Forming A Welt With Rolled Edges?

[iamasmith]

I hit on this idea and wondered about your thoughts folks.

I know that putting a welt into a knife sheath is critical to the longevity but playing around with edges and trims I wondered about rolling the edges to produce a welt.

What I did was to cut down into the wool side of the leather, marking off using my swivel knife then skived off about 50% of the thickness and rolled the edges back, glued them and then glued the rolled edges together prior to stitching but close to the centre rather than at the edge where it may flow. (apologies for the grimy keyboard).

I didn't take too much care with the sample but with a little more work on a sheath I think a regular welt could be made with the overlapped leather..

Can you think of any reason that this may be a bad idea for finishing the edges of a sheath? I think if the welt is regular enough then it should provide the stitches with a reasonable protection.

I can see that when the leather is curved then the folds may need to be trimmed inside to avoid bumps etc. but I figure a combination of wet forming the roll, good pressing and skiving off the bumps may make a good regular edge that also provides the welt.

Anyway, I'm sure it's been done before and I'm just asking if anybody has any thoughts about the downside (other than extra leather when planning) whilst doing this..?

Edited January 7, 2011 by iamasmith

[Ellen]

If I may:

- this adds a bulk while usually the effort is made to make sheaths more slim and gracious without compromising function,

- cut off edge looks better, personal preference of course,

- more work than just cut off, sand and burnish.

It carries certain personality, though. If you like it, it could be your signature method.

Leather for a turn-over bound edge may look better if thinned more. Take a look (through the image search) on the top of the Paul Long sheaths, he splits leather very thin - but this is for lining, not a welt. For a welt the skiving should stop and leave a straight edge (without narrowing as wedge) that would stop the blade, tricky.

[Brad Johnson]

I am a smith,

Yes could you make a sheath with rolled edges, sure, it would be an ugly sheath. I would agree with Ellen part of building a sheath is how it looks. Building a nice sheath with a welt is easy and does not take up that much leather.

I hit on this idea and wondered about your thoughts folks.

I know that putting a welt into a knife sheath is critical to the longevity but playing around with edges and trims I wondered about rolling the edges to produce a welt.

What I did was to cut down into the wool side of the leather, marking off using my swivel knife then skived off about 50% of the thickness and rolled the edges back, glued them and then glued the rolled edges together prior to stitching but close to the centre rather than at the edge where it may flow. (apologies for the grimy keyboard).

I didn't take too much care with the sample but with a little more work on a sheath I think a regular welt could be made with the overlapped leather..

Can you think of any reason that this may be a bad idea for finishing the edges of a sheath? I think if the welt is regular enough then it should provide the stitches with a reasonable protection.

I can see that when the leather is curved then the folds may need to be trimmed inside to avoid bumps etc. but I figure a combination of wet forming the roll, good pressing and skiving off the bumps may make a good regular edge that also provides the welt.

Anyway, I'm sure it's been done before and I'm just asking if anybody has any thoughts about the downside (other than extra leather when planning) whilst doing this..?

[Glock21]

Can some on please explain how to make a traditional welt in a sheath I want to make a sheath for my large survival knife but I want to protect the stitching so how do I do this?

I am a smith,

Yes could you make a sheath with rolled edges, sure, it would be an ugly sheath. I would agree with Ellen part of building a sheath is how it looks. Building a nice sheath with a welt is easy and does not take up that much leather.

[Tac]

Can some on please explain how to make a traditional welt in a sheath I want to make a sheath for my large survival knife but I want to protect the stitching so how do I do this?

G21... A "traditional welt" is simply a third peice of leather, cut on the inside to the shape of the blade and the outside to the shape of the sheath that is sandwiched between the top and bottom sides of the sheath in the middle.... The stitch line for the sheath usually goes through the top, the welt and the bottom of the sheath, all the way around the edge, the point and the top of the blade. The purpose of the welt is to prevent the stitching from being cut by the blade over time and to allow for space for the blade to ride in the sheath between the front and back peices. (especially with thick bladed knives). Hope this helps.. It's easier to explain with pictures, but I don't have any available to demonstrate the concept.

-Tac