Question for the leather benders

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May 16, 2006
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I have a Barkie Aurora that came with the standard Sharpshooter leather sheath with firesteel loop. Lately the hold on the knife that the sheath exerts seems to be decreasing. It's not dangerous, like the knife would jump out of the sheath while running or jumping, just a tad on the loose side. Is there any way I can increase the grip of the sheath at home?
 
I have a Barkie Aurora that came with the standard Sharpshooter leather sheath with firesteel loop. Lately the hold on the knife that the sheath exerts seems to be decreasing. It's not dangerous, like the knife would jump out of the sheath while running or jumping, just a tad on the loose side. Is there any way I can increase the grip of the sheath at home?

I don't consider myself a leatherbender, leathermolder or clayer would be more appropriate, but o.k.

Throw it in a bowl of luke warm water for a quarter of an hour. That should soak it. Let it drip dry for a while, and once all the water is gone and the sheath feels cold and damp insert the knife, and mold it to fit the handle tightly.. Let it dry with the knife inside for like 36 hours. It'll shrink a bit, and your knife will be secure for a long while, but will loosen up eventually.
After this it's a good idea to wax the sheath, or use anther kind of finish to protect it from moisture..
Clean the knife with a little Flitz or some polish, cause it will be stained a bit, but nothin more then real life use would now and then..

Or have a custom sheath made.. The knife is worth it for sure. It's not that expensive, but the value is enormous imo..

Good Luck!
martin
 
Martin - Thank you very much :thumbup: I will give this a try. I don't mind doing this periodically if that is what is required. This knife is my favorite woods blade, not very expensive, like you said, just a great tool that I'm happy to maintain :D
 
I always put a light coat of oil on the knife and wrap it with saran wrap. If the knife is especially sharp I'll put electrical tape around the blade. If you just wrap it the act of inserting the knife can cut the saran wrap or push it over the tip.

I'll mold the sheath as it dries and then remove it. If I want a very tight fit I'll pinch the sheath a little bit so it fits tighter.

Also I agree with another member of this forum that the term "leatherbender" sounds like "pipebender". I guess you can bend kydex but I'd think leathercrafter of sheathmaker would be a more appropriate term.
 
I'm not sure what the sheath looks like for the Barkie, but if its a pouch type then your getting good advice. :) I've never wrapped a knife in plastic before so I cant comment there, seems like it would enlarge the knife a bit. If the leather is thin enough you will not have to soak for an hour, I'd watch it close as you dont want a noodle. You want the leather damp and flexible, but not floppy. You want to be able to bend the leather and it stay put, if its floppy you soaked it too much and you need to let it dry for a while.

As far as the leatherbender thing goes, I dont think it belongs in this thread, if you have a problem with the term please start a new thread, keep this one on topic please.
 
....but leather hog is ok????
Can't imagine you guys would have gone for being called a "jarhead" either.....after so many years of that, leather bender sounds nice....:thumbup:
 
Guys, thanks very much for the advice. It's drying now and should be ready for my Sunday hike :thumbup: I'll let you know how it comes out.

I honestly apologize if the title of this thread was offensive to some. I had Leatherman's custom title in mind when I wrote it.

Thanks again.
 
Guys, thanks very much for the advice. It's drying now and should be ready for my Sunday hike :thumbup: I'll let you know how it comes out.

I honestly apologize if the title of this thread was offensive to some. I had Leatherman's custom title in mind when I wrote it.

Thanks again.

No Harm, no foul. Thank you for considering the apology, but I, at least did not consider the term offensive nor disrespectful. You are a good man.

Paul
 
....but leather hog is ok????
Can't imagine you guys would have gone for being called a "jarhead" either.....after so many years of that, leather bender sounds nice....:thumbup:

*sigh* :p I tried to keep it on topic, but what the heck! :)

leatherHog is the nick name that the Busse folks gave me. :D :D :D It stems from the little club started by Jerry for his more prolific collectors. Now its a little watered down to include everyone that buys a piece of INFI! :p

Leatherbender is also a nickname given, as far as I can tell, in the Busse forums as well.

I dont know why leatherbender is considered offensive to some, seems kind of silly to me, but to each his own.

I've heard the history of Jarhead before, but its been a long time, anyone?
 
Jarheads are MARINES......always have been , always will be....and damn proud of it....
Semper Fi....:thumbup:
 
Uh yea, I know that.

Whats the story on the term Jarhead???
 
Gentlemen (I gotta be safe with that one, right?) ;)

That really did the trick. It's fairly thin leather so it only took 5 minutes or so to soak and only 8 hours behind a fan to dry and now its snug as a bug. It even has a little chuh-chunk when you slide the knife back in. :D I fully imagine it will loosen up with use but it seems like minor and enjoyable maintenance to me to have to do this once or twice a year. Thanks again.

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Leatherman.. check out this site... www20.brinkster.com/gunnyg/jarhead.html
 
Hey Theo! Looks good! I'm glad it worked out for you. :D

jorasco, thanks for the link. :)
 
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