Sheath Repair

[Ken C.]

I made a sheath for my Small Sebenza and I cemented and stitched the loop to the rear of the it. My problem now is that the loops stitching is coming undone. What it the best way to repair this? Do I need to remove all of the stitching to open the sheath up to get to it or is there a better way?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Mike Hull]

A couple of curved needles, and a steady hand should get you fixed.
And probably a flashlight.

Use nylon thread, and overlap the end to make it tight. Leave a little hanging out when you cut off. Hit the protruding ends with a butane lighter, and quickly smash the ends with a finger, the flame will melt the thread. Press on the ends with a finger to flatten them, to keep them from pulling out.
If you have a lot of stitching, maybe just a drop or two of super glue will keep any more from unraveling.

 

[TomW]

It's possible to hand sew with the needle backwards. Meaning you push the eye through then thread the thread through it inside the sheath. It's necessary to do it every stitch but it can be done. you'll probably have to hold the needle with pliers.
I've done this with leather sheaths and it worked ok.

 

[deserthawke]

Ken, I agree with Mike; in that a set of curved needles,
a pair of hemostats would be a real big help too.
But!, I personaly feel that if the belt loop is broken,
how bad is the rest of the stiching??
Brake it down, and re-do it right.
And the lighter trick,,, works great too.....

 

[Ken C.]

Thanks for the tips guys. I decided to totally redo the stitching. The stitching on the loop came undone because I forgot to cement the leather (which I thought I did). This caused the stitching to loosen up when I removed the knife from the sheath and it rode up on the belt.

I took everything apart and redid it and it looks even better than when I first did it.

 

[helmar4578]

You properly repaired the sheath by taking it apart and resewing it. It is difficult to realign the stitching holes so that they match for re-stitching but by using toothpicks to line up a few holes it is made simple. A better way to sever NYLON thread is by using a wood burning pen with fine point and you are able to exactly control where you need to melt the thread. A cigarette lighter can damage stitches other than the one you are cutting due to the broad flame. Sandy

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Originally posted by K.V. Collucci
Thanks for the tips guys. I decided to totally redo the stitching. The stitching on the loop came undone because I forgot to cement the leather (which I thought I did). This caused the stitching to loosen up when I removed the knife from the sheath and it rode up on the belt.

I took everything apart and redid it and it looks even better than when I first did it.

Excellent! just saw this thread, Gluing is key for sure and make sure when you next do that, take some 60 grit sandpaper and rough up the smooth side to let the glue sink in for a good bite!

G2

 

[Wild Rose]

KV-
Try the following on your next sheath. It should stop your problem.

Note how I did the top end of the seam for the belt loop. Make the little 'U's' and it should never tear out (In fact you can make the short leg two stitches if you want). I start three stitches down on the long leg go up and around the U and then backstitch back and around. Usually I round off the end of the loop and sew all the way around in a single seam, but the style of this sheaths loop calls for the end to be skived very thin so I just did two straight seams.
BTW I NEVER stitch straight across the width of a strap - yeah I know it's been done, but you create a "zipper" when you do this. When I used to do lots of repairs that type of seam invariably tore out! Glue helps but you really shouldn't depend on it. In fact I normally use only enough to hold the piece in place while I sew it.

final product - another Mexican Loop.

Chuck