Leather knife sheath

[MKSknives88]

I took apart an old worn out pair of leather work boots I had and was going to make it into a knife sheath for a knife I just finished. Anyone have any suggestions on how to do this. I was thinking of folding it over the blade and using epoxy and rivots. I've never worked with leather so I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[Wloch248]

Search the forums or google for "sheath tutorial" or sheath wip. Check out leatherworker.net, there is some good info there.

If you are not sure if the leather from those boots is vegetable tanned I wouldn't use it.
Barge cement is the preferred glue for sheaths. Don't use epoxy.

Read up and good luck!

 

[woodwrkr221]

The stickies in sheaths and such are an excellent place to start:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/820-Sheaths-amp-Such

 

[filedog]

Here's a great tutorial I found. Kind of lengthy, but he really spells out all the whole process.
http://www.orionn49.com/how_to_make_a_wet_formed_sheath.htm

 

[Hengelo_77]

Don´t use epoxy, it is hard when cured and you don´t want that on a sheeth.
Use a glue that stays flexible after drying. Simple glue used to fix bicycle tire punctures will do (unvulcanised rubber desolved in gasoline)
There are stronger glues but the sewing gives the strenght
Then sew it. Many tutorials on that

On the leather, you can use old boots but it won´t be the best sheeth.

 

[quint]

As stated read thru some tutorials and go to the right forum and you will learn a ton of stuff.

As far as sheaths go you usually (IMHO) want to stay away from chrome tanned leather. I am sure with stainless and what not its not as big a deal but with simpler steels you can get into corrosion issues. Still as long as you dont leave your knife in the sheath you may be alright. If its going to be going thru hell then I would recommend some vegtan leather of some kind.

As far as glue I use weldwood, you can find it at lowes and home depot and a number of other places. Put a thin coat on each side you want glued together and let it get tacky then press them together. Clamp them or use weight to hold it for a while. Stitch it up which gives you your strength. The glue primarily keeps the edge together after stitching which keeps it looking nice, holds it to make it easier to stitch, and thats about it.

 

[logem]

I'd suggest buying a small piece of 8 oz. vegetable tanned leather from a Tandy Leather store for your attempt at a first sheath. I buy half backs from other suppliers, but the Tandy route would be much better than trying to re-use some shoe leather (which will likely be thinner than desired anyway).

If you are interested in making knife sheaths, look into purchasing Chuck Burrows video. This got me started, and is close to a definitive tutorial on a couple of types of knife sheathes and it will get you where you want to go. With the video, and some imagination you should be able to make incredible sheaths.

Good luck,

Mike L.