Prototype sheath for a prototype knife

[Robber58]

All,
I have been looking for a retention system in leaher sheaths that gets away from straps, primarily for blades with a single guard. For a collector or show piece, they are fine but on a user they always seem to get cut to pieces by the blade over time. I thought I would show what I have come up with.

It is really quite simple, I just extended the welt on the edge side, added a notch for the guard, stitched to below the throat to let it move some and added a stap out of the way of the blade to keep it tight. So far, it seems to work quite well. The knife actually kind of snaps in and when the keeper is snapped, it is next to impossible to get it out. It needs a few tweaks but so far so good. I made it for a prototype of one of my new knife designs so I can test them both and see how they perform over time. Enjoy.
Randy

 

[SBranson]

Interesting design and visually quite appealing. What I've done with a single guard is similar to you but a pouch style and rather than make the notch so pronounced I would just put a little indentation in the welt so the guard will "click" into place. Same idea but mine's more passive.

That said, your sheath looks really nice and gets away from the pouch style as I mentioned. I like the finger release action too. Very innovative.

 

[sheathmaker]

Very good design! It kind of reminds me of Kenny Rowe's pin lock design although they are different in function.

I'm curious about the construction of the belt loop. Can't tell much from these photos but it looks like you placed a welt at the top to form the loop, but I don't see any stitching to secure it. I assume it is stitched and then you top lined it??...or it's just held by contact cement which is not likely considering the quality and attention given the rest of the sheath. I'm also curious about the attachment of the retention strap and where it is attached. I guess to function correctly it would have to be top stitched to the back of the sheath, and if so is it skived to a zero feather edge, graduating to full thickness as it comes around the welt?

The idea is innovative and just plain super, your quality in the sheath as a whole is outstanding. I applaud your efforts and talent!

Paul

 

[SBranson]

Yes, the sheath is really clean and well made looking. Also that knife is a knock out too.
Beautiful job on both!!

 

[Robber58]

Paul,
You are correct about the belt loop attachment. I put a welt at the top and stitch the loop on before gluing the liner on the front face. I attemped to do a fold over but design constraints prevented it from being done cleanly. As to the strap, it is actually integral to the bottom of the loop piece so I did not have to do any extra stitching. I just left it long and trimmed to the correct length once the major assembly was complete. I thought about a continuous strap which would enable me to reverse the snap but the stitching for the main welt was a problem. I also thought about embedding it in the main welt but did not like the way my sketch looked. As my dad always told me, keep it simple.
I really appreciate the positive comments from guys who do such outstanding work.
Randy

 

[sheathmaker]

Robber, considering the retention strap attachment:

It would also be possible to punch a 1/2" or 5/8" slot (whatever the width of the strap) about midway on the back piece and insert a skived strap from outside in using about a 1" or 1 1/2" tail and securing with contact cement. Then lay your lining on the inside over that. The double bond cement attachment should hold the strap in place until hell freezes over and the function would be identical to what you have now.

The obvious benefit of this would be economy of cut, as you would eliminate what would probably turn out to be waste of the odd shaped areas above and below the integral strap. Just a thought.

Paul

 

[Robber58]

Good idea Paul. It would definitely save leather. By the way, because of your recommendations, I used W&C leather for the first time on this. I have to say it is so superior to others I have used it is not even close. I was particularly impressed with how easy it was to burnish up nice clean edges in almost no time. Great stuff.
Randy

 

[Dusty One]

Great looking knife and sheath....
Really like the shape of the knife !

 

[Robber58]

Dusty One,
I appreciate the comments. I like the blade as well. It has a somewhat tactical flavor but I believe it is also a good design to have around camp or hiking in the woods.
Randy

 

[Reorx]

R58;

OUTSTANDING design - kudos to you sir...

I realize this is like a college freshman making suggestions to Albert Einstein and free advice is generally worth what you pay for it... but... Aesthetically, I think it might be better if you shorten the latching piece of leather (as long as it doesn't adversly effect performance...)
>>>

P.S.: GREAT knife as well...

 

[Robber58]

I did think about making it shorter and may in future designs but I was a bit concerned about having adequate material to enable easy release with your finger. Thanks for the suggestion and comments. By the way, good photo mod.

 

[Reorx]

I did think about making it shorter and may in future designs but I was a bit concerned about having adequate material to enable easy release with your finger. Thanks for the suggestion and comments. By the way, good photo mod.

Enable easy release with a finger? I assumed that you just pop the snap (loose) and draw the knife... Kind of like the retention device on Fallkniven Zytel sheaths... sorry for the "freshman" assumption...

BTW - that photo mod was done using MS Paint (comes with the OS) under WinXP!!! If you enlarge it, you should be able to see exactly what I did... It wasn't complicated!