Pondering

[Vanguard41xx]

As you all may know, I go on eBay a lot and many of my vintage knives come from there.
I never have been a big fixed blade person, as I am not an avid outdoorsman and a pocket knife is more useful for my day. BUT, I still look at them on the bay'. Many I see NEVER have their sheaths and I've always wondered why so? I could understand a sheath for a pocket knife being lost or worn out, but a thick leather sheath? Even at flea markets and antique stores many are thrown in buckets and tables full of tools without a sheath in sight. Is it a matter of the original owner? Or possibly the new seller, who sees the "worn out" sheath in disgust and throws it out?

Just curious to see what you folks think...

 

[kamagong]

Sheaths wear out. The stitching becomes undone, the leather may rot, sometimes they get cut up to pieces. All I know is that a good knife usually lasts long past its original sheath.

- Christian

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Most of the old sheaths, at least on working knives, that I've seen at shows etc, have been in terrible shape. These are not Paul Long or Kenny Rowe sheaths to begin with either.

Gives you an excuse to try your hand at sheath making ...

 

[Jack Black]

One would have imagined that in Sheffield, there might have been a small leather industry running alongside the knife industry, but that wasn't the case. Certainly for all my lifetime most of the sheaths on sale with Sheffield knives were absolute junk, some were even made of cardboard, and they quickly fell apart. I've had lots of knives, even from some of the large Sheffield cutlers, supplied without a sheath, and on my own foray into the cutlery industry, I had to source sheaths in Birmingham as I couldn't get them locally.

 

[zippofan]

You've just nailed why I haven't gotten a vintage BSA fixed blade yet Tom. The ones that do have sheaths are either shot, or they have "John Smith, Troop 12, 1957" written on them Part of the allure of those knives though is the BSA shield stamped on the leather, and the shield strap buttons.
I've given up trying to get a Remington, way out of my price range, but even some of the Western's go for over 100 bucks. I'm too tempted to buy more Scandinavian puukkos in that range