Leather Sheaths. Are they a necessary evil?

[Justin Schmidt]

Anyone else feel like this? Not to comfortable sending a knife out without a sheath. I'm not selling any yet so the leather is an additional cost. Anyone out there send out blades WITHOUT a sheath?

 

[Lapedog]

IMHO a fixed blade knife is only as good as its sheath. Maybe if someone wanted a custom sheath off the bat they would order a custom knife sans sheath, usually a good sheath is an excellent selling point.

 

[Tyshoots]

Add the cost of the sheath in the selling price of the knife.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Add the cost of the sheath in the selling price of the knife.

That's what I planned on doing. I'm generating a lot more interest in my knives and my skills are improving. So I'm just waiting to take that step

 

[JTknives]

Only time I would sell a knife without a sheath is if it was requested or something like a kitchen knife. If price is a factor then do kydex. I can bust out a kydex sheath in an hr and it looks good and works even better.

 

[Horsewright]

Good sheaths sell knives period.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Good sheaths sell knives period.

Absolutely love your leather work.
JT I've thought about it in just not a fan of kydex at all lol

 

[Horsewright]

Thanks.

 

[Bmgillum]

A good sheath is important to me as a buyer and I refuse to buy any knife that offers only kydex!...

Cheers/bg

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Thanks gents. Pretty much my thought process. I need to step up on my skill level of sheath making.

 

[Kentucky]

When you get the tools leatherwork is kinda fun. I always liked it.
Kydex isn't bad after you learn a few tricks and acquire the right tools like rivet dies, good kydex foam with a good press, etc.. you just have to accept scratches with kydex(even with space around the blade).Sooner or later grits gonna get in the sheath, then it's going to scratch any knife that isn't coated. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[3fifty7]

A good sheath is very important but I hate making them and they are FAR from great. Absolutely a necessary evil, unless you are Busse.
I gave some knives to my nephews as Christmas gifts this year and didn't have time for sheaths. I had some Cypress blocks from our property that I cut channels into that the knife nestled into nicely.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

When you get the tools leatherwork is kinda fun. I always liked it.
Kydex isn't bad after you learn a few tricks and acquire the right tools like rivet dies, good kydex foam with a good press, etc.. you just have to accept scratches with kydex(even with space around the blade).Sooner or later grits gonna get in the sheath, then it's going to scratch any knife that isn't coated. Just the nature of the beast.

Guess I have more of an old school mentality I don't like kydex at all. I think it kinda kills the appeal on alot of knives. But that's my newb opinion.
Yeah like I said I'm just not comfortable sending one off without a sheath. But it's kind of a pain

I'm gonna lose sleep over this. If I had more leather I'd scrap it.

 

[i4Marc]

V,

Leather is a lovely material and a well made leather sheath is a very nice thing. But there will be customers who request or need Kydex so don't be shy about learning how to work with it. Leather work is like anything else. It can be scary or a chore until you learn the basics. Do not feel like you have to get into tooling and fancy construction in order to make a quality sheath. Good clean technique and attention paid to the finishing details can make a "simple" sheath look very professional and classy. Start basic and, like your knives, pay attention to fit and finish.

Don't think about making sheaths as a chore. Think about the knife and come up with a sheath design that compliments the knife and plays off the colors and design elements of the knife. This is an opportunity to elevate the set to a "more than the sum of its parts" status.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

V,

Leather is a lovely material and a well made leather sheath is a very nice thing. But there will be customers who request or need Kydex so don't be shy about learning how to work with it. Leather work is like anything else. It can be scary or a chore until you learn the basics. Do not feel like you have to get into tooling and fancy construction in order to make a quality sheath. Good clean technique and attention paid to the finishing details can make a "simple" sheath look very professional and classy. Start basic and, like your knives, pay attention to fit and finish.

Don't think about making sheaths as a chore. Think about the knife and come up with a sheath design that compliments the knife and plays off the colors and design elements of the knife. This is an opportunity to elevate the set to a "more than the sum of its parts" status.

I don't "hate" making sheaths it's just kind of a pain when you mess up the sheath and the whole package is kinda moot. Now the knife doesn't look as nice with a 2 cent sheath.
But I'm gonna take your advice and stick with basic designs

 

[Jesse Smith]

I make Kydex sheaths for knives that warrant them, and have leather sheaths made by someone who is a pro. I may get into leather sheaths myself someday, but for now every hour I spend on learning to make a sheath is an hour I could have spent making a knives.

I tease Erik Fritz telling him he makes kitchen knives just so he doesn't have to make sheaths.

 

[Hengelo_77]

Valnut, this is a good book on making sheats.
It will give a lot of understanding on what you are doing.
I hate doing things that I only half understand, you may start enjoying leatherwork once you start being happy with your results.
A few cheap tools from aliexpress might help as well. Also the sheats section on this forum is good!

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Valnut, this is a good book on making sheats.
It will give a lot of understanding on what you are doing.
I hate doing things that I only half understand, you may start enjoying leatherwork once you start being happy with your results.
A few cheap tools from aliexpress might help as well. Also the sheats section on this forum is good!

Thanks man I'll check that out!
That's probably my biggest issue is I'm not satisfied with the results.

 

[Hengelo_77]

It's a serie of three books, I only have the first one. It gives enough knolledge to get you going.
One thing that is said over and over again is that you can't make a good sheath with bad/poor leather

 

[Justin Schmidt]

It's a serie of three books, I only have the first one. It gives enough knolledge to get you going.
One thing that is said over and over again is that you can't make a good sheath with bad/poor leather

That's a good point. Unfourtunatley we don't have the 150 bucks for a shoulder. I got some Springfield leather and just used the last bit of it tonight