schmittie
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2009
- Messages
- 2,966
I'm quite excited about my Bushfinger I just received not long ago. Its outstanding! I've wanted one for what feels like years and Andy was patient enough with me over the last few months, I finally was able to purchase one from the 3/16 batch. What a guy, Andy is a real gentleman for those of you who are lurkers and have never dealt with him! A maker who will actually answer the phone and humor a customer for a few minutes is something unexpected.
Anyway, I liked the sheath he sent along with it just fine. It looked to be a nice universal sheath from Robert. I, however, really have a thing for horizontal, cross-draw carry. That's how I have carried my hunter for the last several years. I really wanted to get this kind of sheath made for my BF, but after all the tutorials and tips posted up here in the FB forum by men who were generous enough to share their experience, I felt the need to acknowledge their efforts and try to build the sheath myself. Please note: I am confident I have done a number of things "wrong" and not to the normal standards. I am not a sheath maker, nor do I aspire to be. I also do not have all the necessary tools, dyes, etc, so I scrounged around the garage and improvised. Please, go easy on me when you realize I did something stupid. I also apologize for not getting pics of every step, but you get the general idea......
Now that my disclosure is out of the way, here we go:
A few months back I was out of town for work and guess what I found? A Tandy leather. I've never been in a Tandy before and have never shopped for leather and was really surprised to see how expensive it was. Since I don't have any use for a whole side of a cow, I opted for the much smaller, cheaper belly piece. If I could do it over, I would. A scrap piece or pieces would have been better. I think the belly piece is much too inconsistently thick for this kind of application. If I had thinner leather, these projects would have been much easier and looked better in the long run. - Mistake #1
But I had enough leather to do several sheaths. (this happens to be my third sheath out of this piece) Since it was nice outside, I set up some scrap wood over the patio table for a workbench and thereby avoided death from the wife. (you married guys know what I mean)
Looking at the horizontal sheath I already owned, I made a few changes and got the general idea/pattern. I cut out what I felt would work on paper. I traced the template onto the leather with a pen and got out my scandi Wohlwend tin knife and started cutting with a straightedge. Then it dawned on me, WHAT AM I DOING?! I went and got my carpet knife instead. For cutting square and straight cuts, this worked much better for me. No, I do not install carpet. But I do work with other flooring and have this knife on my belt daily. I'm just more used to it and it worked great! I'd recommend any leather bender to give a carpet knife a shot.
Next I marked the center of the sheath where the fold would be and shaved out a bit of the leather so it would bend easier. Marking out the welt was next. After everything was marked and cut out, I spent a little time sanding the inside of the sheath. (could have spent a little more, mistake #2) I don't have any professional leather finishes, sealers or dyes so I didn't know what to do with the inside of the sheath and left it alone. Mistake #3? Anyway, its ready for gluing at this point. I used Weldwood contact cement.
Now, since I don't have a drill press, I picked up a leather chisel for punching the holes. I've tried free hand drilling the stitching holes on the first sheath and it didn't work out to be very straight. For me, this was a good solution. The chisel seems to take out enough leather that the stitching lays flatter without having to use a groover, which I do not have either. So I marked out my stitching lines.
And started hammering.
For my tastes, it work out pretty good and reasonably straight.
At this point I felt I was ready for "dyeing". Like I said, I don't have any actual leather dyes, but I DO have wood stain. (I hope this was ok to use and not mistake #.... oh who cares?!)
I mixed up an concoction of stains and thinned it down just a touch with some more mineral spirits. I cleaned up the leather with mineral spirits as well to remove any oils, etc. I then gloved up and dyed away!
After letting it set for a few minutes, I wiped everything down. Seeing the extra dark dye on the edges seemed to fade a bit after it dried. Maybe that was due to me using the wrong product in the first place? Once it was dry, I stitched it up with an awl using black, waxed thread. Sorry no pics of that.
I tried to wetmold it at this point so I taped up my beautiful knife and ran hot tap water over the sheath till it was soft.
In all, things worked out decently. Like I said, I'm no pro. Once everything with the sheath was done, I tried to make an accessory pouch to hold a sharpener and firesteel. Let me tell you, THAT was a PAIN and I never want to do that again! It is ugly but functional. Here is the completed package:
With the left over leather and a paint stirrer, I made a double sided mini strop, one side charged with green compound, the other black.
It fits nicely in the pouch. Did you see my firesteel I picked up from the Exchange from another member? I really like this whole package!!
In short, it was fun making another sheath. I can't say I want to do it again, but if I do I'd use thinner leather. After rereading some of the tutorials, I wish I would have thought of something to treat the inside of the sheath. Retention is pretty good overall but I wish the leather was just a bit stiffer.
thanks for checking out my novice project......
Anyway, I liked the sheath he sent along with it just fine. It looked to be a nice universal sheath from Robert. I, however, really have a thing for horizontal, cross-draw carry. That's how I have carried my hunter for the last several years. I really wanted to get this kind of sheath made for my BF, but after all the tutorials and tips posted up here in the FB forum by men who were generous enough to share their experience, I felt the need to acknowledge their efforts and try to build the sheath myself. Please note: I am confident I have done a number of things "wrong" and not to the normal standards. I am not a sheath maker, nor do I aspire to be. I also do not have all the necessary tools, dyes, etc, so I scrounged around the garage and improvised. Please, go easy on me when you realize I did something stupid. I also apologize for not getting pics of every step, but you get the general idea......
Now that my disclosure is out of the way, here we go:
A few months back I was out of town for work and guess what I found? A Tandy leather. I've never been in a Tandy before and have never shopped for leather and was really surprised to see how expensive it was. Since I don't have any use for a whole side of a cow, I opted for the much smaller, cheaper belly piece. If I could do it over, I would. A scrap piece or pieces would have been better. I think the belly piece is much too inconsistently thick for this kind of application. If I had thinner leather, these projects would have been much easier and looked better in the long run. - Mistake #1
But I had enough leather to do several sheaths. (this happens to be my third sheath out of this piece) Since it was nice outside, I set up some scrap wood over the patio table for a workbench and thereby avoided death from the wife. (you married guys know what I mean)
Looking at the horizontal sheath I already owned, I made a few changes and got the general idea/pattern. I cut out what I felt would work on paper. I traced the template onto the leather with a pen and got out my scandi Wohlwend tin knife and started cutting with a straightedge. Then it dawned on me, WHAT AM I DOING?! I went and got my carpet knife instead. For cutting square and straight cuts, this worked much better for me. No, I do not install carpet. But I do work with other flooring and have this knife on my belt daily. I'm just more used to it and it worked great! I'd recommend any leather bender to give a carpet knife a shot.
Next I marked the center of the sheath where the fold would be and shaved out a bit of the leather so it would bend easier. Marking out the welt was next. After everything was marked and cut out, I spent a little time sanding the inside of the sheath. (could have spent a little more, mistake #2) I don't have any professional leather finishes, sealers or dyes so I didn't know what to do with the inside of the sheath and left it alone. Mistake #3? Anyway, its ready for gluing at this point. I used Weldwood contact cement.
Now, since I don't have a drill press, I picked up a leather chisel for punching the holes. I've tried free hand drilling the stitching holes on the first sheath and it didn't work out to be very straight. For me, this was a good solution. The chisel seems to take out enough leather that the stitching lays flatter without having to use a groover, which I do not have either. So I marked out my stitching lines.
And started hammering.
For my tastes, it work out pretty good and reasonably straight.
At this point I felt I was ready for "dyeing". Like I said, I don't have any actual leather dyes, but I DO have wood stain. (I hope this was ok to use and not mistake #.... oh who cares?!)
I mixed up an concoction of stains and thinned it down just a touch with some more mineral spirits. I cleaned up the leather with mineral spirits as well to remove any oils, etc. I then gloved up and dyed away!
After letting it set for a few minutes, I wiped everything down. Seeing the extra dark dye on the edges seemed to fade a bit after it dried. Maybe that was due to me using the wrong product in the first place? Once it was dry, I stitched it up with an awl using black, waxed thread. Sorry no pics of that.
I tried to wetmold it at this point so I taped up my beautiful knife and ran hot tap water over the sheath till it was soft.
In all, things worked out decently. Like I said, I'm no pro. Once everything with the sheath was done, I tried to make an accessory pouch to hold a sharpener and firesteel. Let me tell you, THAT was a PAIN and I never want to do that again! It is ugly but functional. Here is the completed package:
With the left over leather and a paint stirrer, I made a double sided mini strop, one side charged with green compound, the other black.
It fits nicely in the pouch. Did you see my firesteel I picked up from the Exchange from another member? I really like this whole package!!
In short, it was fun making another sheath. I can't say I want to do it again, but if I do I'd use thinner leather. After rereading some of the tutorials, I wish I would have thought of something to treat the inside of the sheath. Retention is pretty good overall but I wish the leather was just a bit stiffer.
thanks for checking out my novice project......
