Welts; Single, vs Double, vs Triple

[THEGRATENATE]

I would like to know what yall think the pros and cons are of the different welts used.

I like my sheaths slim, so for me a single welt seems about ideal, but I have gotten very attached to a couple of double welted sheaths that seem to be a good trade off.

Please chime in on why one is better than the other, or what the trade offs are between the different choices.

Thanks

 

[rt014]

If you are in an accident, the scary sharp pointy knife in the double welted is less likely to stab you?

 

[mikeymoto]

I can only imagine you're talking about the # of thicknesses of leather stacked in place to make the welt?

Personally I don't like to use more than the blade steel needs. I generally use a single welt (and the leather used for the welt will be of differing weight depending on...yep, the thickness of the blade).

Just recently I finished a sheath that is single welt for the bottom inch or so, and from there up it's skived to 2 layers...because the blade was too thick for a single layer and I didn't want to mold this sheath.

 

[mfaster7]

I believe in giving the blade room to breathe. Usually two layers or three skivved to one. Shape of the blade is what determines thickness of welt.

 

[leatherman]

my philosophy is to use the same thickness of welt as the thickness of the knife, if not a little thicker. This keeps the blade from getting over rubbed, keeps wear down to a minimum. On knive with a particularly abrasive finish, like Desert Tan and its ilk, I like to give the blade lots of room so it doesnt sand my sheath from the inside out.

welts that are thinner than the blade only cause undue wear, and make the sheath look a little funky.

Now that said, the number of layers is irrelevant, as long as the welting is the correct thickness it can be one, or ten layers. Sometimes on lighter colored sheaths I like to use at least three layers of thinner leather, it gives a nifty grain effect. If you want a particularly stiff sheath use sole bend, that stuff is super stiff. Saddle skirting makes good welt material, but it tends to be varied in thickness on the same side.

 

[THEGRATENATE]

Good,

This is what I was looking for,

Multi(or thick) welting,
Pros; Keeps the sheath from rubbing on the blade, makes the sheath stiffer.
Cons; Bulky size and appearance.

Single( or thin) welting,
Pros; Appearance, weight, and size.
Cons; More blade rub, and less stiffness.

So my take on this is that the welting that brings the sheath up to the thickness of the blade seems to be needed or at least worth the trade off, while extra welting that brings the sheath up to the over all thickness of the scales seems to be overkill and makes the sheath to bulky for my tastes.

If my facts are wrong please correct me, if you don't agree with my opinions, please see my avatar.:foot::foot: