Hatchet sheath—any helpful advice

[Jaxx1024]

Any helpful advice for this sheath I just tried making? I used 2/3 oz leather; short rivets; line 20 snaps (which barely worked—I hate snaps); beveled the best I could; burnished with a slicker and homemade wax conditioner; Sewed a centimeter of brown thread and burned the ends. And burned RL into it and dyed with a leather finish. First image is finished. 2nd is unfinished. 

[DJole]

It's hard to get a good look at your edges --  you say you burnished them, but it's unclear.  I think the edges need beveling and sanding before you burnish them. 
Is the edge really that long? If not, there's a chance that a corner could peek out the gap between the rivets and cause some damage. 

Here's one I threw together, just you can see what others have done. 
I made this axe sheath from scrap leather over 20 years ago...still going strong.  Note the stitching lines -- it's open at the top so the axe just drops in, the handle going through the hole in the bottom.
There is a triangular piece that is sewn in, which the axe head rests on. 
The front is made of three pieces-- the strip is sewn to each side, so the sharp edge isn't  touching any of the thread. It could use a strap across the top

(I just recently re-handled this axe -- I've been meaning to cut the wedge down, one of these days...)

Edited September 19, 2022 by DJole

[TomE]

This video includes adding a welt to an axe cover that might be helpful.  I would encourage you to sew instead of using rivets.  

 

[Dwight]

11 hours ago, Jaxx1024 said:

Any helpful advice for this sheath I just tried making?

 

THE advice for making a sheath . . . absolutely NEVER put even one rivet in the sheath that is anywhere near the blade edge.

WHY? . . . Because you . . . just like all the rest of us . . . will one day pick it up . . . swing it at a piece of wood . . . halfway thru the swing we will remember that the sheath is still on it . . . and when contact is made . . . the blade will be ruined wherever those rivets were.

In the place of the rivets . . . put a welt . . . and sew the welt.  If you don't sew . . . thong the thing . . . use a drill press . . . 1/8 inch holes . . . leather lacing . . . tie a knot in it before the first hole . . . tie another knot in it at the last hole.  

It won't be as pretty as the riveted one . . . but it will protect your hatchet / axe far, far longer and greater.

May God bless,

Dwight

[chuck123wapati]

my two cents, its a completely functional item as it is I don't believe a rivet will do any harm to a properly tempered blade but they don't look that good IMO. If you want to make it prettier lose the rivets add the welt and sew it nice and straight, sand or cut the edges nice and straight to match your sewing then burnish and finish. 

[tsunkasapa]

Lots of good advice above. And let me point out that you have your snap parts reversed. Generally speaking, the male part would go on the body of the sheath, and the female part on the flap. This is not written in stone, but that is the usual application.

[Jaxx1024]

22 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

my two cents, its a completely functional item as it is I don't believe a rivet will do any harm to a properly tempered blade but they don't look that good IMO. If you want to make it prettier lose the rivets add the welt and sew it nice and straight, sand or cut the edges nice and straight to match your sewing then burnish and finish. 

 

23 hours ago, Dwight said:

THE advice for making a sheath . . . absolutely NEVER put even one rivet in the sheath that is anywhere near the blade edge.

WHY? . . . Because you . . . just like all the rest of us . . . will one day pick it up . . . swing it at a piece of wood . . . halfway thru the swing we will remember that the sheath is still on it . . . and when contact is made . . . the blade will be ruined wherever those rivets were.

In the place of the rivets . . . put a welt . . . and sew the welt.  If you don't sew . . . thong the thing . . . use a drill press . . . 1/8 inch holes . . . leather lacing . . . tie a knot in it before the first hole . . . tie another knot in it at the last hole.  

It won't be as pretty as the riveted one . . . but it will protect your hatchet / axe far, far longer and greater.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thank you guys. I did sew it some more however. I don’t know what welts are but I’ll look it up unless you guys may have a good description. Posting s couple more with the stitching. I know they are definitely uneven, but I was in a rush at the time and didn’t measure it correctly. 

[chuck123wapati]

25 minutes ago, Jaxx1024 said:

 

Thank you guys. I did sew it some more however. I don’t know what welts are but I’ll look it up unless you guys may have a good description. Posting s couple more with the stitching. I know they are definitely uneven, but I was in a rush at the time and didn’t measure it correctly. 

your stitching makes it look much better!! Don't rush slow down and enjoy the process of learning and creating.

A welt in a sheath is a strip of leather put between the outer two pieces that protects the stitching from being cut by the blade. Usually about a 1/4" to 3/8" wide. running the length of the blade. you glue it between the two outer pieces along the edge then sew through it

[Tugadude]

Chuck beat me to it.  Another point you need to address is where the welt terminates.  I would taper the leather welt on the ends so that it transitions more smoothly to two layers.  

This example is cut to eliminate the need...

[Tugadude]

Here's a tutorial that might give you some ideas.

 

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-make-leather-axe-sheath.html

 

[Jaxx1024]

21 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

your stitching makes it look much better!! Don't rush slow down and enjoy the process of learning and creating.

A welt in a sheath is a strip of leather put between the outer two pieces that protects the stitching from being cut by the blade. Usually about a 1/4" to 3/8" wide. running the length of the blade. you glue it between the two outer pieces along the edge then sew through it

Awesome! Thank you guys! 

16 minutes ago, Tugadude said:

Here's a tutorial that might give you some ideas.

 

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-make-leather-axe-sheath.html

 

Thanks Tug! I will check it out later. 

[Bert03241]

JMHO but I'd use heavier leather 8 to 9 oz. Hatchets tend to get thrown around the campsite and get beat up pretty good over time

[zuludog]

Search YouTube for 'making a leather axe sheath' There are several videos; such as this one, but there are others

 

[DaveP]

Here's one I had made. It was done twice as well. As above with hatchets and axes the welt really does need to be tapered . I have a double layer in this welt.  I also used copper rivets on the corners. They are inside the welt.

[Tugadude]

19 minutes ago, DaveP said:

Here's one I had made. It was done twice as well. As above with hatchets and axes the welt really does need to be tapered . I have a double layer in this welt.  I also used copper rivets on the corners. They are inside the welt.

that's very nice!

[Jaxx1024]

5 hours ago, Tugadude said:

that's very nice!

Very nice indeed! Thank you for the tips. I will definitely do that next time! 

[chuck123wapati]

of course head shape and axe function also affects design of the sheath. These are made to carry on a belt for example.

[TedNoiz]

Doesn't matter what it looks like.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  What matters is that it works and you're happy with it.  

The first two hatchet sheaths I made were of thin leather, too.  I always use thick veg-tan now.  It's the only way to fly for sheaths, especially for rugged use.

I keep away from rivets whenever I can with sheaths and holsters, especially steel rivets, and stick with stitching all the way.  Steel is going to be hard on your blade if rivet and blade meet.  If you choose to go with rivets, use copper.  Copper is much softer than your steel blade and won't damage it anywhere near as bad as steel.  Also, stitching is by far and away stronger than copper rivets and doesn't add weight to your project.  So... whaddya need rivets for?  I avoid them when I can.

 

 

 

[Jaxx1024]

On 9/21/2022 at 6:12 PM, TedNoiz said:

Doesn't matter what it looks like.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  What matters is that it works and you're happy with it.  

The first two hatchet sheaths I made were of thin leather, too.  I always use thick veg-tan now.  It's the only way to fly for sheaths, especially for rugged use.

I keep away from rivets whenever I can with sheaths and holsters, especially steel rivets, and stick with stitching all the way.  Steel is going to be hard on your blade if rivet and blade meet.  If you choose to go with rivets, use copper.  Copper is much softer than your steel blade and won't damage it anywhere near as bad as steel.  Also, stitching is by far and away stronger than copper rivets and doesn't add weight to your project.  So... whaddya need rivets for?  I avoid them when I can.

 

 

 

Thank you! I will implement this stuff into my next projects!