Leather Sheaths. Are they a necessary evil?

[Busto]

Time spent in "Sheaths & Such" going through the WIPS is time well spent in learning fundamentals it will help the beginner understand how to make best use of the the Leather on hand. Ol' Dave Ferry(horsewright) has some killer tips on sheaths!!!! You want to make the most of your time spent making and selling knives a sheath will bring in the extra $$.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Cut oversize, glue parts together. Sand even and square, then make your stitching groove. That's how I do my Slotted and Horizontal sheaths. Horizontal bottom and Slotted right. Bottom stitching line is established on both after the sheath is together and edge sanded even.

That's genius. Exactly what i needed to know. Thanks dave.
I really do appreciate the tips and advice from everyone. I'll have to wait until next month to get more leather unless I sell a knife by then. But I'll head over to sheaths and such

 

[Horsewright]

Ya bet. Whole nuther thought and this was very important for my wife when she was learning to carve leather, study lots of pics of leather work. Look at good stuff and analyze what about them makes them good stuff.

 

[Willie71]

Yeah just making both sides line up when it's folded. Like Warren said a round knife would likely solve this problem. And when I drill the holes to stitch it goes all cattywompas.
Warren I'll keep my eye out for one of those

ETA : I have yet to see a good how to make a template.

E mail me at wjkrywko at gmail dot com and I can send you a blank unfinished to save you some money.

 

[kuraki]

I struggled a lot in the beginning and while I'm no means producing the quality of work HW or others here are, I'm proud of my sheaths. The greatest improvement came from getting everything glued together oversized and then finishing the edges to size before laying out stitch lines. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to plan for how the leather will move and stretch and change from when the pattern is cut after tooling and any wet forming, so shooting for well cut edges that match up perfectly has never worked for me worth a darn.

The downside is I can't do some of the things that need to be done in the flat, like stitching borders through single layers or tooling, so my stuff is pretty basic. Basic, but function how I intend and straight, square and clean for the most part.

 

[Ian Fifelski]

I started making sheaths before knives. I think they are the cover of the book. The words are the important part, but will not be read without a cover. You don't want to read an unbound book, just like you don't want to use a knife without a sheath. And honestly, I think we all judge a book by its cover. If I see a well made knife without a sheath or with a sheath that looks like a beginners, I am not interested, or will want to make my own for it.

I make many cardboard templates when making a sheath. I fold things, hold them and put the knife in to just be sure everything sures up. In my experience, with leather's thickness and foldability, there are many things that can go wrong when things are only measured and not tried.

 

[v8r]

What really bothers me is a well constructed knife stuck in a poor quality sheath. If it’s a fixed blade it needs a sheath. Bare minimum kydex(Not my favorite).

 

[LCoop]

I regularly check out the sheath and leather working forum here. Just like Shop talk it amazes me as a hobbiest knife maker the talented folks that post here freely their knowledge. There is incredible knife makers and sheath makers here for sure. But I gotta say I'm amazed at Horsewright for both his knives and leather work. He doesn't just make sheaths but some incredible horse tackle. For those that haven't stopped by the sheath section be sure to do and like HW said go back through the pages.
I've learned a lot from one you tube maker that goes into lots of details in multiple videos that sure explained and made me a better sheath maker. Notice I didn't say great! Check out this link.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

I'm gonna try that oversize method for sure
Like kuraki said I can see that being a problem when trying to do border tooling.
Warren I'll shoot you an email thank you.

 

[Horsewright]

On that deal, think and build from the top down. That is how my pancake sheaths and rifle scabbard are built. Works with multiple layers like a pancake sheath or with folding the top layer over like in a rifle scabbard. The top layer is finished as far as tooling and stitching grooves matched up with the oversized bottom layer (at least a 1/4") sewn and then the bottom layer is trimmed and sanded to match the top.

So on this scabbard, the side that will be the bottom is cut oversized except at the throat. The top side and the throat are cut true to pattern. I then cut the stitching grooves. Tooling is done and once the leather is dry the two sides are glued together at the stitching line. I guess it should be noted that I first bend the leather over when wet so that it does not crack. After gluing I sew er up. The oversized pieces are trimmed to the top and then both sides are sanded together as one.

Pancake sheaths are the same. The bottom layer is oversized all the way around except at the throat. Sewn then trimmed and sanded to match the top layer.

I make spur strays that way too. Cut out the top pieces, do your stitching groove, tooling and then glue to the lining piece which in this case sticks out all the way around as there is no throat to line up. Sew, then trim and sand so your two layers are now one.

Little more complicated on this scabbard because of the flap and its lined. But the concept is the same. Build from top down.

Seriously if I can ever be of help, I'm a pm, email or phone call away. If ya wanna see more pics of our work click on the Instagram link in my signature line. Ya don't have to be an IG member and ya can view em on your computer. Lots of pics of our stuff being used in the real world.

 

[Willie71]

On that deal, think and build from the top down. That is how my pancake sheaths and rifle scabbard are built. Works with multiple layers like a pancake sheath or with folding the top layer over like in a rifle scabbard. The top layer is finished as far as tooling and stitching grooves matched up with the oversized bottom layer (at least a 1/4") sewn and then the bottom layer is trimmed and sanded to match the top.

So on this scabbard, the side that will be the bottom is cut oversized except at the throat. The top side and the throat are cut true to pattern. I then cut the stitching grooves. Tooling is done and once the leather is dry the two sides are glued together at the stitching line. I guess it should be noted that I first bend the leather over when wet so that it does not crack. After gluing I sew er up. The oversized pieces are trimmed to the top and then both sides are sanded together as one.

Pancake sheaths are the same. The bottom layer is oversized all the way around except at the throat. Sewn then trimmed and sanded to match the top layer.

I make spur strays that way too. Cut out the top pieces, do your stitching groove, tooling and then glue to the lining piece which in this case sticks out all the way around as there is no throat to line up. Sew, then trim and sand so your two layers are now one.

Little more complicated on this scabbard because of the flap and its lined. But the concept is the same. Build from top down.

Seriously if I can ever be of help, I'm a pm, email or phone call away. If ya wanna see more pics of our work click on the Instagram link in my signature line. Ya don't have to be an IG member and ya can view em on your computer. Lots of pics of our stuff being used in the real world.

I’ve been looking at your horizontal carry sheaths for inspiration. The next sheath I make will be horizontal carry, so I’m enjoying the inspiration.

 

[timos-]

Sheaths are a must. I do send them without sheaths by request but most often I offer to send to Chris @ treestump leather. Leatherwork is fun and all but I dont see how I could make the same quality as he does for what he charges. I suppose I could but it would take me 30-40 years to get there. In the end I think it depends on how much time do you want to devote to acquiring the tools and learning the craft. For me..I barely can find the time to make the knife so it is a no brainer.

 

[Justin Schmidt]

Man that makes so much sense Horsewright ! It's like the light bulb just went off haha. Thank you. I follow you in IG I admire your work and pictures of the ranch remind me of my child hood. I'll probably shoot you an email after a while for some pattern and hole issues I'm having so I don't clog up the posts.