Stretching a scabbard?

H

HankS

Joined
Dec 15, 1999
Messages
574
So, how do you do stretch a scabbard? I've found that if I just wrap the scabbard in a very damp towel for a couple of days, it loosens up perfectly, but leaving it out with just the khukuri in it, it will shrink back down and be too tight. Livermore is a pretty dry area. It sounds like all I need is to put something a little thicker in the scabbard with the knife and let it dry out with that and maybe add some some lanolin to the leather or something. Any ideas or techniques that you've used?

Hank
 
You've got the right idea. After you get it dampened well and the khukuri fits properly use a wood wegde to open it up a little larger than it is and let it dry. That should do it.
 
If water does not work for you even with the wood wedge try leather conditioner. Lexol, neats foot oil, or lanolin will all make leather relax and stay relaxed for quite a while. One of the reasons I do not you this stuff on my sheaths as I like the scabbard tight.

Will
 
Well, I did another wrap in a wet towel job over the weekend until Mon. Then, I made a few of shims out of cardboard, increasing the thickness about 1/8 to 3/16 inch. Taped them to the blade, and stuffed it down most of the way into the scabbard. I let it dry, and oiled the scabbard the next two days with neatsfoot oil. It's really good now! Thanks for all the input, and thanks Uncle Bill for the great deal!

Hank:cool:
 
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