Thanks for the tips .
-
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Sheath Making Contest
- Thread starter Rotte
- Start date
Thanks for the tips .
First off, a big thanks to Rotte for putting in this contest. A great idea to get people like me to try new things.
I originally bought some leather this summer to make a few masks for a couple of axes I rehung. Since I had really no idea how to sew leather, I just bought and used rivets to hold them together. Realized I had fun working with leather, so I made a knife sheath, also riveting it together. I told myself I'd eventually learn how to sew a sheath... I recently purchased a Bahco saw, and realized now is the perfect time to learn.
Here's the first pic, showing the raw materials (Used a couple of patterns found on the interwebz):
All cut out and glued up:
Now for the sewing business. Used a small fork to mark out the holes and punched them out with a large needle and vise grips. Had some problems with pulling the thread too tight. Here's the result, after unthreading once after breaking the thread halfway thru, one broken needle, and two band aids lol:
Not the prettiest attempt for sure. You can see places where I pulled the thread too tight and the leather either started to wrinkle or the thread tore thru the top layer. Live and learn for next time. Anyways, did some wet forming, hit the sheath with some Obenaufs, and made a dangler loop for it.
Final result:
Oops forgot to snap a pic of it on my belt when I was out:
Thanks again for the contest Rotte; look forward to seeing everyone else's entries as well!
I originally bought some leather this summer to make a few masks for a couple of axes I rehung. Since I had really no idea how to sew leather, I just bought and used rivets to hold them together. Realized I had fun working with leather, so I made a knife sheath, also riveting it together. I told myself I'd eventually learn how to sew a sheath... I recently purchased a Bahco saw, and realized now is the perfect time to learn.
Here's the first pic, showing the raw materials (Used a couple of patterns found on the interwebz):
All cut out and glued up:
Now for the sewing business. Used a small fork to mark out the holes and punched them out with a large needle and vise grips. Had some problems with pulling the thread too tight. Here's the result, after unthreading once after breaking the thread halfway thru, one broken needle, and two band aids lol:
Not the prettiest attempt for sure. You can see places where I pulled the thread too tight and the leather either started to wrinkle or the thread tore thru the top layer. Live and learn for next time. Anyways, did some wet forming, hit the sheath with some Obenaufs, and made a dangler loop for it.
Final result:
Oops forgot to snap a pic of it on my belt when I was out:
Thanks again for the contest Rotte; look forward to seeing everyone else's entries as well!
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2009
- Messages
- 1,977
Ok guys gonna try this again, hopefully I got it right this time 
. Here is my entry, a little backstory. A few weeks ago my friend was heading out his back yard to his tree stand , and almost stepped on a 5 1/2 foot Canebreak Rattlesnake. Well he saw it at the last second and he won the battle. He called me and offered me the snake. I skinned and tanned it and decided to make him a gift for giving it to me. It is made from 8-9oz double shoulder, dyed and hand stitched with artificial sinew. I do just about all my work by hand aside from final shaping on a 1x30 belt sander and a press for the stitch holes. This is the first inlay/overlay I have done, hope you like it.
. Here is my entry, a little backstory. A few weeks ago my friend was heading out his back yard to his tree stand , and almost stepped on a 5 1/2 foot Canebreak Rattlesnake. Well he saw it at the last second and he won the battle. He called me and offered me the snake. I skinned and tanned it and decided to make him a gift for giving it to me. It is made from 8-9oz double shoulder, dyed and hand stitched with artificial sinew. I do just about all my work by hand aside from final shaping on a 1x30 belt sander and a press for the stitch holes. This is the first inlay/overlay I have done, hope you like it.
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2009
- Messages
- 1,977
Thank you very much, that is a retention screw, you can adjust the amount of tension for your draw.
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2009
- Messages
- 1,977
Thank you very much
First off, a big thanks to Rotte for putting in this contest. A great idea to get people like me to try new things.
I originally bought some leather this summer to make a few masks for a couple of axes I rehung. Since I had really no idea how to sew leather, I just bought and used rivets to hold them together. Realized I had fun working with leather, so I made a knife sheath, also riveting it together. I told myself I'd eventually learn how to sew a sheath... I recently purchased a Bahco saw, and realized now is the perfect time to learn.
Here's the first pic, showing the raw materials (Used a couple of patterns found on the interwebz):
All cut out and glued up:
Now for the sewing business. Used a small fork to mark out the holes and punched them out with a large needle and vise grips. Had some problems with pulling the thread too tight. Here's the result, after unthreading once after breaking the thread halfway thru, one broken needle, and two band aids lol:
Not the prettiest attempt for sure. You can see places where I pulled the thread too tight and the leather either started to wrinkle or the thread tore thru the top layer. Live and learn for next time. Anyways, did some wet forming, hit the sheath with some Obenaufs, and made a dangler loop for it.
Final result:
Oops forgot to snap a pic of it on my belt when I was out:
Thanks again for the contest Rotte; look forward to seeing everyone else's entries as well!
I missed this one. Very cool. I recently made one as well for my saw. I made mine a scout carry though .
mewolf1
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
- Messages
- 12,355
I'm in Scandihoovian country, Minnesota. The long winded answer is that when I was 19 I hitched around a bit and when asked folks around the country "what tree is that"? " what happened here in your town"?, They couldn't answer. 
I asked myself the same question, couldn't have answered on history, trees I know. Upon my return I set to educate myself; been at it ever since and have a VERY strong sense of curiosity.
Anyway, I've always been into outdoor craft and such and am forever looking for new stimulation; this is just one of the things I've come across over the years.
Now days if one wants to know something, Google it and viola!!
Kent
https://www.google.com/search?q=tra...iv-LbJAhXBMj4KHV2FB9oQsAQIHQ&biw=1266&bih=574
I asked myself the same question, couldn't have answered on history, trees I know. Upon my return I set to educate myself; been at it ever since and have a VERY strong sense of curiosity.
Anyway, I've always been into outdoor craft and such and am forever looking for new stimulation; this is just one of the things I've come across over the years.
Now days if one wants to know something, Google it and viola!!
Kent
https://www.google.com/search?q=tra...iv-LbJAhXBMj4KHV2FB9oQsAQIHQ&biw=1266&bih=574
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2011
- Messages
- 461
I recently began making knives with the help of a local knife-maker. This is my SECOND knife that Ive ever made all on my own and its going to my father for Christmas. Ive done basic leather work on and off for a few years now and this is an example of some of my better work.
I cut this entire sheath out with the pictured knife. The sheath is designed to be a dangler sheath exclusively (no belt loop on the body). The dangler loop has two line 24 snaps so its easily installed and removed without taking off your belt and so it will hang below an un-tucked shirt or jacket making it easier to draw. The welt is a 4-piece design. The two pieces left a gap for a functional drain hole, which is helpful given that this is a woods knife (it can survive an Alaskan storm without filling up!). The interior was completely sealed with gum tragacanth prior to glue up. The welt is double layered at the handle to accommodate for the thick, full contoured handle. The brass D-ring I cold forged just to give it a touch of class. I tooled it by hand and gave it a two-toned finish to compliment the hues in the Thuya burl on dads knife. The welt was glued together with professional grade superglue prior to stitching to make it sealed tight. Then it was DOUBLE stitched with waxed linen thread by hand using a saddle stitch to provide improved strength. The sheath was then sealed off with SEVERAL coats of penetrating finish. You can wear it in a light rain without it getting wet, but if it's completely submerged it'll soak up water. All in all it should make for an awesome gift for my dad.
The Layout/Pattern:
Glue up:
Tooling all 264 stamps:
The front:
The back:
In use:
I cut this entire sheath out with the pictured knife. The sheath is designed to be a dangler sheath exclusively (no belt loop on the body). The dangler loop has two line 24 snaps so its easily installed and removed without taking off your belt and so it will hang below an un-tucked shirt or jacket making it easier to draw. The welt is a 4-piece design. The two pieces left a gap for a functional drain hole, which is helpful given that this is a woods knife (it can survive an Alaskan storm without filling up!). The interior was completely sealed with gum tragacanth prior to glue up. The welt is double layered at the handle to accommodate for the thick, full contoured handle. The brass D-ring I cold forged just to give it a touch of class. I tooled it by hand and gave it a two-toned finish to compliment the hues in the Thuya burl on dads knife. The welt was glued together with professional grade superglue prior to stitching to make it sealed tight. Then it was DOUBLE stitched with waxed linen thread by hand using a saddle stitch to provide improved strength. The sheath was then sealed off with SEVERAL coats of penetrating finish. You can wear it in a light rain without it getting wet, but if it's completely submerged it'll soak up water. All in all it should make for an awesome gift for my dad.
The Layout/Pattern:
Glue up:
Tooling all 264 stamps:
The front:
The back:
In use:
Last edited:
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- Sep 19, 2011
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By the way, thanks for the chance at an awesome knife and thanks for making this contest to promote learning. This was my first sheath that I've made with a double thickness welt and the first leather sheath that I've included a drain hole on. The drain hole worked perfectly during wet-forming. I'll start to include one on all the future sheaths that I make.
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Thanks. That was the hopes. Knife is 1/10" Elmax, Thuya burl over Ivory G10 liners, and Sally Martin mosaics. I was going for tough and elegant.
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gd, that is hugely impressive. The sheath looks fantastic, but the knife looks even better. I expect your father will love that combination.
May I ask how you made the holes for stitching?
I used gum tragacanth to seal the interior of one sheath now, but I'm not convinced it 'seals' the leather. Do you think it actually seals the leather? I'm not so sure and was thinking about trying an arcylic preparation. Not sure about that. Gum trag definitely seems to be effective in smoothing the leather and getting some of the wild fibers on the flesh side to calm down. This is one of those touches where I'm not sure exactly how useful it is, but I do like the idea.
Awesome work. You are the Ace of Diamonds. Seems totally appropriate.
May I ask how you made the holes for stitching?
I used gum tragacanth to seal the interior of one sheath now, but I'm not convinced it 'seals' the leather. Do you think it actually seals the leather? I'm not so sure and was thinking about trying an arcylic preparation. Not sure about that. Gum trag definitely seems to be effective in smoothing the leather and getting some of the wild fibers on the flesh side to calm down. This is one of those touches where I'm not sure exactly how useful it is, but I do like the idea.
Awesome work. You are the Ace of Diamonds. Seems totally appropriate.
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Thanks for the compliments. If you see any areas that I could work on and have some tips for me, please feel free to send the critiques my way. I am just doing this for the fun of it and am always looking to learn and improve.
As for punching the holes, I made my own awl by filing down a thin nail in my drill press then filing the tip into a 3-sided chisel point. I punched the holes with my cheapo Harbor Freight drill press on the slowest speed possible with the awl chucked in it. This was my first time doing it this way, and I don't like the results that I got. If I didn't depress the press just right it burned the leather and most of the holes had a little bit of tear out on the back sides. Also, I don't know if it was the awl or press or both, but the holes didn't all come through perfectly squared which was my goal in attempting to use the press. Punching holes by hand with an awl just hasn't worked well for me in the past so I'm experimenting on how to get them just right consistently. I know some guys use a drill bit in a press but that tears out the leather fibers rather than separating them which in theory makes for a weaker bond. I've not yet tried the chisels to punch holes but may in the near future. I also need to get one of the overstitching wheels because my spacing by eyeballing it isn't quite right. It's not bad, but it could be better with the purchase of an inexpensive tool.
The gum trag in my experiance offers no more waterproofing than a half-hearted scotchguard mist would. It does however do the best job for burnishing the fuzzy side down that I've used. When I go to seal it off, I first wet form the sheath to fit. Then I use a wool dauber with my finish (satin sheen on this one) and do 2-3 light coats allowing it to dry completely in between. These will basically just do a mediocre job of sealing the surface of the leather which will make it more likely to hold it's wet form during the next step. Third I put it in a ziplock and completely saturate the whole sheath in my finish, allowing it to dry completely in between. When you completely saturate it, it allows that finishing compound (which is basically like watered down glue) to soak into the fiber of the leather and set up deep within the leather. After the finish is applied I give it a light waxing with bees wax, which I'm not sure if that helps much or not in heavy moisture exposure, but I do think it helps water to bead off the surface rather than soak in during a rain. Between the deeply applied finish and the beeswax I get a fairly water resistant product that requires very little maintenance for field use beyond the occasional re-waxing with beeswax (think once to twice a year depending on use).
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Ebbtide
Gold Member
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- Aug 20, 1999
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- 7,954
Your sheath looks great.
Since you asked for tips...
Try not running the drill press with your home made awl.
I just use a drill bit a little smaller than my needle and the slowest speed on my table top drill press.
You may want to cut a groove for your stitches on the back as well as the front, so the stitches sit flush with the leather.
The back of the sheath is the only place they will consistently rub and possibly wear.
As they are now you could tap them with a mallet. Something I do anyway.
I also gave up on the clamps when glueing the sheath up.
Contact cement on both pieces and allowed to dry, then stuck together, will stick fine.
I give those glued edged a tapping with the mallet as well.
Since you asked for tips...
Try not running the drill press with your home made awl.
I just use a drill bit a little smaller than my needle and the slowest speed on my table top drill press.
You may want to cut a groove for your stitches on the back as well as the front, so the stitches sit flush with the leather.
The back of the sheath is the only place they will consistently rub and possibly wear.
As they are now you could tap them with a mallet. Something I do anyway.
I also gave up on the clamps when glueing the sheath up.
Contact cement on both pieces and allowed to dry, then stuck together, will stick fine.
I give those glued edged a tapping with the mallet as well.