Newbie question

[cwestall]

Hello,

I am new to leatherworking and want to start with a sheath for a knife I just bought. The problem is that I really do not know where to start so it is hard for me to search the forum for my question when I do not even know what my question would be. I think the first question is what kind of leather I need, but even this has all sorts of ancillary questions. Is there a book or an internet site that anyone can recommend to me (obviously the internet site, as the cheaper option would be preferable)? Thank you for your help.

[jbird]

Howdy

I make knives and sheathes among other things my advice to you is as follows,

1. Don't make any thing that holds a weapon before you know what's what.

2. My thoughts are that a good sheath is one that is safe.

3. So wild rose trading I think is Chuck burrows website look that up he has some great tips on there you can print out.

Sheath making guide

4. You can use a hole bunch of different leathers for sheathes but for starters vegy tan 9/10 oz will be top notch.

5. There a couple books that are cheap that give good idea of sheathes I will post those later.

6. Also what kind of knife makes a huge difference is it folding or a fixed blade.

7.this Is a start I will add on later.

Josh

Edited July 22, 2009 by jbird

[cwestall]

Howdy

I make knives and sheathes among other things my advice to you is as follows,

1. Don't make any thing that holds a weapon before you know what's what.

2. My thoughts are that a good sheath is one that is safe.

3. So wild rose trading I think is Chuck burrows website look that up he has some great tips on there you can print out.

Sheath making guide

4. You can use a hole bunch of different leathers for sheathes but for starters vegy tan 9/10 oz will be top notch.

5. There a couple books that are cheap that give good idea of sheathes I will post those later.

6. Also what kind of knife makes a huge difference is it folding or a fixed blade.

7.this Is a start I will add on later.

Josh

Thanks for the help. I want to make a sheath for a fixed blade knife. I do not even want to get started buying materials until I get some base knowledge so everything is helpful.

[TwinOaks]

"Is there a book or an internet site that anyone can recommend to me..."

You're here!!! Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the entire www.

Now, the part about NOT buying materials before knowing what you want to do.....we gotta work on that. Really, you need to have a huge assortment of tools that you have no idea how to use, plus at least a square yard of various leathers to intimidate you....I'M KIDDING!

There's two easy ways to build a sheath- one piece of leather or more than one piece of leather. The single piece is shaped funny because it has front, back, and belt loop all laid out before cutting. A multi piece sheath is easier in the aspect that you can use smaller pieces of leather that are all cut to a simpler shape. The multi-piece is harder because there's more sewing.

As far as what leather to use, Josh is right. Veg tan is the easiest on you and the steel, because some leather (chrome-tanned for example) has salts in it that can damage the finish/surface of metal.

There's a good bit of sheath info at Ragweedforge.com, click here.

He also generously has some links to other sheath makers at the bottom of the linked page.

[AZ09]

Hello C

This is a good visual reference should give you some good ideas.

Search more there and get more inspiration

peace

ST~

[cwestall]

Hello C

This is a good visual reference should give you some good ideas.

Search more there and get more inspiration

peace

ST~

Great. Thanks for all the help. I think at this point my next question is, where is the best place to get the gear and what do I need? I want to try to do a good job and not half-ass it, so I would like to have all the necessary tools, but I am also on a tight budget (and leash) so cannot spend too much. What are the things I need to do a good job on a sheath and what are the things that will make my life easier but that I do not need? Also, how many square feet of leather do I need? Thanks for your continued help.

[PaganBear]

This whole question - answer/question - answer/question thing is entertaining...

I'm in the process of my first sheath, so I can feel for ya. I'm actually going to go post some pics of the in progress now....

at any rate, much respect for the not half-assed.

When looking at having all the "necessary" tools, you have to ask yourself what your goal is. If you want to do any kind of tooling, you'll likely need some more tools. dying and finishing might not be more tools, but it is more supplies. the most basic tools that I would say is some form of Razor knife, an awl, some thread and a handful of needles.

The amount of leather depends on how big the knife is as well as how you're constructing it (like Twin explained). As a possible vendor suggestion, the most prevalent around (they're everywhere) is Tandy (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/). Tandy is also good cause all of the managers I've met have been very intelligent and knowledgable about the work. They can be a great resource.

Tandy sells what is called single shoulders which should be enough to make a sheath for any LEGAL knife around as well as have some left over for practice, or screw-ups fixes. Remembering that Josh suggested 9/10 oz. thickness.

The list of things that would make life easier, but ya don't need is just about everything else in the world

Hope this helps,

- Bear

[TwinOaks]

Adding to PB's supplier recommendation....Springfield Leather. Click the banner at the top of the page. Kevin may have some pieces of appropriate size handy. All you need to do is call. You can even ask around on here, as it's not uncommon for members to send new folks a bit o' leather, if they have it.

For actually making the sheath:

You need to PLAN it before cutting. Copy paper, notebook paper, file folders, etc., work fine.

Knife-Cutting the leather requires a sharp knife. Non replaceable blade hobby knifes work fine, so does any ol' utility knife with a good razor blade. (you'll just have to be careful with the cuts, and always cut away from an inside corner)

For the stitches, you need to space the holes evenly. A overstitch wheel is marvelous. A fork will do just fine. Same thing with setting a groove for the stitches. Set one tine of a fork on the leather and hang the rest off the edge. Presto, consistent spacing for the stitch groove. Once it's scribed, you can use the butt of the handle to crease the line.

Awl- pretty much anything that'll stab a clean hole (but not a hole punch) will work, but a diamond (blade shape) awl is just so much nicer to use that it doesn't make sense to MacGuyver this. If you need to, you can use a bicycle spoke, stiff wire, piece of chainlink fence, sharpened small screwdriver....you get the idea.

Needles and thread- Go to Walmart's craft section. Waxed linen thread is under $2.00. Needles are $0.72 for a variety pack, so you can use the size you like best.

Glue- pick any good contact cement to hold things in place while you stab holes.

Stamps- ANYTHING that can make an impression can be a stamp. I've used Torx bits for cryin' out loud....they looked good too. You can make a short term stamp out of a stick if you want to. Just carve a reverse image in the end of it and away you go.

Finishes- Probably the easiest 'finish' is just a coat of oil. You can use Extra Virgin Olive oil if you have it on hand, then set the piece out in the sun for a couple of hours. It results in a nice color. Another very simple finish is "vinegaroon", aka striking, aka ebonizing.

Do a search on this forum for it. There's several multi page threads about it. Good stuff...........if you want black.

Hope this helps out, as I've done the "poor man's leatherwork" thing before. Nifty thing about it is this: If you're creating and adapting skills to what you have on hand (i.e. no traditional leather tools) you'll be making things like nobody else.

[PaganBear]

Awesome info Twin... gave me some new ideas as well

[TwinOaks]

I'd like to add this very important note: I'm pretty new to this hobby. I started a little over 2 years ago. Almost all the info I posted above is from this site (the torx bit thingy I found on my own), and my posting it is only because so many other members have added to the knowledge base here. I'm just helping to pass it on down the line.