Sheath construction and skiving

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

So I made a sheath with 10-12oz, and a welt the same. It all stitched together beautifully, and is one of my better pieces on the learning curve. 

But here’s the issue:

The welt is thick enough that the blade can rattle freely inside, and there’s most likely enough capability of compression to compromise the stitching. Yes, I should have skived (1 v or 2?) to match the spine of the blade.

So question:

I just cut the stitching so I can address and redo, but should I skive the welt or the sheath? Or both?

TIA,

1st Rodeo

[fredk]

Cut the stitching carefully. You can reuse the sewing holes. Skive all three mating surfaces. Some on the inside to make a tight fit with a bevel towards the outside.

[DieselTech]

Another option is to wrap the knife in saran wrap & wet form the sheath to the knife. So it is not rattley or flopping in the sheath. 

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Fred, thank you for that input. I do plan on using the same holes as they are still quite strong.  At this point, I’m rethinking the stitches. I was using round lace and a unique stitch that just came natural (no clue what name it might have, perhaps a variation of a lock stitch). This time, I’m either going back to tiger thread/saddle stitch, but I also just had the wild hair of using wire instead, or possibly split rings intertwined through similar to chain mail. Prolly bad ideas…
 

Diesel, I do wet form my sheaths. This particular blade is about 12” (I actually used it as one of my primary knives, back when I used to work the line), and the sheath itself about 15” long, which is why it’s floppy.
The mouth of the sheath does have a tight form to the handle. Have to shake it fairly hard for it to fall out.
Still learning how to harden leather. The integrity of smaller pieces and lighter weight leather is good, but I have only had mixed/mediocre results on larger pieces. Still have a lot of learning curve left. 
 

But thank you for your input. I plan to skive it down some and probably wet form and bake. 
 

1st Rodeo

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

Fred, thank you for that input. I do plan on using the same holes as they are still quite strong.  At this point, I’m rethinking the stitches. I was using round lace and a unique stitch that just came natural (no clue what name it might have, perhaps a variation of a lock stitch). This time, I’m either going back to tiger thread/saddle stitch, but I also just had the wild hair of using wire instead, or possibly split rings intertwined through similar to chain mail. Prolly bad ideas…
 

Diesel, I do wet form my sheaths. This particular blade is about 12” (I actually used it as one of my primary knives, back when I used to work the line), and the sheath itself about 15” long, which is why it’s floppy.
The mouth of the sheath does have a tight form to the handle. Have to shake it fairly hard for it to fall out.
Still learning how to harden leather. The integrity of smaller pieces and lighter weight leather is good, but I have only had mixed/mediocre results on larger pieces. Still have a lot of learning curve left. 
 

But thank you for your input. I plan to skive it down some and probably wet form and bake. 
 

1st Rodeo

dont bake it. Just let it dry

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Somewhat of a random musing on the subject…

Does the speed at which the leather dries affect the hardness (or any other characteristic) of leather?

[fredk]

Yes it does; drying faster, especially with some heat, will harden the leather

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

45 minutes ago, fredk said:

Yes it does; drying faster, especially with some heat, will harden the leather

What would temp would you recommend?

I’ll probably be experimenting with my fancy pants air fryer (moving air, temp drops all the way down to 100F)

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

As a follow-up, how does the leather weight play into the equation (besides lighter drying faster)? 

[chuck123wapati]

5 minutes ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

What would temp would you recommend?

I’ll probably be experimenting with my fancy pants air fryer (moving air, temp drops all the way down to 100F)

I recommend just air drying, or using a fan to speed up the process especially in AZ. But if you're set on trying it, then do your sperimentin with some scrap and let us know how it worked. Just a reminder that leather is still skin, so it can be cooked and if that happens its not BBQ its just ruined lol.

[fredk]

Leather hardens incrementally as temperature increases above ambient or room temperature  

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

4 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

I recommend just air drying, or using a fan to speed up the process especially in AZ. But if you're set on trying it, then do your sperimentin with some scrap and let us know how it worked. Just a reminder that leather is still skin, so it can be cooked and if that happens its not BBQ its just ruined lol.

Right now, I only have high 60s outside. As far as my initial thoughts, I would maybe start at 140F.

From a hypothetical standpoint, I think I could mitigate any grease/oils by wrapping in parchment paper, but I don’t know if any smells/odors would impregnate the leather. Perhaps dusting with baking soda would prevent this…

[chuck123wapati]

I know many who dry their projects in their cars, it adds some heat and also tans/ darkens the leather. 

And a late comment on your first question. use a thinner welt, if you are making a taco-type sheath, one piece folded over and sewn then skive the inside of the bend along the spine so it will fold nicely. a two pice sheath just needs thinner welt. 

[chuck123wapati]

1 minute ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

Right now, I only have high 60s outside. As far as my initial thoughts, I would maybe start at 140F.

From a hypothetical standpoint, I think I could mitigate any grease/oils by wrapping in parchment paper, but I don’t know if any smells/odors would impregnate the leather. Perhaps dusting with baking soda would prevent this…

 You are way overthinking this drying/ hardness problem IMO to cook a steak to medium rare you pull it off the grill at 120 degrees internal temp so that at 140 your leather will be cooked. I've made a lot of hard sheathes and holsters you don't need heat, they will be plenty hard if you limit the oils you put back in. Plus if you over-dry your leather in an artificial source like an air fryer it will just suck in the natural humidity of the atmosphere as it cools back down.

[fredk]

140* will cook the leather and probably shrink it to uselessness.    80* to 100* is more than enuf.  At 140* you are getting into the specialist realms of 'cuir bouilli' 

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Thank you both for the input

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Didn’t want to risk any odors impregnating the leather, so I just left it to air dry on the counter overnight. Molded the sheath as tightly as I could to give it some structure, but not necessarily happy with the results. Perhaps it is the best I could reasonably hope for with the weight. Think I might just have to fabricate another layer for better rigidity. I know better than to change direction on the fly, but it is what it is…

Suppose I should mention that this is a different project than the 12oz sheath I was originally talking about. THAT project I haven’t touched since I cut the stitches…

Edited December 19, 2024 by ThisIsMyFirstRodeo
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