Sheath Leather

I use 8 oz, but I think most use lighter. I like stiff sheaths that I can mold and wax harden for a more kydex-like feel that retains the elegance of leather.
 
I use 10 oz. Herman Oak from Springfield leather. I use eco-flow brown dye, and Fiebing's black oil dye. Neatsfoot oil and saddle soap to finish, and sometimes Johnson's paste wax.

I think next time I order leather, I'll get the same but in an 8-9 oz. weight. 10 is good for some, but overkill for folded sheaths.
 
My #1 recommendation is to buy Paul Long's sheath videos... definitely worth owning!!! :)

In the past I used 7-8 oz. about 95% of the time. But now I find myself making many of my sheaths from several layers of thinner leather.

The last few bowie sheaths I have made had a front that was made of 2 pieces of 2-3 oz. glued flesh side to flesh side (so you have finished leather inside and out), a piece of 10 oz. for the welt (I skived it to the exact thickness I wanted), and a back made the same as the front. And I like 2 oz. for doing chevrons on the front of the sheath.

I used alcohol based dye for many years, but have switched to oil based Fiebings and MUCH prefer it.

All the leather I have ever used came from Muir McDonald or Tandy, but the next leather I order will be from Wickett & Craig.
 
NickWheeler said:
My #1 recommendation is to buy Paul Long's sheath videos... definitely worth owning!!! :)

In the past I used 7-8 oz. about 95% of the time. But now I find myself making many of my sheaths from several layers of thinner leather.

The last few bowie sheaths I have made had a front that was made of 2 pieces of 2-3 oz. glued flesh side to flesh side (so you have finished leather inside and out), a piece of 10 oz. for the welt (I skived it to the exact thickness I wanted), and a back made the same as the front. And I like 2 oz. for doing chevrons on the front of the sheath.

I used alcohol based dye for many years, but have switched to oil based Fiebings and MUCH prefer it.

All the leather I have ever used came from Muir McDonald or Tandy, but the next leather I order will be from Wickett & Craig.
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Definitely, his videos are very good.


Have a look in the sheathmaker secretion, lots of info there
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/820-Sheaths-amp-Such
 
As Nick stated (although both the feibings dyes are alcohol based if I remember correctly) the oil dyes from feibings are the better of the two and worth it IMHO. Check burrows also has a ton of info on natural coloring.

For instance if you want black that wont rub off then use vinegaroon, there are others for types of browns like walnut shells that are boiled and reduced. This gets you into a bunch of research though so be prepared.

As with making holsters which is very similar you can go either way, use a single thicker piece of leather or double up thinner pieces. Some find that two thinner pieces equaling the same thickness of a thicker single piece will give you more rigidity. Basically your getting two grain sides which is where most of the strength comes from. Plus it acts like a liner so you dont gotta worry about lining it if thats your thing.

As far as leather goes I personally use wickett and craig but really like herman oak as well just cant afford 10 sides at a time. If going with wickett and craig try out the skirting sides which can be split down. I like it better thent he tooling sides myself.
 
Wickett and Craig, 8-10oz. I get it with a "holster" finish. They will do this on request. They run the leather through a series of rollers that tightens it up and the inside fibers become very smooth. I don't think they charge any extra and the finish is great and I think it tools a bit more evenly. -Burton
 
Id like to pass Along RJF leather that Chuck Burrows put us on..Its pit tanned leather and good stuff..Very reasonable too..Ill second the oil dye over the other.
 
I use Herman Oak that I get either from Weaver Leather or the Hide House. It oils up a little darker than the Wickett and Craig. 7/8 oz for a folded sheath and 8/9 for non folded sheath. Tools superbly and molds very well too. Use to dye and don't any more. Only warm (dedicated crockpot) pure neats foot oil. I oil the sheaths after wet molding them to the specific knife and baking them in the oven for two hours at 175 degrees. Bake em on parchment paper to keep them off the racks, flip em at one hour and flip back in another 30 minutes. Right from the oven and then oil em with the warm oil from the crockpot, just paint it on with a brush. One light coat. It soaks in very evenly this way. I quit using the dye because I found after years of use even the oil dye seemed to dry the leather out. I have two knives tht are about seven to eight years old on the bench right now. I made them for a south TX rancher years ago. I have them to make a new style of sheath for them. Both of these knives and their sheaths have seen extensive, tough use. One was dyed with Fiebings Pro Oil Dye in dark brown the other was just done with neats foot as described. Same age, same abuse, same harsh climate. The neats foot one is scratched but not cracked, the dark brown one is is scratched and cracked. Seen this often and quit using the dye. I do use a couple coats of Fiebings Bag Kote after the oil has set a little.
 
Yep if you dont take care of them this will happen. Ive scene several of my items that I have died and after 6 years or so you can tell who takes care of there leather and who doesnt. My personal sheath which was died I have used roughly since about 2007 and it still looks very good, and its spent all its time in a ship yard and Navy environment. Ofcourse I oil it once a year as well.
 
Like Wolf Creek Forge, I use leather from RJF Leather ( Roger Folmar 607-742-8969). His product is very high quality, great to work or dye, quick service, priced lower than Wickett/Craig, and you can buy double shoulders which almost eliminates non-usable leather. I don't have any stock or investment with them, but after using it for 25-30 sheaths a month plus even larger volume of other leather goods the last 18 months, it is my favorite. I also buy a good bit of his pre-dyed leather for a line of gun stock ammo carriers which really saves time and money.

I use Fiebings dye and their Tan-Kote as a sealer, but have high regards for the pure neatsfoot oil finish.
 
For sheaths I use the weight needed for the knife and that's based on knife size as well as type of sheath. Smaller sheaths IMO require thinner leathers (thinner by the way does not necessarily mean less stiff - leather can be double or triple plated to make the leather harder firmer.
For the majority of unlined sheaths with blades of 4-9" I generally use 8/9 oz - if lined for this size knife I use 5/6 or 6/7 and line with a leather to get a final size of 8 - 10 oz .
As for supplier I have used W & C, Herman Oak, and currently use the leather form RJF which is old time pit tanned - not only have I found it excellent leather (I've only used the regular Russet - I seldom if ever used pre-dyed leather but that's due to the type of sheath I use), but also as Rick noted it's one of the few places selling GOOD double shoulders (IMO shoulders are the best bang for the buck for most knife sheath makers - backs are a step up but usually more expensive, but then again it's the cleanest part of a hide), and it is also a selling point for the "period" leather work I do since it uses the same tanning method as used pre-1900.

Now a note regarding Fiebing's Oil Dye - it is NOT oil based despite the name there is no oil in it per the MSDS (see it here http://tlfsafety.com/PdfFiles/2102-01 ISO_MSDS.pdf), plus Fiebing's themselves notes it is nothing more nor less than an improved version of their regular spirit dyes. Why they call it oil dye I can only guess but in the "old days" many pro-leather crafter's, (myself included) added oil to regular spirit dyes to improve absorption, thus perhaps they co-opted the name oil dye for their new improved dye even though it has no oil in it.
Anyway for dye I generally use the standard Fiebing's spirit dyes (more color choices albeit I use a limited pallet and cheaper than the oil dye - I have never found that it was that much of an improvement when properly applying dye) or Angelus Dyes, which are excellent and comes in a wide variety of colors. I have not used the new Eco Flow dyes, but at least one maker I consider an expert, Will Ghormley, has used some and found it quite good http://www.willghormley-maker.com/OldDogsAndNewTricks.html
While I'm an old dawg at leather work and have locked in certain ways of doing things I am still intriqued by these new less toxic dyes for health reasons and if you're limited to working where odors are a concern then I would suggest trying them out
 
Thank you for the very detailed reply Chuck, it is much appreciated! :)

I can't believe I forgot to plug your DVD as well. :o :foot:

Your DVD on sheath making, is IMHO, one of the better knife videos out there. Just the parts about how you approach your hand saddle stitching are worth owning the video. :thumbup: :cool:
 
NickWheeler said:
The last few bowie sheaths I have made had a front that was made of 2 pieces of 2-3 oz. glued flesh side to flesh side (so you have finished leather inside and out), a piece of 10 oz. for the welt (I skived it to the exact thickness I wanted), and a back made the same as the front. And I like 2 oz. for doing chevrons on the front of the sheath.
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If I may ask, don´t you get small scratches on the knife from the finished side of the leather?
I´ve had that happen to me
 
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