what weight leather

[cjd1980]

I recently started making leather sheaths for my knives. Right now I am working on a scout carry sheath for a knife with about a 3 1/2" blade. I am not sure what thickness of leather to buy for it.I have some 4-5 oz which I think will be to thin the other leather that i have is about a 1/4 "thick I'm not sure if that is to thick or not.
I'm also open to any advice on making the scout carry sheath that you might have as this is my first atempt at one thanks guys.

 

[rayban]

My opinion is that 8oz is the ideal for sheaths as you describe.
I'm not sure what is meant by scout carry....could it be something like this?:

 

[cjd1980]

thanks by scout carry i meant that it is carried on the back horizontally

 

[rayban]

oh....silly me.....well if I were doing it I would do like this...this one was meant to carry at an angle for cross draw so you could just configure the strap to ride horizontal.....one wide strap, or two narrower ones at opposite ends, depending on the length of the sheath....
Another way of doing it would be to wrap the belt loops completely around, over the top edge of the sheath and stitch to the bottom edge.....clear as mud? lemme know I'll draw a sketch....

 

[sheathmaker]

Scout carry, my preferred style is the snap on and off as pictured below. Re-inserition of the knife is a real chore behind your back so this style will just snap right off if necessary without removing your belt. I have made this in both one and two strap configurations depending on the length of the knife. The example pictured is set up for right hand draw, scout carry.

I use 7/8 oz. veg, tanned leather lined with 2/3 oz veg, tan or deer skin for a total of about 8+ oz. which is what Rick (Rayban) recommended.

Paul

 

[cjd1980]

thanks guys I'm going to order the leather tomorrow I'll let you now how it turns out