is flexible yet firm. I use oiltan because I have a lot of scraps of it left over from chap projects. Laitgo in the 4/5 oz range works very well and is what is used on saddles. Its spendy though. and tough to find without buying a whole side. There's that spendy thing again. Hobby Lobby and Michaels will often have some scrap pieces of oiltan available.
I also like how oiltan patinas and wears. This is my own personal EDC:
For most knives ya need a string about 12"s long. This will give ya some excess to trim later. Trimming later its easier to get both ends of your string uniform rather than trying to wrestle er even at the beginning stages. I like a string just a hair oversized. So the width of your string will be dependent on the size of your lanyard hole. I use a very thin walled copper tubing for my lanyard holes, its a 1/4" outside diameter. I cut my strings a hair over a 1/4". I want that fit in the lanyard tubing to be very tight.
After I cut three strings off of this piece of scrap, I tossed it. Getting down in the eleven inch range and its not worth it to me to go shorter. So I use a straight edge and a roller knife to cut my strings. An utility knife will work well here too. Plus ya more than likely have an utility knife on hand. Quick leather pro tip. Give your metal straight edge a couple of coats of a spray on clear coat. This will help prevent making marks on your leather, particularly if you are ever cutting damp leather.. I don't have to tell ya to be careful here. This is like cutting fringe on a pair of chaps. I have a friend that was cutting fringe on a pair and he made his thumb square. He now uses a piece of angled aluminum stock so he's got about a half inch lip protecting his left hand. Its a thought. Other tools needed for this project are a pair of small needle nose pliers and an Xacto knife. There are specialized tools made for this. Even though I have one, I don't use it for knives. My wife uses it on her bags and purses though. I'll explain little later. This is a bleeder:
Its made by Horseshoe brand tools (Jeremiah Watt) and is available directly through their website or from Weaver Leather Supply. This is specifically made for saddle work and cutting the stings to bleed after the strings are mounted on the saddle. The tool is used edge up and rocked through the leather hence the curve. Its wide on top and this is so the latigo strings will stay open after cutting and they can bleed the other string through. Other types of leather will probably close back up but latigo will stay open for a while. The tool is designed to cut a half inch slit and this is more than we want which is one of the reasons I don't use it on knives.
The first step we need to do is tip our strings. I use a roundknife to do that as its the one tool that is never put away on my leather bench. But ya can use any kind of knife. Just for info the string is much more uniformly cut than how it appears in the pic. Same with my roundknife, the handle ain't that big in relationship to the blade. Yesterday was cold and dismal and lighting was terrible when I took the pics. So I used my phone instead of the camera. Phone cameras, at least mine, handle bad light very well. Perspective not so much. Camera is better there. Anyhoo. The reason that we tip the strings is it makes it easier to bring them through the slit you are gonna cut and also the lanyard tubing.
Ok we're ready to get going. I will always put the knife down on a piece of scrap leather. This is just to protect it from any marring that your bench might want to throw your way. Putting the string on is the last thing I do to the knife before makings its sheath.
Tipping the string also makes it easier to get through the lanyard tube. I will, most of the time, use the pliers to pull it through, remember I want that fit tight. So this next pic I've got the string through the tube. Ya want each end to be pretty even but exact ain't necessary. Ya can see on the tip of the bottom string that I used the pliers to pull this through. This will be trimmed off later.
So now we're gonna cut our first slit using the Xacto knife.
On the BOTTOM string cut down in the center of the string and just a hair longer than the width of your string. Lots of folks will tell ya you want the slit the same length as the width of the string. Avoid frustration, just a hair longer than the width is what ya want. Use your pliers and from the bottom of the bottom string reach up through the bottom string and grab the tip of the upper string and pull it down through the bottom string with your pliers. Done correctly your bottom string is now the top string and the top string is now the bottom string. Pull this tight but not super firm and center it on the knife handle butt.
Now here is the important part and this is where most folks that don't get it right make their mistake. REMEMBER, you now have a new bottom and a new top string. With your Xacto knife you are cutting DOWN through the new bottom string. Ya want the slit to start almost flush to the original slit but not quite as you can kinda make out in this pic.
Same as before ya want your slit to be just a hair longer than the width of your string. For some reason when folks are trying to figure this out they want to cut the second slit up through the new top string. This just doesn't work. First of all its kinda of a chain looking thing and second it really weakens the leather. Its gonna break. The thing to remember and how ya'll get this right everytime is to cut DOWN through your bottom string. Then cut DOWN through your new bottom string. Cutting DOWN is your friend. Reach up through the bottom of your new bottom string with your pliers, grab the new top string and bring it back through the bottom string. Your original bottom string is now back home and is your bottom string again. Once again pull it firm but not super tight and center it on the butt of the knife. Centered:
Thats it all done, Just trim to the length you would like. I will trim both strings at the same time (one stacked on top of the other), so they are uniform.
When I add a bead to a lanyard I just do a couple of more passes below the bead and this holds the bead on well. Ya can always do a few more passes for decorative effect if ya want. An even number of passes will always bring the original side (here the grain side), of the leather back to the exterior. An odd number of passes would have the opposite effect and have the roughout side of the leather on the exterior.
Hope this has been helpful. Its a pretty simple thing but I see it done incorrectly a lot. I get a lot of knives from other makers into the shop to make a sheath for them. I probably see it done incorrectly more often than correctly. Remember cutting down on your bottom string is your friend!
As always question and comments are welcome!
This knot makes an excellent knot for a lanyard string and that will be our purpose here. I put one on every knife I make with the exception of kitchen knives which I don't make many of anyways. Its expected on knives in the cowboy world. In fact I often get asked to add one to a knife of someone else's making that I have in to do a sheath for. After you've done it a few times it becomes quick and easy and I don't even charge for that. Ours is a family business and my daughter did this for all our knives from the time she was in the 6th grade until she moved out for college. Back then I was working in large batches and it wasn't unusual for her to do 50 or 60 knives in a short time. She was great at cutting the strings too. That let me do tother stuff.
So ya need a string. I like to use a firm oiltan leather for this. Some oiltans are spongy and they don't work well. Other leathers will work too but ya want some that is flexible yet firm. I use oiltan because I have a lot of scraps of it left over from chap projects. Laitgo in the 4/5 oz range works very well and is what is used on saddles. Its spendy though. and tough to find without buying a whole side. There's that spendy thing again. Hobby Lobby and Michaels will often have some scrap pieces of oiltan available.
I also like how oiltan patinas and wears. This is my own personal EDC:
For most knives ya need a string about 12"s long. This will give ya some excess to trim later. Trimming later its easier to get both ends of your string uniform rather than trying to wrestle er even at the beginning stages. I like a string just a hair oversized. So the width of your string will be dependent on the size of your lanyard hole. I use a very thin walled copper tubing for my lanyard holes, its a 1/4" outside diameter. I cut my strings a hair over a 1/4". I want that fit in the lanyard tubing to be very tight.
After I cut three strings off of this piece of scrap, I tossed it. Getting down in the eleven inch range and its not worth it to me to go shorter. So I use a straight edge and a roller knife to cut my strings. An utility knife will work well here too. Plus ya more than likely have an utility knife on hand. Quick leather pro tip. Give your metal straight edge a couple of coats of a spray on clear coat. This will help prevent making marks on your leather, particularly if you are ever cutting damp leather.. I don't have to tell ya to be careful here. This is like cutting fringe on a pair of chaps. I have a friend that was cutting fringe on a pair and he made his thumb square. He now uses a piece of angled aluminum stock so he's got about a half inch lip protecting his left hand. Its a thought. Other tools needed for this project are a pair of small needle nose pliers and an Xacto knife. There are specialized tools made for this. Even though I have one, I don't use it for knives. My wife uses it on her bags and purses though. I'll explain little later. This is a bleeder:
Its made by Horseshoe brand tools (Jeremiah Watt) and is available directly through their website or from Weaver Leather Supply. This is specifically made for saddle work and cutting the stings to bleed after the strings are mounted on the saddle. The tool is used edge up and rocked through the leather hence the curve. Its wide on top and this is so the latigo strings will stay open after cutting and they can bleed the other string through. Other types of leather will probably close back up but latigo will stay open for a while. The tool is designed to cut a half inch slit and this is more than we want which is one of the reasons I don't use it on knives.
The first step we need to do is tip our strings. I use a roundknife to do that as its the one tool that is never put away on my leather bench. But ya can use any kind of knife. Just for info the string is much more uniformly cut than how it appears in the pic. Same with my roundknife, the handle ain't that big in relationship to the blade. Yesterday was cold and dismal and lighting was terrible when I took the pics. So I used my phone instead of the camera. Phone cameras, at least mine, handle bad light very well. Perspective not so much. Camera is better there. Anyhoo. The reason that we tip the strings is it makes it easier to bring them through the slit you are gonna cut and also the lanyard tubing.
Ok we're ready to get going. I will always put the knife down on a piece of scrap leather. This is just to protect it from any marring that your bench might want to throw your way. Putting the string on is the last thing I do to the knife before makings its sheath.
Tipping the string also makes it easier to get through the lanyard tube. I will, most of the time, use the pliers to pull it through, remember I want that fit tight. So this next pic I've got the string through the tube. Ya want each end to be pretty even but exact ain't necessary. Ya can see on the tip of the bottom string that I used the pliers to pull this through. This will be trimmed off later.
So now we're gonna cut our first slit using the Xacto knife.
On the BOTTOM string cut down in the center of the string and just a hair longer than the width of your string. Lots of folks will tell ya you want the slit the same length as the width of the string. Avoid frustration, just a hair longer than the width is what ya want. Use your pliers and from the bottom of the bottom string reach up through the bottom string and grab the tip of the upper string and pull it down through the bottom string with your pliers. Done correctly your bottom string is now the top string and the top string is now the bottom string. Pull this tight but not super firm and center it on the knife handle butt.
Now here is the important part and this is where most folks that don't get it right make their mistake. REMEMBER, you now have a new bottom and a new top string. With your Xacto knife you are cutting DOWN through the new bottom string. Ya want the slit to start almost flush to the original slit but not quite as you can kinda make out in this pic.
Same as before ya want your slit to be just a hair longer than the width of your string. For some reason when folks are trying to figure this out they want to cut the second slit up through the new top string. This just doesn't work. First of all its kinda of a chain looking thing and second it really weakens the leather. Its gonna break. The thing to remember and how ya'll get this right everytime is to cut DOWN through your bottom string. Then cut DOWN through your new bottom string. Cutting DOWN is your friend. Reach up through the bottom of your new bottom string with your pliers, grab the new top string and bring it back through the bottom string. Your original bottom string is now back home and is your bottom string again. Once again pull it firm but not super tight and center it on the butt of the knife. Centered:
Thats it all done, Just trim to the length you would like. I will trim both strings at the same time (one stacked on top of the other), so they are uniform.
When I add a bead to a lanyard I just do a couple of more passes below the bead and this holds the bead on well. Ya can always do a few more passes for decorative effect if ya want. An even number of passes will always bring the original side (here the grain side), of the leather back to the exterior. An odd number of passes would have the opposite effect and have the roughout side of the leather on the exterior.
Hope this has been helpful. Its a pretty simple thing but I see it done incorrectly a lot. I get a lot of knives from other makers into the shop to make a sheath for them. I probably see it done incorrectly more often than correctly. Remember cutting down on your bottom string is your friend!
As always question and comments are welcome!
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