Making my first sheath

J

jgkort

Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
53
Hello everyone,

Within two weeks from now, I will be the proud owner of a Fallkniven A1 (or A2, haven't decided yet). To give it a personal touch, I came up with the idea of making my own sheath. It will be in leather, one-piece design (folded around the knife), for carrying on a belt, with a thigh-strap. I already have quite a strurdy piece of leather, 8" x12" , 4 mm thick. I was wondering how to get it "shrink-wrapped" around the knife. Also, the knife "flares" somewhat towards the tip, it gets a bit wider. How should I cope with that in my design? I hope some of you have ideas on this matter! (Any help with the A1 vs. A2 dilemma is also welcome:) ) Look forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,

Gijs
 
Once you have the knife, you then soak the leather in some water and mold it around the knife. Gently work the leather to shape nice and tight around the knife in the shape of the sheath you want it to look like. Then let it all dry out. Glue and stitch your sheath together, trim off excess leather, dye color into it, saddle soap/oil it and you are ready to go.
 
wet the leather after you make the sheath, then place the blade inside, and allow it to shrink....

I have never actually done this, but I have read here about guys who do this.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

moving-van.jpg
 
There is an article in PDF format from the Dec 2006 issue of Blade Magazine. It was written by Tess Neilson of Hollow Mountain Forge detailing the steps in making a sheath. Scroll to pages 84 through 87 and print them out. If you have any questions please email me. I am a sheathmaker myself and have been doing so for the past 5 years.

http://blademag.com/issues/BL/blade_0207.pdf
 
jgkort said:
Hello everyone,

Within two weeks from now, I will be the proud owner of a Fallkniven A1 (or A2, haven't decided yet). To give it a personal touch, I came up with the idea of making my own sheath. It will be in leather, one-piece design (folded around the knife), for carrying on a belt, with a thigh-strap. I already have quite a strurdy piece of leather, 8" x12" , 4 mm thick. I was wondering how to get it "shrink-wrapped" around the knife. Also, the knife "flares" somewhat towards the tip, it gets a bit wider. How should I cope with that in my design? I hope some of you have ideas on this matter! (Any help with the A1 vs. A2 dilemma is also welcome:) ) Look forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,

Gijs
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Making your own sheath is always a great personal touch. I have made many.

I don't what kind of leather you have but not all leather is suitable for sheaths.
You will want to make sure that your leather is Oak vegetable cowhide and not Mineral tanned using chromium. The chemicals used in the mineral process will attack the steel in the knife.

This is where I usually by my leather and supplies from.
http://leatherunltd.com/leather/oak/oak.html
 
Guys, thanks to all for thinking along with me!
I don't exacttly what kind of leather I actually got, all I can tell it's very thick, 4 mm's. (A 8x12"-piece set me back a full €15,- :eek: )At my leather shop I told them I needed it for making a knife sheath and wanted it to be sturdy. Don't know how it was tanned. How can you tell? At this leather shop I also asked how to mold the leather What I've been told , is to soak the leather in lukewarm water for a couple of hours, then put it in a plastic bag, seal the bag and leave it for 2 or 3 days, up to the point where the leather starts to get mouldy. Than fold it tightly around the knife, stitch up and leave to air-dry for a couple of more days, leaving the blade in. Does this sound familiar to anyone? At the KF-forum, people were shocked! I think I'll just follow the procedure described in Blademag (excellent article! Thanks K.V.!). One other thing: as for the thread I intend to use: will a waxed cotton thread do? The one I have is als used by (sea-)fishermen for repairing nets, should be waterresistant... The more info the better, so keep'em coming!

Gijs

ps. Cougar Allen, thanks for putting this thread in the right place, was a bit lost...
 
You can go here and see how they do it. Go to Tutorials and Sheathmaking. They say soak in warm or hot water for a little bit, then mold it around the knife. They mention what kind of thread to use to.

http://www.northcoastknives.com/

I don;t know what the Blade article will be like, I've been downloading it for hours now! (dang crappy slow connections)
 
jgkort said:
Guys, thanks to all for thinking along with me!
I don't exacttly what kind of leather I actually got, all I can tell it's very thick, 4 mm's. (A 8x12"-piece set me back a full €15,- :eek: )At my leather shop I told them I needed it for making a knife sheath and wanted it to be sturdy. Don't know how it was tanned. How can you tell? At this leather shop I also asked how to mold the leather What I've been told , is to soak the leather in lukewarm water for a couple of hours, then put it in a plastic bag, seal the bag and leave it for 2 or 3 days, up to the point where the leather starts to get mouldy. Than fold it tightly around the knife, stitch up and leave to air-dry for a couple of more days, leaving the blade in. Does this sound familiar to anyone? At the KF-forum, people were shocked! I think I'll just follow the procedure described in Blademag (excellent article! Thanks K.V.!). One other thing: as for the thread I intend to use: will a waxed cotton thread do? The one I have is als used by (sea-)fishermen for repairing nets, should be waterresistant... The more info the better, so keep'em coming!

Gijs

ps. Cougar Allen, thanks for putting this thread in the right place, was a bit lost...
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Typically the leather is light tan in color. Ask th people at the leather shop they should be able to tell you. As for the soaking I normally just soak the leather for about 5 minutes or so in warm water in the sink. It's usually dry in a day or so.

What type of sheath are you making? Single seem up the middle back, single seam on one side or double seam one each side. Or?


Bors
 
@ StretchNM: Thanks for NorthCoastKnives, goodlooking site they have. I agree, the magazine is quite a chunk, 16Mb of PDF. It's worth it though, keep o trying!
@ Bors: I'm thinking of giving the sheath a double stitch on the side of the edge, with a stud (what do you call these things??) at both ends of the stitching. Very basic, actually. Does it make any sense to give a triple stitch? I'm also thinking of giving it a double retainer strap, both opening in an opposite direction. The leather I have was very light of colour, almost creamy white. I've now given it a good dose of leather oil (after five layers of oil the leather was still thirsty!), it has now adopted a sort of very light-brownish colour. Since the leather is quite thick (4 mm's), would 5 mins. still be enough?
@ Bikermike: Thanks for the tip! I've read sheath-making can be addictive, for my next sheath I'll be sure to give them a call. You have any experience with them? What about shipping overseas (I live in the Old World, you know...)?
Again, thanks for the tips & look forward to hearing some more from you!

Gijs
 
I have used Tandy leather for over 35 years my father used them before that. Justed looked at there web. they have an international orders # . I have never had any problems with them and they have always been very help full. Some Free patterns and tip sheets Lots of books.
 
bikermikearchery said:
I have used Tandy leather for over 35 years my father used them before that.
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Now that inspires a lot of confidence! I prefer this kind of publicity over a nice catalogue, low pricing, fancy websites etc! When checking it out their site had the hickups, but I'll make sure to give it another try!
Thanks for the tip!

Gijs
 
@ jgkort Best of luck to you. Let us all know how your projects turn out. I think we all need to put up a few pictures when we do custom work.
 
bikermikearchery said:
@ jgkort Best of luck to you. Let us all know how your projects turn out. I think we all need to put up a few pictures when we do custom work.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike, totally agree with you, I'll send in some pics of the process! (and the result of course ! :) )

Gijs
 
Hey Mike,

Thanks for your encouragement!
I've made my first steps in the making process:
1. Gathering loads of information on a particular knife,
2. Ordering this knife,
3. Getting a piece of leather,
4. Nourishing the leather with Rapide (probably typically Dutch, appears only on Dutch websites; said to be all natural, smells of almonds, a real thick layer takes a couple of days to soak in, but makes leather soft and supple),
5. Getting some equipment: a tracing tool, strong thread, proper needles, an aluminium ruler, a butter knife and a pen.
6. Giving people headaches with my questions.
Now I'm waiting for the leather cream to dry up and for the knife to arrive. Of course I'll keep everybody informed on my progress.
More tips? Shoot!

Gijs
 
Hey guys,

As the design of my sheath is taking shape in my mind, I came up with the following: cross-drawing! I'm left-handed, and therefore would like to carry my knife on my right hand side, edge facing forward. Due to the fact that the blade is quite long (8" blade, 12"overall lenght), I thought it might be a good idea to have the handle tilted forward (Just a couple of degrees from vertical). Now I'm a bit afraid that, upon drawing the knife, the egde will cut into the welt. Is this just a matter of being careful when drawing the knife, or is there a "technical"/design-relate d solution to this problem? Look forward to hearing from you!

Regards,

Gijs
 
The whole purpose of the welt is to be cut into. It is in place to prevent the knife edge from cutting into the stitching.

What works in your mind may not work on paper and what works on paper may not work in leather. Always measure and check your fit twice before cutting your leather and draw the design out.

IMO, a cross draw sheath is not the best style for blades over 5 inches. I would stick with either a pouch style if it has no guards or a Randall style sheath if it has a full or half guard.
 
I'm no pro but have made several sheaths that I am proud of and am happy to pass along just a few of the tips I have picked up. If your new knife is carbon steel, you do not want to place it in a wet leather sheath for a couple of days to dry. Wrap it lightly in saran wrap to protect it. I do not fully soak my leather to get that molded fit. I make the sheath to fit that particular knife (raw leather stage, no dye or oil yet). To get that pronounced bulge and fit, make the sheath a pretty tight fit around the handle/bolster. The handle area is normally all that you want molded anyway and you want a good tight fit in that area. If you have to force it a little in your wet leather, good. It will stretch a bit and be a nice tight fit. I sponge water on it and work the "molding area" with my hands pressing and squeezing until I get what I want. Then let it dry (usually in front of a fan for a few hours or possibly overnight). It fits tightly and doesn't take a couple of days to dry. I did read and have followed the direction that you want the entire sheath wet or it could dry to a somewhat different color. Don't know for sure but I didn't want to chance it. Then apply your finish of choice.
As for the stitching, I prefer not to drill the holes and remove that much stock. I punch the holes with a pitchfork looking tool that does 4 holes at a time (and in a tight spot have a single punch). They sell a wax based product to keep the tool from sticking in the leather to the point you mess it up trying to get the tool out! It looks very much like a flat top candle that you drag your tool across before driving it (mallet, not a steel hammer) into the leather. I believe the stitches are tighter that way. Just my opinion. Either way, you will have some fun making it and be able to say "I made it" when asked (and you will be asked). Last tip, double and tripple check which side you are leaving stock on for your belt loop. I cant tell you how many I have hurried and cut out only to realize that it is left handed. Good for you, bad for me. As you visualize folding that thing over and bending your belt loop back to stitch it, it is SOOOO easy to lay it out on the leather backwards.
 
Hey Ken, thanks for yor quick reply! I thought the welt was just for spacing the sheath. One keeps on learning! I was just about to move from the mind-stage to the paper-stage, see what happens there... As for the cross-drawing, I figured drawing the knife from across the body allowed a bit more of a "natural" movement. Would it then be, in your opinion be a better idea to have the knife on the handling-hand side? If so, egde forward or backward (I would say backward...??) What is a Randall style sheath by the way? My knife has a half guard, could be useful. Look forward to seeing your answers!

Regards,

Gijs
 
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