badger Report post Posted February 18, 2009 This is a simple sheath I made today for a large Damascus Bowie knife. I'm not after praise here, I wanted to show something made from the leather I bought on the trip, with UKRay and Celticleather, to the Baker Tannery at Colyton, Devon. This is 2mm Oak Tanned 'Toe Puff Belly', usually used for the front part of shoes. Isn't that the cutest name? It's a lovely leather, full of character. The smell is amazing. The colour is Fiebings leather stains (Walnut, Golden Oak and Cherry) in neatsfoot oil. The oil carries the colour deep into the leather and leaves a transparent finish which still shows all the grain and markings. Top coat is Skidmore's Restoration Cream. Gunbelt next! Cheers, Karl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke Hatley Report post Posted February 18, 2009 NICE............. P.S. YOU CAN REMOVE YOUR WOOLEN CAP......YOU'RE MAKING ME SWEAT.. THE TEMP IN MY BACK YARD TODAY IS............89 DEGRES FARENHIGHT........YESTER DAY IT WAS 45 DEGRES...WEATHER .....WEATHER.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badger Report post Posted February 18, 2009 Thanks Luke, I would take the hat off, but it's bloody freezing here! Karl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UKRay Report post Posted February 18, 2009 Now that is a good looking sheath, Karl. Glad to see the pearson is still working as it should. I'm going to be hammering on some of my Baker leather tomorrow as I am waaay overdue on a PIF. Sorry Tasha... Regarding hats, I suspect Luke would soon find a woolly hat of his own if he had to deal with our British weather for any length of time. Mind you, I happen to know he has a fine collection of hats of his own. What I'd like to see is a tutorial from Luke on making proper hat bands. Glad to see you have gone back to your original avatar, Luke. Much cooler than Clint - even if he was wearing his Pale Rider hat! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mendedbowl Report post Posted February 19, 2009 i thought Karl's hat was strictly a fashion statement... that's a very nice sheath for a heck of a knife!! i really like how you accomplished the color. any chance you could share the ratios of dye to neatsfoot oil? thanks ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tashabear Report post Posted February 19, 2009 NICE............. P.S. YOU CAN REMOVE YOUR WOOLEN CAP......YOU'RE MAKING ME SWEAT.. THE TEMP IN MY BACK YARD TODAY IS............89 DEGRES FARENHIGHT........YESTER DAY IT WAS 45 DEGRES...WEATHER .....WEATHER.. Leave the man alone... it gets cold out there in the black. ;-) I'm going to be hammering on some of my Baker leather tomorrow as I am waaay overdue on a PIF. Sorry Tasha... No worries. It will be sooooo worth waiting for. Besides, I have my own apologies to make, and nothing cool like your reason for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
celticleather Report post Posted February 19, 2009 Excellent sheath, Karl. That's a really rich colour. Did you keep track of the proportions of dye:neatsfoot, or was it a 'trial and error' exercise? The shoulder I bought from Baker's is the best piece of leather I've used for years . . . I've never used their veg-tan before. I haven't started to use the bridle butt yet, but I have itchy fingers! Terry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imw Report post Posted February 19, 2009 Top work looks really good , hope I can turn something out as good, Weathers warming up got upto 4c this morning in yorkshire. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badger Report post Posted February 19, 2009 Thanks, It is cold out in the Black, Tasha The dye is pretty simple. There's no right and wrong. If it looks right to you then it is. Start with a quantity of neatsfoot oil and add your darkest stain, Walnut in my case. You need to add more than you'd think, as it looks dark in the bottle, but remember you're only adding microns of dye to the leather surface. Add yellow and red tones to the dark brown base as your personal taste dictates. I used Golden Oak and Cherry stains to adjust the colour. Small amounts at a time. If you add too much dye, stick some more oil in to thin the mix and adjust from there. Keep testing on scraps until the colour is correct and the saturation is what you want. It will go on patchy and weird, but as the oil penetrates it'll even out. Keep a small bottle of the mix aside for touch ups. It heals a scratch in the finish colour really well. Cheers, Karl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hennessy Report post Posted July 4, 2010 NICE............. P.S. YOU CAN REMOVE YOUR WOOLEN CAP......YOU'RE MAKING ME SWEAT.. THE TEMP IN MY BACK YARD TODAY IS............89 DEGRES FARENHIGHT........YESTER DAY IT WAS 45 DEGRES...WEATHER .....WEATHER.. luke your avatar kinda favors crocodile dundee a bit any relation? pete Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke Hatley Report post Posted July 4, 2010 luke your avatar kinda favors crocodile dundee a bit any relation? pete Hennessey thanks for noticing.............but it is a copy of the hat that Clint Eastwood wore in the movie "Pale Rider". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites