Bailey Knives
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2004
- Messages
- 3,755
I have had several people ask me to do a WIP for sheaths. I am sure Paul Long could do this 1000 times better, and he actually has... Most of the stuff that you will see here will be information that is taken in one form or another from Paul's "basic pouch sheath" dvd, which I highly recommend. My wife actually bought me his "advanced sheath" dvd for Christmas, and although it is the season of giving, she wont let me preview it now. Anyways, feel free to watch as I add to this WIP, however, if you want to really make great sheaths, I can't recommend Paul's dvd enough.
So I make a pattern for nearly every knife I make. I started doing it on graph paper until I ran out, but now I just do it on regular drawing paper. That large graph paper is kind of hard to come by. I keep all my welts at 1/2" (as per Paul Long) and do some work later that will allow me to see from the outside where the welt ends. I hand stitch all my sheaths, although an Artisan 3000 is my next major purchase.
Here is a pic of the knife and the finished drawing.
The next pic is of the pattern, cut out, on the leather. I buy leather from Wickett and Craig. I cannot recommend them enough. What you see here is about 1/15th of the entire piece, maybe less. My rug is about 4x7 or 4x8 and the leather completely covers it with about a foot hanging off each end. It takes tooling really well. I bought from Tandy for a while, and although they are good, and you can make a fine sheath from their leather, I like talking to the guys at Wickett and Craig. They give good advice, help pick out the stuff and really know their stuff.
Anyways, I cut out the pieces quite a bit over the lines, then trim them down. I use a utility knife because I haven't bought a round knife yet. I find if I try to cut things right down from the get-go, I waste more leather. I tend to screw things up that way and have to start over. I use mistakes for welts, but would rather not make them at all.
I have another sheath for a different knife I am trying. It is the one laid out in yellow.
That is about enough for tonight. I am going to bed. I plan on doing more work on them tomorrow and will try to document it as thoroughly as possible.
So I make a pattern for nearly every knife I make. I started doing it on graph paper until I ran out, but now I just do it on regular drawing paper. That large graph paper is kind of hard to come by. I keep all my welts at 1/2" (as per Paul Long) and do some work later that will allow me to see from the outside where the welt ends. I hand stitch all my sheaths, although an Artisan 3000 is my next major purchase.
Here is a pic of the knife and the finished drawing.
The next pic is of the pattern, cut out, on the leather. I buy leather from Wickett and Craig. I cannot recommend them enough. What you see here is about 1/15th of the entire piece, maybe less. My rug is about 4x7 or 4x8 and the leather completely covers it with about a foot hanging off each end. It takes tooling really well. I bought from Tandy for a while, and although they are good, and you can make a fine sheath from their leather, I like talking to the guys at Wickett and Craig. They give good advice, help pick out the stuff and really know their stuff.
Anyways, I cut out the pieces quite a bit over the lines, then trim them down. I use a utility knife because I haven't bought a round knife yet. I find if I try to cut things right down from the get-go, I waste more leather. I tend to screw things up that way and have to start over. I use mistakes for welts, but would rather not make them at all.
I have another sheath for a different knife I am trying. It is the one laid out in yellow.
That is about enough for tonight. I am going to bed. I plan on doing more work on them tomorrow and will try to document it as thoroughly as possible.
Thanks Matt!!
