knife repairs and sheathes

[chuck123wapati]

a couple knives a  fellow wanted fixed up. The black knife he has had since a kid, he is 70, his son chipped the blade so I repaired it a bit cleaned it up and made a new sheath. the other was a metal detector find he had. it had no scales and was solid rust so i made elk antler scales cleaned it up and made the sheath. I wish i had done some before pics. 

[dikman]

Look good, the elk antler in particular. I have a soft spot for antler handles/scales, I reckon they always look "right".

[chuck123wapati]

25 minutes ago, dikman said:

Look good, the elk antler in particular. I have a soft spot for antler handles/scales, I reckon they always look "right".

Thanks  i love antler to work with you never quite know how they will end up looking the pictures dont do them justice they are more polished then they look.

[Leescustomleather]

Those sheaths are very well made, everything about them is well executed and finely done, nice job!

[MikeRock]

Hi Chuck,

Old man here...  Did you ever see one of Rudy Ruana's knives?  Forged from files, guard and pommel cast from melted beer can aluminum, elk scales and the cross pins made from aluminum clothesline wire.

Hand sewn sheaths.  I traded a girl an Indian flute for one she had, 1974.  Look him up, cool old gentleman. 

https://www.ruanaknives.com

 

Good grief, they are still in business!  Good for them!!

If you like that knife style, let me know.  Getting your blanket ready to ship.

[Tequila]

Very nice looking, excellent craftsmanship 

[tsunkasapa]

Nice work on both the knives and sheaths. I never remember to take 'before' pictures either.

[chuck123wapati]

13 hours ago, Leescustomleather said:

Those sheaths are very well made, everything about them is well executed and finely done, nice job!

 

10 hours ago, tsunkasapa said:

Nice work on both the knives and sheaths. I never remember to take 'before' pictures either.

thank you

11 hours ago, Tequila said:

Very nice looking, excellent craftsmanship 

thank you

13 hours ago, MikeRock said:

Hi Chuck,

Old man here...  Did you ever see one of Rudy Ruana's knives?  Forged from files, guard and pommel cast from melted beer can aluminum, elk scales and the cross pins made from aluminum clothesline wire.

Hand sewn sheaths.  I traded a girl an Indian flute for one she had, 1974.  Look him up, cool old gentleman. 

https://www.ruanaknives.com

 

Good grief, they are still in business!  Good for them!!

If you like that knife style, let me know.  Getting your blanket ready to ship.

. something to do with all my old carburetors lol. those are awesome knives, one of my favorite knife styles. i am going to have to fire up the forge it looks like lol, a friend gave me a couple thousand rounds of old brass too i think i'll melt it down.

13 hours ago, Leescustomleather said:

Those sheaths are very well made, everything about them is well executed and finely done, nice job!

thank you.

[Thescandall]

Nice clean look on the sheaths Chuck.  

[PastorBob]

Love seeing your work, my friend.  Great job as always.  Those sheaths are beautifully done.

[Samalan]

Nice job as always Chuck you do need to start with the before and after pics though .

[chuck123wapati]

14 hours ago, Thescandall said:

Nice clean look on the sheaths Chuck.  

Thank you 

30 minutes ago, Samalan said:

Nice job as always Chuck you do need to start with the before and after pics though .

lol yes i do the black knife  wasnt bad all i had to do was put a new edge on it but the metal detector find was a bit of a chore.

33 minutes ago, PastorBob said:

Love seeing your work, my friend.  Great job as always.  Those sheaths are beautifully done.

thank you Pastor a lot of folks like plain old leather, sure makes it easy to please them.

[Bawarrior]

Nice work Chuck, beautiful. I fixed WW2 Marine sheath with old patina, never even thought of posting. Now I wish I would have. By the way, I'd take the stag every time.

[chuck123wapati]

23 minutes ago, Bawarrior said:

Nice work Chuck, beautiful. I fixed WW2 Marine sheath with old patina, never even thought of posting. Now I wish I would have. By the way, I'd take the stag every time.

Thanks man!! 

[gregintenn]

Very nice work, sir. I particularly like the aged condition of the old blades as opposed to shiny and new.

[Lobo]

Over the decades I have made hundreds of sheaths for people with good knives and worn out, lost, or damaged original sheaths. I always enjoyed those little chores but seldom made much more than material costs. Very few people are willing to pay the value of a couple hours of skilled craftsmanship that is required to complete a simple knife sheath.

Worked with a good custom knife maker for several years. Different proposition, doing a dozen at a time and working for a professional who understood the time and costs involved. He was charging $250 and up for his knives so he didn't mind paying a fair price for what he wanted to offer his customers. I also ended up with a few of his knives in trade for his sheath needs.

[chuck123wapati]

On 5/23/2022 at 10:00 AM, gregintenn said:

Very nice work, sir. I particularly like the aged condition of the old blades as opposed to shiny and new.

thank you yes i love old steel too. I collect knives somewhat, never the new ones they just don't interest me. The black knife the 70+ customer has had since a kid, won it a carnival. I cleaned it up and polished the brass and handle a bit. When he pulled it out of sheath and saw it he about teared up on me. lol you could just see how much he loved that old carnival knife, to anyone else it wouldn't be worth a new sheath.

That's why i do these for people because these old knives become a very personal and cherished item. What we do as craftsmen means more than making a buck sometimes.

Edited June 10, 2022 by chuck123wapati

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

Over the decades I have made hundreds of sheaths for people with good knives and worn out, lost, or damaged original sheaths. I always enjoyed those little chores but seldom made much more than material costs. Very few people are willing to pay the value of a couple hours of skilled craftsmanship that is required to complete a simple knife sheath.

Worked with a good custom knife maker for several years. Different proposition, doing a dozen at a time and working for a professional who understood the time and costs involved. He was charging $250 and up for his knives so he didn't mind paying a fair price for what he wanted to offer his customers. I also ended up with a few of his knives in trade for his sheath needs.

yes its hard to remake a diecut and machine sewn 2 minute sheath( most knives come with)  with quality leather, welt, and hand sewing and all the rest of the work that goes into it and make money. I fully explain the difference before hand as well as showing the finished product next to the original when they pick it up. I've always made a good profit, its quality leather but these small things are strap ends, cut offs. 

[jrdunn]

6 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

thank you yes i love old steel too. I collect knives somewhat, never the new ones they just don't interest me. The black knife the 70+ customer has had since a kid, won it a carnival. I cleaned it up and polished the brass and handle a bit. When he pulled it out of sheath and saw it he about teared up on me. lol you could just see how much he loved that old carnival knife, to anyone else it wouldn't be worth a new sheath.

That's why i do these for people because these old knives become a very personal and cherished item. What we do as craftsmen means more than making a buck sometimes.

Chuck, 

Consider this my "LIKE Button".

Jim

[327fed]

Chuck, I got that same old black knife. Had to find it in my knife box. Picked it up in the street when I was a teenager. Smelled like fish so I guess it fell out of somebody’s boat. The sheath was my first leather construction with a key ring strap for retention. The electrical tape was a later field patch. Carried it deer hunting for years. Not sure that sheath is worth patching, but it only lasted 45 years. 

[dikman]

That sheath must rate as a "classic"!

[chuck123wapati]

8 minutes ago, 327fed said:

Chuck, I got that same old black knife. Had to find it in my knife box. Picked it up in the street when I was a teenager. Smelled like fish so I guess it fell out of somebody’s boat. The sheath was my first leather construction with a key ring strap for retention. The electrical tape was a later field patch. Carried it deer hunting for years. Not sure that sheath is worth patching, but it only lasted 45 years. 

dang if it isnt! lol They take a pretty good edge. That sheath look like a couple i made as a youngun too.   lol