Leather for First Attempt at Sheath Making

[me2]

I have a repurposed Ontario Cabbage Knife blade ready for handles and I thought I’d make a sheath for it too. Where can I find a small quantity of leather for my first try at a sheath?

 

[navman]

I went to Tandy and picked up a shoulder of 8-9 oz leather. Barring that, places like knifekits, usaknifemaker, have small amounts of sheath making leather available. Keep in mind tools as well. Prick punches, mallet, groover, awl, quality thread, saddle makers needles, stitching pony, edger, adhesive....

 

[JV Knives]

I like BuckleGuy online. They have some panels as well which are precut sheets that can be easier to work with, and not as much of an investment, as larger cuts or sides, for small jobs.

 

[seanj]

Weaver Leather Supply is where I buy most of my leather. They have panels of leather mostly in 24 x 36. Personally I think the quality is better than Tandy. But Tandy is also less expensive. So for starting out I'd say it's either/or.

 

[Linus Knives]

Amazon has some smaller pieces of leather also, it's just pretty crazy expensive.
I would rather buy a whole shoulder from Tandy than a tiny piece from Amazon and know I'm getting ripped off.
But it is an option to get smaller pieces...

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Horsewright is the fellow for leather advice. He will probably chime in when he wakes up.
There is also a sub-forum for leather and sheaths - https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sheaths-such.820/

 

[J. Hoffman]

I buy all my leather from Wickett & Craig

 

[Hengelo_77]

For a first time try ebay

 

[oldschool45]

Amazon has 8" x12" tooling sheets for under $10 which should work for this project. You want to be looking for 7 to 8 ounce weight leather. Going too heavy makes stiching etc. problematic. If you are not going to do any stamping or tooling on the sheath you don't need a "perfect canvas." I use a gusset on most of my sheaths it adds a few steps but protects the stiching. Probably want to look for vegtable tanned leather versus chrome tanned.

 

[navman]

Definitely veg tan over chrome tan for a knife.

 

[Horsewright]

Morning guys. Some good info here. I'm definitely of the opinion that you shouldn't buy cheap leather for your first projects. I'm not alone in that thought. Paul Long when he was active here had his own version of the sow's ear silk purse deal. Kinda went :"S..t in and S..t out." Paul was a big Wicket and Craig guy too.

That being said good leather is expensive and buying small pieces of it is the most expensive way of buying it. There are two USA tanneries that I would recommend leather from. Wicket and Craig and Herman Oak well and Horween too but they produce more specialized leathers. You definitely want Veg Tan leather and there are lots of different terms used for this leather besides Veg Tan. Saddle leather, saddle skirting, strap leather, tooling leather etc Lots of different names for the same thing. I have a strong preference for Wicket and Craig skirting leather over the Herman Oak. It's simply almost the only leather I will use for sheaths, holsters etc. Very rare occasion and for a specific reason I might use Herman Oak but seldom.

There are places that some above have recommended for selling pieces of leather by the square foot. I know that Springfield Leather Supply will sell Herman Oak by the square foot and Maker's Leather Supply does the same with Wicket and Craig. I really would stay away from imported leathers even though you won't be paying a premium for them. Lots to go wrong there. My opinion most arrive from poor QC in the tanning process.

Lots of info over in Sheaths and Such and lots of very experienced sheath makers that will chime in to answer questions.

 

[me2]

Thanks for the information. I’ll dig around tonight and see what I can find. This is intended as a shop/property knife, so a sheath isn’t the highest priority but I want one eventually.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

If it is just a single sheath and you aren't planning on getting into making sheaths, consider buying an unfinished sheath kits from USA Knifemakers. Depending on which type you get, they range from fully finished, to stitched and read for finishing, to a kit with all parts cut out and ready to punch holes ands stitch. The pre-made ones are good quality leather and just need staining and whatever finish you wish. You can wet form them first if needed for a snug fit.
They have dozens of sizes and shapes. They run between $10 and $25 for a knife like yours

I used to buy them in dozen lots from TKS for my user grade hunting and fillet knives. Probably bought 300 of them over the years. I would dye them with Fiebing's Antique Finish and then give them a coat of Fiebing's Bag-Kote. Jim and Jan finally retired and USA Knifemaker's bought the company.