The Cowbell Build Thread

SwissHeritageCo said:
I'm still staring at this simple but beautiful sheath!

Whatcha doing with those edges? They almost look oiled. That cowbell stamp 👌
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Thanks! Less is more for sure. As far as the edges go I burnish with water and a little glycerin and give them a good coat of Montana Pitch Blend Oil & Conditioner and then finish it off with some Skidmore's.
 
Redmeadow Knives said:
I think they're related but it's Sheoak, really neat looking stuff!


Thanks, it's taken me a while to get a process down. I'll have to show how I stitch them, it's bizarre but it's the only way I can get it to work. Since the back side of the sheaths abruptly change thicknesses at the belt slot like a little shelf, the foot tries to bend it down and because the belt loop is right next to it, it gets crooked and will skewed the stitchline.

I fugured out a way to avoid it by leaving the welt about a half inch proud from the rest of the pieces and temporarily tacking pieces of leather onto the welt to make little skis that keep the thinner part of the sheath from getting smashed by the foot. It let's the sheath ride flat in the machine, preventing the bend and keeping a straight stitch line. As long as the knot is set at a good depth it works out. Stitching them upside down would technically work but would give me the ugly back side stitch that happens with a machine on the front.

For those of you that are reading this and are lost so far, don't worry, just know that I have your back 🤣

A little bit to explain why one side looks better in a machine stitch. First off it's just cosmetic. A machine stitch will very rarely look as good on the backside as it can in the front because of the way the needle pierces leather. When the needle pierces into it, it pushes the leather into the hole, when it punches out the back side, it pushes leather out along with it. Imagine puncturing a thin piece of tin with a nail, one side would be smooth and concave while the back side would be jagged and raised up like a tiny volcano. Same thing applies to leather and your thread looks smoother when it's.going into the concave hole as opposed to the tiny volcano. That's why a machine stitch will always have a better top side.

With handstitching you punch the holes from each side so you never have that little volcano every exposed hole is concave so the thread glides down and gives you a cleaner appearance. It's a cosmetic difference mostly. Is a handstitch stronger theoretically? Yes, but having ripped apart both machine stitch and handstitch pieces that I've screwed up, they are bith insanely strong for their purpose, insanely. I think people think machine stitched leather is like a hem in your shirt, with leather it's nothing remotely like that, the knots are deep inside the thickness and won't run.

A lot of that probably made absolutely zero sense whatsoever without pictures I know.

Maybe I'll record a video of what I mean and make things even more confusing!!!
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We were talking about this the other day and I mentioned making a video explaining the rambling from the post above. I'm terrible at making videos but I like for everyone to know the details if they're interested and a video is best way. Without further ado, here's 4 minutes of your life that you'll never get back....
 
^ Thanks John for making this video to give us a window into your “tricks of the trade” for making the Cowbell sheaths.

I truly value the belt version of the Cowbell sheath as much as the knife that rides in it. The two are complimentary and inseparable to me as an efficient package. The elegant simplicity of the belt slot design that allows either vertical or cross draw carry exemplifies Leonardo Da Vinci’s maxim to, “Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

I am also a big fan of Lorien Lorien Arnold’s design aesthetic on his sheaths (and knives!) His sheaths are very purpose driven, safe, and LEAN in size as appropriate to the size and anticipated use of the knife. I so appreciate that the Cowbell belt sheath shares this LEAN size design. So many sheathmakers default to big, heavy, overbuilt designs for everything even though it overwhelms the handiness of smaller knives. I like traveling light outdoors and big overbuilt sheaths make me think of how silly it would be to pack a King size comforter to cover a one person cot.

Your sheaths (and custom Gunslinger belts) Rock John! Please don’t change a thing because you already got it right. 😎

Phil (a.k.a. Video Fan#4)

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Comprehensivist said:
^ Thanks John for making this video to give us a window into your “tricks of the trade” for making the Cowbell sheaths.

I truly value the belt version of the Cowbell sheath as much as the knife that rides in it. The two are complimentary and inseparable to me as an efficient package. The elegant simplicity of the belt slot design that allows either vertical or cross draw carry exemplifies Leonardo Da Vinci’s maxim to, “Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

I am also a big fan of Lorien Lorien Arnold’s design aesthetic on his sheaths (and knives!) His sheaths are very purpose driven, safe, and LEAN in size as appropriate to the size and anticipated use of the knife. I so appreciate that the Cowbell belt sheath shares this LEAN size design. So many sheathmakers default to big, heavy, overbuilt designs for everything even though it overwhelms the handiness of smaller knives. I like traveling light outdoors and big overbuilt sheaths make me think of how silly it would be to pack a King size comforter to cover a one person cot.

Your sheaths (and custom Gunslinger belts) Rock John! Please don’t change a thing because you already got it right. 😎

Phil (a.k.a. Video Fan#4)

i-hP5JfS7-XL.jpg


i-7mLJGnQ-XL.jpg
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Thanks Phil, that's great to hear. Less is more when it comes to most things. Like Hemingway, cut it down to what gets the point across, everything else is just fluff. The Cowbell is no showstopper but I think it holds it's own when it comes to function.

On another note I think I have a larger design down, trying to decide on a thickness. May go with 5/32, it's a 6 inch blade that's a bit on the stocky side. Should be stout enough to do some light swinging with and a little heft in the spine should balance things out nicely.

On yet another note, I'm processing parts for Cowbells. Pins, tubing, and handle materials all ready to go. I won't have a knife out this week. I just sent two out for a family order. Look for Dibs in the next Newsletter maybe by the end of the week.
 
Nate’s Knives said:
So I’m late to the party…I like the simplicity and beauty of your knives but didn’t see a pricing.
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Welcome Nate, jmgruber jmgruber beat me to it, I sell through a Newsletter that you're more than welcome to Join. Get me your email and I'll add it to the list if you're interested. Thanks for the kind words.
cbach8tw said:
A six inch blade with a 5/32 sounds good, drop point blade. I am partial to 1/8 thickness.
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I'm with you Craig and really partial to .10" for an edc type of use. I'm considering making this to be more of a field knife with a taller blade height and thicker spine. I think 5/32 will give a nice geometry, 3/16 can be lunky.

I have a hard time making a daily carry blade with longer than a 5 inch blade, I can't wrap my head around carrying a 9 plus inch knife on a daily basis. As I worked to design a larger knife than a Cowbell it's purpose went more towards heavy work than a daily task knife. I may have to make an XL Cowbell and add some handle and an inch or so of blade at some point. Though as I type that I wonder will it really do more than a Cowbell or just be cumbersome on the belt?

Guess I'm too much of a Fountainhead type to ever be a succesful knifemaker lol.
 
Got you added Nate, thanks for the interest.
 
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Redmeadow Knives said:
...I may have to make an XL Cowbell and add some handle and an inch or so of blade at some point. Though as I type that I wonder will it really do more than a Cowbell or just be cumbersome on the belt?
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If the XL Cowbell would be heavy and cumbersome, perhaps you should name it the Dumbell! 😆 Of course, "Clan of the Dumbells" wouldn't convey the same high level of cache as we are accustomed to now. :cool:

Phil
 
Comprehensivist said:
If the XL Cowbell would be heavy and cumbersome, perhaps you should name it the Dumbell! 😆 Of course, "Clan of the Dumbells" wouldn't convey the same high level of cache as we are accustomed to now. :cool:

Phil
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I'm in Phil, we can run infomercials at 2AM...
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How many time has this happened to you! You're working out and need to cut yourself free from those pesky machines only to realize your sweatpants don't have pockets OR a belt! Oh No!
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Now there's a solution, the Dumbell Knife! From the people that brought you the shakeweight now you can workout with confidence with your very own Dumbell knife!"

I have and over active imagination, apologies everyone 🤣
 
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