My first ever leather sheath!

[Riz!]

Gents!

I had to share! I just finished making my first ever leather sheath. It turned out really nice, for my first sheath. Took me about 4 hours of actual work time and 3 for the adhesives to dry. I doused it in Obenauffs (inside and out) and then waxed it with snow seal and gentle heat. Its pretty tight, but I am working it in and it feels like its going to retain the knife well. I used a drill and 1/16 bit instead of an awl because I am impatient. I need to get a drill press as somehow I stated to drill my holes not perfectly perpendicular through the sheath. You can see on the back where that happened. It is because I switched which hand was drilling with. I fully intended to do a pictorial of the step by step, but got so engrossed in the work I forgot to snap pics until the end!

For what its worth, I read that really long "how to make a pouch sheath" thread by Talfuchre before I attempded this! I owe him a big thanks!












My initials are DJR, so I combined em into one logo and put it on the back.













I am really proud of this project, and I have found a new hobby!

On a side note, my father in law's grandfather was a maker of prosthetics after WW1. My Father in Law gave me great grandfather in law's tool kit, which has an immense amount of leather working tools in it. Most of which I have no clue about how to use. It did have one of those ulu type knives and it looks extremely old. I has JA Henkles on it. Dad thinks its over 100 years old. It was shaving sharp and I used it to cut the leather for this sheath! How Fn cool is that? Next free day I will take pics of all of the tools.

Riz

Please feel free to provide any critisizm or tips!

 

[sheathmaker]

:thumbup: Good for you!! That's the first step on a very long journey. Nice work so far.

Paul

 

[Horsewright]

Nice job and I'll be really excited to see the pics of the tools. I'd make the suggestion of making the bottom half of the sheath more knife bladey looking on your next one. I can gurantee ya your first was better than my first.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Nice work!

Couple of things.

I'd try a needle or smaller bit. I like the holes just tight enough that I just barely have to use a pair of needle nose pliers to get the second needle through. Not a big deal.

Only thing I'd suggest differently from a functional standpoint is the loop. Stitch it in a square or circle or anything that gets more of the stress over a larger area. If you pull on your loop it's going to put a lot of stress on the two points at the top of your "x".

Dave, the square bottom is really popular with the bushcraft crowd. Often they have a square bottom, but also have a stitch line that follows the curve of the edge. The extra corner of leather sometimes has a grommet run through it to offer an extra lashing point. Long straights also allow for additional features like ferro rods or places for sharpening accessories. I like lots of curves but it does sometimes make it a challenge to include a rod.

Great work man. I'm really looking forward to seeing your further work. :thumbup:

 

[Riz!]

Thanks for the replies guys! Personally I like the square bottom sheathes. Also since this was my very first attempt I wanted to keep it simple. The next one will probably be wider by the handle because this joker is tight. I know it will loosen up though. I also appreciate the advice about the X stitch on the back. I actually was thinking of taking my logo and making the stitch on the back the actual logo. Considering that most tactical nylon gear is stitched with a Box X because its strong, that is likely what I will use. I did glue the loop down before I stitched it.

As far as drilling holes, the 1/16 bit was the smallest I could find. You suggested a needle. Do you mean to put a circular awl into the drill? If you mean and actual needle, what do you use?

I used a polyurethane adhesive that you mix with a drying accelerant. It makes the adhesive more runny and it seeps into the leather. I roughed all of the surfaces before glueing them. The adhesive is actually wader repair sealant. It is waterproof and flexible when cured.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Thanks for the replies guys! Personally I like the square bottom sheathes. Also since this was my very first attempt I wanted to keep it simple. The next one will probably be wider by the handle because this joker is tight. I know it will loosen up though. I also appreciate the advice about the X stitch on the back. I actually was thinking of taking my logo and making the stitch on the back the actual logo. Considering that most tactical nylon gear is stitched with a Box X because its strong, that is likely what I will use. I did glue the loop down before I stitched it.

As far as drilling holes, the 1/16 bit was the smallest I could find. You suggested a needle. Do you mean to put a circular awl into the drill? If you mean and actual needle, what do you use?

I used a polyurethane adhesive that you mix with a drying accelerant. It makes the adhesive more runny and it seeps into the leather. I roughed all of the surfaces before glueing them. The adhesive is actually wader repair sealant. It is waterproof and flexible when cured.

Yeah, a boxed X is good. I have only done a couple on large sheaths for heavy knives, but I'm not totally convinced that it's necessary. Jason (Tal) recommends that the top stitch line have a slight curve to it. I started using adhesive on my loops after the first 20 or so. Haven't had a failure yet, but that's why I offer a warranty. To me, the less busy, the better. I prefer clean and simple so I use a minimal, but strong, stitch around the loop attachment point.

If you plan to use power to continue making holes I suggest a press (as you already know), or a dremel with a press attachment. I use 1mm thread. I use a large Doll Making needle to do all of my holes. If you have a Walmart near, they sell a 5 pack of Doll Making needles. Take the largest needle in the pack and clip about an inch off the end with the eye and chuck it in a press. The needle will get pretty hot as you go. I keep a little cake of beeswax next to my press and run the needle through it every now and then.

In my opinion it doesn't matter what you use to make holes. The most important things are matching the hole size to the thread and needle sizes. Those, once matched, will dictate your stitch length. Big holes and thread with a very short length stitch will rip through the leather. Thin thread and small holes look like crap matched with a long stitch. .8, 1mm, 1.2mm threads (mostly what we use) match well with 5-7 stitches per inch.

Did you wet mold that? One of the coolest things about veg tanned that separates it from other leathers is its molding ability. Before any finishing, wet the leather and place your knife in the sheath. Mold around the ricasso and let dry. Trim your nails before working wet leather though. Also, wrap the knife in plastic wrap and keep it out of the sheath while it dries. The fit actually looks good to me. It'll stretch a bit when wet.

The best adhesive for leather work, or at least most common, is contact cement. I know nothing about what you used, although it does sound expensive. CC is cheap, easy to use and sufficiently strong. Ive read about other adhesives causing issues with burnishing, dye resisting and other things. I'm all for testing things to find what you like, but CC is so widely accepted as the standard because it works really well.

Have you ever tried a dangler? I really love them. You can use hardware to make the totally removable. They don't look right on every sheath, but one would look great on yours.

 

[Riz!]

I love a dangler sheath. I have been thinking of making a dangler as my next sheath and may try to make an attachment for this one. Thanks for the tips on the needle. I didnt wet mold the sheath just finger molded it when I waxed it. This sheath was made to learn from. My next one will be better. I think I am going to order a darker leather to start with.