Making Your Own Sheaths or Not: Questions

Redsquid2,

For anything leather related I would look at Dave's (horsewright) work. Off the charts skills. And the "me I made a stick" remark made me laugh. It's so true. With a little cleverness you can make many of your own tools far cheaper and often more useful than overpriced factory tools.
 
Thanks Marc! Lot of guys don't know it but there is a whole subforum here on Blade Forums with all kinds of guys that can help ya with the sheath work. Just like here and the knife building.

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

When ya get a chance come on over and spend some time. The only dumb question is the one a guy doesn't ask. Not just leather either, there are kydex guys there too.

To me the sheath is just as important as the knife. I can't tell ya how many knives I've sold because it came inside one of my sheaths. My customers are looking for a package.
 
i4Marc said:
I really like the idea of sole authorship. I prefer to do everything from making the blade, doing the HT, the guards/handles, and the sheaths. I don't make sheaths as an afterthought or because I have to. I design every sheath to suit the specific knife it will carry. Since the design of the knife /sheath package is my concept I must be the one to do it. Like learning to make knives, it is a struggle in the beginning but the more information and experience you accumulate the quicker and easier it gets. I don't have a lot of leather tools. Everything I need fits in a tackle box. I haven't gotten into tooling yet. I do basic but (I think) well built and finished sheaths. You don't need a big investment to do that. I made my own stitching pony. That's probably the fanciest leather tool I have. I don't use a sewing machine. Like the others I use a sewing needle in my drill press (spinning) to make the holes then hand stitch. But the thing is, I work very slowly. I have the time to make sheaths the way I want. The guys who work much faster than I do have to think about the value of their time and whether it's better spent making knives or sheaths. Do you spend a couple of hours making a $500 knife or a $50 sheath? The figures are pulled out of my can but you get the idea. If you like leather then don't give up on it. Don't think you have to make very fancy sheaths. Start with more modest designs and work on fit and finish. You can add complexity down the road. There will be times when Kydex is the better choice and times when leather is the way to go. Become comfortable doing both. Here are a couple of my recent sheaths to show what you can do with some cheap tools from Tandy.







Click to expand...

Those are all simply gorgeous Marc. Great examples of crisp clean work without adornment.
 
Thanks guys. You are too kind. A lot of people hate making sheaths. Perhaps they feel like they are expected to provide a sheath. I find it to be a pain too sometimes. But my point to the OP is that there is an opportunity to tie the sheath design in with the knife. Each compliments the other making the package more than the sum of its parts. Think about the old record albums ( you young kids can just fast forward here ). After the artists put all that creativity and hard work into making the record are they just going to put the record in a plain brown chipboard sleeve? Compare the Beatles White Album cover to the Sgt. Pepper cover. If you stray from making sheaths because they are difficult then why make knives. Knives are pain to make! Leather tools don't need to be expensive and you don't have to make fancy sheaths. But you can still make a statement.
 
I hated making sheaths. I loathe working with Kydex. I disliked working with leather. I still do both, but leather work actually became rather enjoyable for me since I got my Boss stitching machine. Now I find I don't mind experimenting and trying new things in leather because it's not so labor intensive that failures wreck my week productivity speaking.

I'm still nowhere near Marc or Dave's level, but I can now make a leather sheath that I'm proud to send with a knife both appearance and functionality speaking and it didn't take an inordinate amount of time to do.

Kydex, I'll do on request, hate every minute of it, and be glad when it's gone. Like leather and the Boss, if I could devote the space for a vacuum former and t-shirt press, it would probably be much less aggravating for me. I just don't have the space right now.
 
I hate to be the naysayer, but if kydex can collect abrasive particles that scratch a blade, why can't leather? Especially being a more porous material? I have made a couple kydex sheaths and if i blow out any dust when i feel any it cleans right out and no problem, but leather you dont feel those particles and leather buffs knives but i personallt havent experienced them scratching, but i cant think they couldnt just the same. On making the kydex it was fun and cheap and they came out pretty dang good for first tries so I think other first time sheath makers might find it an easier start as well, but the fact that a leather sheath can be SO nice is why I haven't ventured to try, I am kind of intimidated to be trying to get it up to a standard, but I did already make some holsters for an old pietta '51, which one came out looking great but the loop was misplaced and rode awkward and the next try came out pretty ugly but was a perfect fit and hang. Those were glued and riveted though, too, and I am worried about stitching, but if I just went and got the scrapers and punches and some leather and went at it I would be doing it, whether good bad or ugly, at least I'd be doing it and see. So that's where I'm at, the stitching intimidates me, but all other aspects I am OK with.
 
I've really only made a few sheaths, and they were kydex. I find it's rather easy t work with, but I don't like how they scratch blades, and I'm wanting to make nicer knives, that will be rather suited for leather over kydex. Unfortunately I haven't figured out what I'm going to do completely. I don't have the funds currently to get set up and start making them in leather as I have other projects higher on the priority list getting taken care of. Granted I haven't been making any knives for a few weeks till I get my forge finished so my HT is more dialed in than some crude bricks, grass burner and a magnet. I'm hoping to upgrade my grinder from a treadmill motor and controller to a 3HP and VFD after the forge, and then I hope to start into the leather tools and supplies.
 
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