Knife sheath: Simply not simple!

[YinTx]

Thought this would be a lot simpler than it was.  Straight forward enough to make, but pretty dang fidgety to get it all correct.  This is just a prototype, fits a Buck 110 that I was given by a customer that was happy with my work.  Think I'll send it his way as a thank you, and for him to field test!

 

 

[Bert03241]

Nice simple little sheath . Curious as to what gave you problems?

[YinTx]

1 minute ago, Bert03241 said:

Nice simple little sheath . Curious as to what gave you problems?

Thanks.  Getting cement where I needed it, and not where I didn't want it, keeping wrinkles out, making sure the knife would come out when I wanted it to and not any other time, getting the stitch line right, making sure the belt loop was as wide as possible without interfering with the stitch line, etc etc.  Probably more of my incessant need to get it all correct more than anything else.

[Bert03241]

can we see the back

[YinTx]

5 minutes ago, Bert03241 said:

can we see the back

Not the best view...

[Gezzer]

Looks great , I bet retention is quite good also .

[Bert03241]

I use that same type of belt loop on most of the sheaths I make . Nice job

[Rossr]

Looks like.normal.solid work from ypu to me at least!  I'm sure u are overanalyzing 

[YinTx]

55 minutes ago, Gezzer said:

Looks great , I bet retention is quite good also .

Thank you, and it seems to be working pretty well!

 

52 minutes ago, Bert03241 said:

I use that same type of belt loop on most of the sheaths I make . Nice job

Good to hear, thanks for the compliment!

52 minutes ago, Rossr said:

Looks like.normal.solid work from ypu to me at least!  I'm sure u are overanalyzing 

appreciate it.  And yes, overanalyzed for 4 days while I made it.  Might be able to make the next one a bit faster.  

[Hags]

Very nice! I've made a few like this and use the same type belt loop.

[chrisash]

Where curves are stitched on small items, I think i prefer round stitching holes to slanted stitches, The round holes just look to flow better

[Dwight]

One thing always remember with knife sheaths . . . holsters . . . mag carriers . . . and a few other items.

If when you make it . . . it's a tad tighter than you want it . . . simply stuff the gun, mag, knife, etc . . . into a thick freezer bag.

Then stuff that down into the sheath, mag carrier, holster . . . leave it over night.

Get up the next morning . . . take the gun, knife, mag out . . . remove the bag . . . try the fit now.

It will always be a tad lighter . . . 

And that is how I'll fit just about every holster I make.  Works every time.  And I'm sure it would work super on this one if it needed a little less retention.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited March 30, 2023 by Dwight

[Rossr]

27 minutes ago, Dwight said:

One thing always remember with knife sheaths . . . holsters . . . mag carriers . . . and a few other items.

If when you make it . . . it's a tad tighter than you want it . . . simply stuff the gun, mag, knife, etc . . . into a thick freezer bag.

Then stuff that down into the sheath, mag carrier, holster . . . leave it over night.

Get up the next morning . . . take the gun, knife, mag out . . . remove the bag . . . try the fit now.

It will always be a tad lighter . . . 

And that is how I'll fit just about every holster I make.  Works every time.  And I'm sure it would work super on this one if it needed a little less retention.

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight that is interesting.   Am I following correct you take the knife in this case put in bag and then put in the sheath with the leather dry or wet?

 

Thanks

 

Ross

[Tugadude]

Personally I admire the pursuit of perfection.  So long as you aren't driven crazy in the process!  But in all sincerity, people are capable of so much more than they know.  Nobody on the forum here is "superhuman", they're all flesh and blood, and they all have successes and failures.  Some aren't satisfied with average work.  Good enough for some is never good enough for them.  They continue to raise the bar with their work.  They learn from every failure or less-than-acceptable result and those become fewer and fewer.  

When you see something that looks great, remember that whomever made it didn't always turn out work that way.  They learned how to improve and you can too.  

The simplest product still has a handful of factors which can impact appearance.  From the initial dyeing of the leather to the final finish, from the cut of the material to the forming to the stitching and edge finishing, all of it adds up to an attractive product or not.

As I said, I admire the pursuit of perfection.  It is seldom if ever attained, but that alone shouldn't discourage attempts.  

Here's a few things which have been said about perfection:

What did Mark Twain say about perfection?

 “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”

 

What did Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach say about perfection?

“The pursuit of perfection may be impossible, but if we chase perfection, we just might catch excellence.”

 

And Michelangelo is purported to have said the following, which I believe is also applicable and happens to be a favorite quote of mine.

"trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle."

 

[chuck123wapati]

beautiful workmanship! anything done right takes more time.

[JayEhl]

1 hour ago, Rossr said:

Dwight that is interesting.   Am I following correct you take the knife in this case put in bag and then put in the sheath with the leather dry or wet?

@Dwight I have the same questions, especially about being dry or wet.

[YinTx]

12 hours ago, Hags said:

Very nice! I've made a few like this and use the same type belt loop.

Thanks!  I was concerned the loop might not hold up, but I used heavy 332 thread on the whole thing, so hopefully it is good to go.

8 hours ago, chrisash said:

Where curves are stitched on small items, I think i prefer round stitching holes to slanted stitches, The round holes just look to flow better

Interesting thing, aesthetics.  I've not been a fan of round holes myself, and I've loved slanted stitch work going around large curves and circles, like on briefcase locks, etc.  I may give them a try on something small like this, maybe I'll change my mind!  Thanks for the suggestion.

3 hours ago, Dwight said:

If when you make it . . . it's a tad tighter than you want it . . . simply stuff the gun, mag, knife, etc . . . into a thick freezer bag.

 

This one actually didn't come out too tight, kinda just about right, which actually has me worried for long term retention issues if the leather stretches too much.  I probably should have made it from heavier leather than I did.  I think this was about 5-6 oz, 9 oz would have probably alleviated that worry for me.  At that point, I may need your trick!

2 hours ago, Tugadude said:

What did Mark Twain say about perfection?

 “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”

This is the gotcha I suffer.  So many projects never finished because I haven't perfected it in my mind yet.  I was telling a friend of mine that perfectionism really gets in the way of getting anything done.  And even when it is done, still not perfect.

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

beautiful workmanship! anything done right takes more time.

Thank you, and yes!

 

[doubleh]

Looks good to me.

[Tugadude]

The pursuit of perfection and "paralysis through analysis" aren't really the same thing.  Pursuit means action whereas the paralysis of overanalyzing things leads to inertia.  

So the goal is to keep improving what you can but by all means moving forward.  And at the same time I find it helpful now and again to look back as previous work and evaluate it based on my current expectations.  I did that recently and for example found that I was very pleased with the quality of my stitching but found that the edge work wasn't up to what I have come to expect from myself.  And years from now I'll evaluate things I am currently making.  Hopefully there will be less and less that I see needing improvement!  At least that's the plan.

[YinTx]

9 hours ago, doubleh said:

Looks good to me.

Thanks much!

6 hours ago, Tugadude said:

The pursuit of perfection and "paralysis through analysis" aren't really the same thing. 

Agreed.

[jrdunn]

I like it! Simple and elegant.

[YinTx]

1 hour ago, jrdunn said:

I like it! Simple and elegant.

Thanks!  it is what I was going for, glad I was able to deliver!

[Dwight]

15 hours ago, JayEhl said:

@Dwight I have the same questions, especially about being dry or wet.

This is done as a finishing step . . . or "corrective" step.  Either way . . .  finished, dry, ready to be used . . . just a little tight until you do this.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Atitter]

Looks cool, love it!

[Rossr]

4 hours ago, Dwight said:

This is done as a finishing step . . . or "corrective" step.  Either way . . .  finished, dry, ready to be used . . . just a little tight until you do this.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thanks Dwight