Gosut

This one is a sheath for a Bowie knife. After sticker shock at the start-up cost and materials, I bought a waxed polyester thread that has good reviews, just in case. If I'm going to invest this much in the project, I don't want to ruin it with thread. My next project is likely a checkbook cover. I also need to make a custom band for a watch, but one thing at a time. The kit is one of those lower cost ones sold on Amazon. Other purchasers say that the thread is cotton. We will see.

I've decided the best way I can save money getting started is to get one of those inexpensive leather kits and some jeweler's rouge and automotive fine grit sandpaper for sharpening. As seems common with these kits, they come with thread. Is this thread any good or should I buy thread separately, as I plan to do for the needles?

My father used to make items out of old shoe leather and copper rivets using a pocket knife and a framing hammer. Not a knife sheath, but plenty of hammer holsters.

Nods. That's how I laid out the pattern. Just that I'm thinking it would be looser at the top despite the bottom part cut to shape. Something I realized I'd like to have: Carbon paper. It would be perfect for duplicating the front pattern I've made for the sheath to the back. In the old days when carbon paper was a thing, we'd make our own in school by heavily shading normal paper with a pencil, but with inconsistent results. Be that as it may, I need to stop the planning part and start the making part, or the project will never get done.

.This Bowie isn't the D guard. The shape of the blade is a clip point, but with the increase in the width of the blade at the start of the clip. The D guard Bowies had the straight blades (I thought this one did when I bought it online), but I suspect that the cheap one I was thinking of getting is just the same blade as the one I have now, but with a different handle. After I start this project, it may be best not to have the expense of another Bowie, anyway (even if it is inexpensive).

Today I got the craft paper and poster board, and started laying out the pattern on the paper. Might be making a mistake in doing that, but to my happy surprise, pencil is easy to erase from the paper. My idea is to tinker with the pattern, then see how much leather I'll need. It was then that I discovered a problem: the top of the blade rises by half an inch until it reaches the beginning of the clip. That means I'll have to size the sheath for the widest point, and that will leave it loose at the top. I split the difference at the blade guard, drawing a straight line to the widest point on both sides, then following the point of the blade. I'm allowing a half inch for the welt. Today I'd thought of making the sheath tight enough so that I could get by without a means to secure the blade, but with the way it swells at the start of the clip, I don't think that's an option. I've sketched in a strap for the thumb break, setting it at 60 degrees to the top of the sheath and drawing it way longer than it will need to be, so I can cut to fit. It's not going to be period, but it should be secure. Unfortunately, this also means my idea for a period sheath for that Milledgeville Arsenal Bowie look-alike is probably out. I suspect it's the same blade, but with a wooden handle and a D guard. That would mean it swells in the middle, too.

Thanks for the reply. A leap frog stitch is just a method of saddle stitching. You thread a harness needle on both ends, thread one needle through the first hole from the punched side, then even the thread. Next you put the other needle through the second hole. With the other hand you hold that thread down tight against the piece as you thread the first needle through the second hole on top of the thread already through it, then through the third hole on the punched side. You then hold down that thread tight against the piece and thread the needle you were holding down through the third hole, going over the top of the thread already in the hole. You then repeat. It's a saddle stitch that's just executed a little differently because you're holding the piece and providing thread tension with one hand. I came across it on YouTube while trying to research what I need to do. The drawback is that it might be hard to do a half hitch with each stitch. Some examples on YouTube have a half hitch or double half hitch while doing the saddle stitch., and some don't. The collar stud is like a Sam Browne. It's a rivet with a stud. The thumb break on a sheath is sort of a boot knife thing. It's not period, but I like the idea. If this project works well, I have an idea to do a period sheaf for a cheap reproduction Bowie I came across that looks very similar to a Milledgeville Arsenal Bowie, circa US Civil War. Unlike this one, it would have a belt loop on the back of the sheath. just that it's sewn in under the blade guard rather than on a loop of leather extending the length of the haft.

Hello, everyone. I'm thinking of getting started in leatherworking, beginning with a knife sheath for a Bowie. My goal is a simple two-sided sheath with a thumb break to secure the blade, and a frog stud. My idea with the frog stud is that it would be the simplest way to try different forms of carry without making multiple sheaths. I had thought about a 19th Century style sheath but like the idea of a thumb break to keep the blade in place (the Bowie is an inexpensive take on a mid-19th Century pattern). That's the first project. I'm thinking I can use a utility knife I already have (standard boxcutter). Other than that, this is what I'm thinking I'll have to buy: Groover. Awl. Stitching chisels (4mm spacing). Poly mallet. Harness needles. Beveler Skiving knife Burnisher Rivet / Snap setter. Cutting mat. Mallet mat. I'm uncertain if I'll need a tack hammer to pound down the stitching. I'm also uncertain if I need a stitching pony or a marble/granite slab. I have thought about using a leap-frog method for a saddle stitch. The slab is really giving me pause, since I'm not looking at getting into tooling at this point. I already have a metal yardstick, but I can get a cork-backed metal ruler locally. Materials I think I'll need are: Veg tan 8/9 ounce leather. Waxed thread (1 mm). Thumb break stiffener. Snaps. Rivets. Collar studs Contact cement. I'm uncertain about keeping the leather a natural color and using neatsfoot oil I already have to finish it. Also uncertain about whether I'll need to buy some beeswax. I'm thinking of using craft paper and poster board to make the patterns. Can I get by with the items on my list? Am I overlooking something? Any advice would be appreciated.