Minimal Tools Needed for Knife Sheath

[fredk]

Both 'scratch' awls work fine. I have several of both and they do work well for poking holes in leather up to about 3mm thick. I have several as 1. I have them left over from teaching kit 2. I have numerous work benches and a couple of transportable work kits in which I keep them 

[Klara]

As Tsunkapasa says. 

The first thing I look for in a kit is stitching chisels. And when I do that, I discover that there are very few, if any, useable "complete" kits left. Nothing on Ebay,  on Amazon I found this. There's 4 stitching chisels and a groover/edge beveler multi tool. @Gosut you might be better off buying separately just a chisel set, a decent edge beveler and use a compass you already have.

Not the cheapest version,  but the most fun, is to find an actual brick and mortar store with knowledgeable sales staff, where you can compare different tools. Choices over which I've agonized in front of the PC have become very easy touching the tools. But be warned, unless you are good at sticking to shopping lists, that can get very expensive (I can't help it,  Deco Cuir have leather in the shop that's not on the website...)

Saddlers needles (John James) are ridiculously cheap - I've bought all sizes. Thread is astonishingly expensive, but I am convinced that the stuff in the cheap kits is not good quality. And you really, really don't want to work with bad thread! A piece of beeswax costs little and you can use it for the thread (if you buy unwaxed, which has the advantage that you can thin it out for easier threading) and the edges of the leather.

Regarding the awl: You can pay a fortune and get one that's ready to use (the sales lady let me try a Barry King when I said I didn't understand the price difference to "normal" awls. Now I do.) or you can learn to sharpen awl blades, which is the better long-term solution. 

You'll probably also want to make a leather strop (meaning you need to buy the polishing compound. I only use the green.) - it makes a huge difference in knife and awl sharpness. I'm assuming that you already have a sharpening stone for all your other knives...

 

[Burkhardt]

On 1/5/2023 at 8:11 PM, tsunkasapa said:

Still useless, the SCRATCH awl will not work for stitching.

Tandy 4-IN-1 Awl Haft & Blades #3209-00 98834320401 | eBay 

Cheaper? No. USABLE? Yes.

C.S. Osborne Shoe Awl Haft #144 Made In USA 96685122229 | eBay

Spending money on useless tools is NOT cheap.

You are seriously dumber than I thought.

[Burkhardt]

19 hours ago, Klara said:

As Tsunkapasa says. 

The first thing I look for in a kit is stitching chisels. And when I do that, I discover that there are very few, if any, useable "complete" kits left. Nothing on Ebay,  on Amazon I found this. There's 4 stitching chisels and a groover/edge beveler multi tool. @Gosut you might be better off buying separately just a chisel set, a decent edge beveler and use a compass you already have.

Not the cheapest version,  but the most fun, is to find an actual brick and mortar store with knowledgeable sales staff, where you can compare different tools. Choices over which I've agonized in front of the PC have become very easy touching the tools. But be warned, unless you are good at sticking to shopping lists, that can get very expensive (I can't help it,  Deco Cuir have leather in the shop that's not on the website...)

Saddlers needles (John James) are ridiculously cheap - I've bought all sizes. Thread is astonishingly expensive, but I am convinced that the stuff in the cheap kits is not good quality. And you really, really don't want to work with bad thread! A piece of beeswax costs little and you can use it for the thread (if you buy unwaxed, which has the advantage that you can thin it out for easier threading) and the edges of the leather.

Regarding the awl: You can pay a fortune and get one that's ready to use (the sales lady let me try a Barry King when I said I didn't understand the price difference to "normal" awls. Now I do.) or you can learn to sharpen awl blades, which is the better long-term solution. 

You'll probably also want to make a leather strop (meaning you need to buy the polishing compound. I only use the green.) - it makes a huge difference in knife and awl sharpness. I'm assuming that you already have a sharpening stone for all your other knives...

 

Did you bother reading the name of this post or anything about it " Minimal Tools Needed for Knife Sheath"?

[Klara]

Yes. And the minimal tools are:

• 2 (nearly) identical saddlers needles (neeles with a blunt tip and a fairly small eye that is almost the same size as the shaft. Made from good-quality steel so it doesn't break) - not an assortment of tapestry and mattress needles as in your links.
• A stitching awl. Meaning an awl that smoothly cuts through pretty thick leather. A round awl - scratch awl  - is useful but not essential. 
• Something to mark the stitches at equal distances: A fork, stitching chisels or a stitching wheel. 
• Something to mark the stitching line an even distance from the leather's edge - a groover or compass.

(Of course you can also eyeball the stiches, but marking them makes things a lot easier and gives a better result.)

• For stitching fluently a stitching pony (or saddler's clam) is extremely helpful, I consider it essential. 
• A rag to burnish the edges and rub the thread, if you wax it yourself (and feel like polishing it. I've never...)

The minimal materials are, in my opinion:

• Leather suitable for the project 
• One spool of good-quality thread that goes with the leather and your needles. Not an assortment of dubious-quality stuff as in your links.
• A piece of beeswax to wax the thread (unless you buy it waxed) and for burnishing the edges.
• Glue makes leatherwork easier, but for example Jo from JH Leather works mostly without it (then she uses tacks).

Personally, I consider sharpening equipment for maintaining my cutting tools essential as well  - it allows me to spend less on them (only the most expensive ones cut right out of the box) and to enjoy them longer. And of course it also works for kitchen and pocket knives.

This is not a long list (if you want to see a long list, read Nigel Armitage's first book), but the tool kits you linked just don't cover it. Why are you so invested in them? Are you the seller?

 

[tsunkasapa]

11 hours ago, Burkhardt said:

You are seriously dumber than I thought.

You and a box of rocks av nothing in common. The rocks are smarter.

[chuck123wapati]

5 hours ago, Klara said:

Yes. And the minimal tools are:

• 2 (nearly) identical saddlers needles (neeles with a blunt tip and a fairly small eye that is almost the same size as the shaft. Made from good-quality steel so it doesn't break) - not an assortment of tapestry and mattress needles as in your links.
• A stitching awl. Meaning an awl that smoothly cuts through pretty thick leather. A round awl - scratch awl  - is useful but not essential. 
• Something to mark the stitches at equal distances: A fork, stitching chisels or a stitching wheel. 
• Something to mark the stitching line an even distance from the leather's edge - a groover or compass.

(Of course you can also eyeball the stiches, but marking them makes things a lot easier and gives a better result.)

• For stitching fluently a stitching pony (or saddler's clam) is extremely helpful, I consider it essential. 
• A rag to burnish the edges and rub the thread, if you wax it yourself (and feel like polishing it. I've never...)

The minimal materials are, in my opinion:

• Leather suitable for the project 
• One spool of good-quality thread that goes with the leather and your needles. Not an assortment of dubious-quality stuff as in your links.
• A piece of beeswax to wax the thread (unless you buy it waxed) and for burnishing the edges.
• Glue makes leatherwork easier, but for example Jo from JH Leather works mostly without it (then she uses tacks).

Personally, I consider sharpening equipment for maintaining my cutting tools essential as well  - it allows me to spend less on them (only the most expensive ones cut right out of the box) and to enjoy them longer. And of course it also works for kitchen and pocket knives.

This is not a long list (if you want to see a long list, read Nigel Armitage's first book), but the tool kits you linked just don't cover it. Why are you so invested in them? Are you the seller?

 

Good list. I like the fork, historically correct for period work lol. 

 I have a sheath that i made using only a pocket knife, a single piece of leather strap and some leather shoe lace. Its not a fashion statement by any means but its worked for over 40 years.

[Gosut]

On 1/5/2023 at 12:54 PM, chuck123wapati said:

i got one of those humpbacked bowie blades from a friend one time, i took my Dremel tool, all i had at the time,  and cut the hump off and made it a drop point.  with your humpback bowie your sheath can be made the same way  as  a straight blade it will just have to be wider to fit.

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.

[Gosut]

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

Good list. I like the fork, historically correct for period work lol. 

 I have a sheath that i made using only a pocket knife, a single piece of leather strap and some leather shoe lace. Its not a fashion statement by any means but its worked for over 40 years.

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.

[Burkhardt]

On 1/7/2023 at 3:58 AM, Klara said:

Yes. And the minimal tools are:

• 2 (nearly) identical saddlers needles (neeles with a blunt tip and a fairly small eye that is almost the same size as the shaft. Made from good-quality steel so it doesn't break) - not an assortment of tapestry and mattress needles as in your links.
• A stitching awl. Meaning an awl that smoothly cuts through pretty thick leather. A round awl - scratch awl  - is useful but not essential. 
• Something to mark the stitches at equal distances: A fork, stitching chisels or a stitching wheel. 
• Something to mark the stitching line an even distance from the leather's edge - a groover or compass.

(Of course you can also eyeball the stiches, but marking them makes things a lot easier and gives a better result.)

• For stitching fluently a stitching pony (or saddler's clam) is extremely helpful, I consider it essential. 
• A rag to burnish the edges and rub the thread, if you wax it yourself (and feel like polishing it. I've never...)

The minimal materials are, in my opinion:

• Leather suitable for the project 
• One spool of good-quality thread that goes with the leather and your needles. Not an assortment of dubious-quality stuff as in your links.
• A piece of beeswax to wax the thread (unless you buy it waxed) and for burnishing the edges.
• Glue makes leatherwork easier, but for example Jo from JH Leather works mostly without it (then she uses tacks).

Personally, I consider sharpening equipment for maintaining my cutting tools essential as well  - it allows me to spend less on them (only the most expensive ones cut right out of the box) and to enjoy them longer. And of course it also works for kitchen and pocket knives.

This is not a long list (if you want to see a long list, read Nigel Armitage's first book), but the tool kits you linked just don't cover it. Why are you so invested in them? Are you the seller?

 

Since you seem so knowledgeable about quality and where to buy tools you should look under the very store you listed on Amazon at what they sell and see if anything looks familiar, sorry to rain on your parade but all the crap the sell on Amazon is the same crap they sell on Ebay all made in China. The same stores that list on Amazon are the same stores on Ebay, Look at shipping times and they will all be the same time cause they're coming from the same place.

[Klara]

Of course it's basically the same stuff. And I have already had a look and found something that might possibly be worth buying if nothing better crops up - but you were probably too busy insulting people to read it. Thirdly, Gosut seems perfectly capable to do his own search, now that he has several suggestions what to look for.