New guy feeling a bit lost

Just thought I'd update everyone on my "progress" so far.

I've "made" about four things out of the scrap leather that I purchased so far. Admittedly, most of it is quite awful looking, and are in various states of completeness, but I'm learning. I made a pouch sheath, and pancake sheath for my Mora. I'm working on a belt pouch that holds a firesteel and a mini-altoids tin, as well as something for my multitool.

I'll try to get photos up here sometime soon.

Things I've learned.

  • Time spent making cardboard patterns is very useful. Especially as you iterate through ideas/fitment, so you're not wasting any leather when you finally cut it out.
  • As much as you want to use your new fancy groover when you finish cutting out your pattern, wait until you've glued it together and gotten the edges how you want them until you use the groover.
  • Random orbital sanders that you tried because you have, don't work all that well for shaping/flushing edges.
  • Wet forming works, but takes a bit of time.


Questions

  • When wet forming, I've been having a hard time getting the top piece sized/glued on right the first time. I always end up with too much "slack" (like a mm or two), and have to pull it appart and trim/reset. How do others deal with this? do you wet form the top piece before you glue it onto the sheath?
  • I've been looking for instructions on exactly how to do the cobblers stitch, and haven't found any guides, videos, etc yet. Does anyone have a link, or perhaps a brief explanation?
  • Do most of you put belt loops on before or after you put the whole thing together?

Thanks for the help everyone :).
 
Others can answer better on wet forming, but I believe it depends on the situation. Normally folder sheaths are formed just on the front with a flat back and these are formed prior to glue up and when wet forming to both front and back is best done after stitching together.

Is the cobblers stitch the same as saddle stitching? If so, it is pretty straight forward. Start at one end of your stitch line, with needles on each end, pull the thread until there are equal amounts on each side, then begin weaving the 2 ends back and forth.

Again, it depends on the style, but most fold over loops need stitched in place prior to assembly.

Chris
 
"Too much slack" Like slack on the knife? If it's excess leather sticking out past the welt then you can just trim it after your glue sets up. If you can, a picture would help.

I think you mean saddle stitch (it's called "hand stitch" in the image):
stitch.jpg


Terence
 
Thanks for the responses. Saddle stitching was the term that I needed to find to get started. After that, then I just had to search/learn how to "lock the thread" and I was off to the races. I'm no pro at it, but I got my pouch sheath for my Mora stitched up tonight. I can see how a drill press would be very nice for this type of work, as it would keep it nice and lined up on both axis. Also, I should look for a larger nail to use in my drill, or maybe get smaller needles. It wasn't overly difficult, but I could see how it would be easier with either one of those changes. And smooth jewelers pliers also make sense for it as well.

And when I said there was too much "slack" in the pieces I was wet forming, I meant that after the forming process, they weren't quite as tight as I wanted it to be. And to "fix" it, I needed to unglue it, then pull it tighter by a mm or two (meaning, make it extend farther past the welt by that much), then it was a snug as I thought it should be.

Right now I'm a bit stuck on getting the belt loops sorted out. In hindsight, I should have attached them before I glued the rest of it together I guess, unless there is an easy way to attach them from the outside.
 
Locking - reverse your direction and back stitch 2 or three. Some just cut the loose ends and leave it like that, some like to burn (poly/nylon thread), some like to use a drop of glue. *On a pouch or small item you can make a 90 deg turn at your last stitch and make your lock that way so it goes outside and around.
Drill Press - it's handy but not free from errors. The needle can still skew/not run perpendicularly through so what is a straight line on top looks zigzaggy on the back. Using a mini wood anvil like a piece of pine 2x4 helps to mitigate that but isn't 100%. Have to pay careful attention to keeping the stitch line perpendicular to the needle - not hard on a stacked sheath, the 5 or so degree angle on a fold over... I have a size 22 spearpoint sewing machine needle in my drill press but I want to try a size 24. Full circle - having a drill press is handy but it can be done just as well the good old fashioned way.
Slack, just trial and error. There are a lot of videos out there that show techniques. With hands on and hindsight, some tutorials might make more sense or you may notice details that didn't stand out before now that you've gone through the process... which part of is design. You're not the first and won't be the last to forget about the belt loop... As for attaching it afterwards, if it's a pouch you could attach to the bottom sewing through/over the stitching at the bottom. Then you should be able to attach the top with out much difficulty. If it's a fixed blade/stacked you could make and x shape loop attaching the four corners, again sewing through the stitching. If it's a pouch/pouch style you could make a dangler similar to- (google mexican holster). Or you could take out the stitching and start over from there.


Terence
 
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