My First Sheath - And First Inlay.

[Cyberthrasher]

Just got my first sheath done. It was an extremely last minute Christmas order. Normally I would have said no, but a friend was really wanting it done. He didn't even expect me to make it in time like I told him I would.

So, this has 8 oz front, back, and welt with a 5 oz backing to the lizard and a another guard spacer. That's one thick piece of leather. Did kangaroo basketweave too so it would cover the edges better, but that was a real pain getting through that thick chunk of leather two times per hole (not counting the bottom corner).

Let me know what you think. I'll even take some criticism since it's the holidays

There's a couple things I wish I could have taken some more time on, but all in all he really loved it and I'm proud of it.

[Northmount]

Pretty nice job. Lacing looks really good. I need to up my lacing beyond double loop.

Tom

[Cogs]

Cyberthrasher, Way to go! Nice work! You nailed it! Now go and enjoy your Christmas time.

[SWFLholsters]

Excellent work overall and outstanding lace work.

[DoubleC]

Allen it turned out wonderful. Just looking at the lacing makes me tired because I know how hard that is in thinner leather. The inlay is really good, just an overall fine job. Cheryl

[ReneeCanady]

Very well done! Did you use a drill to make those holes lol? Makes me tired/sore looking at it. I love the look of double loop lacing, but when I do it, I can never get the LAST stitch to close right. I have watched a million videos on it. Eventually I figure it out, but if a project takes me two hours to lace you can bet I spend another hour on the last hole lol.

[OdinUK]

Good Job! I like the laced edge and the insets.

[Cyberthrasher]

Thanks guys. I have to check with the guy who wrote the tutorial I based it on to see if I can post it up here. I think it would be pretty handy for a lot of people. The best news is that I got a message from my friend this morning saying that his son LOVED it, so I call that mission accomplished

Very well done! Did you use a drill to make those holes lol? Makes me tired/sore looking at it. I love the look of double loop lacing, but when I do it, I can never get the LAST stitch to close right. I have watched a million videos on it. Eventually I figure it out, but if a project takes me two hours to lace you can bet I spend another hour on the last hole lol.

I punched the holes with my spaced 3/32 lacing thong. I wanted the coverage of 3/32 holes with 1/8 lace, so that part worked out well. The problem was that all the pieces put together ended up being too thick for the punch to make it through. I ended up punching the holes in the top 4 layers and then marking the position into the back piece and punching it separately. But, I still had to ream out the holes quite a bit as I was lacing in order to make it through each hole twice. Really could have used 1/8 holes to start with, but oh well.

Renee, for your problem, if you're talking about joining up with your starting point, I find it best to start loose so that when I come back around to it I can match it up better. Also, it's easiest for me to lace up the ending joint really super loose with lots of slack and then tighten it all up once you're done to pull the slack out. I've spent lots of times pulling out my ending splice and doing it over, so I know what you're talking about there.

[ReneeCanady]

Ahhh, thanks! I will have to try it that way!

[stuarty66]

Nice work, well done

[Cyberthrasher]

I was just informed that not only did the kid's jaw drop when he opened it, but his Grandfather had the same reaction and wants me to make a bunch for his 10 or so knives that don't have sheathes. Makes me feel a lot better about the big discount I gave him - advertising cost

[Peter Darby]

Looks great to me. Here is something you might want to try. When I make an inlay I usually raise it to the level of the overlaying leather by skiving the cut out pieces and using them to raise the snake or lizard skin inlay. This gives a nice smooth appearance to the leather.

[Cyberthrasher]

Looks great to me. Here is something you might want to try. When I make an inlay I usually raise it to the level of the overlaying leather by skiving the cut out pieces and using them to raise the snake or lizard skin inlay. This gives a nice smooth appearance to the leather.

Thanks. That's something I was trying to do, but the lizard piece I was using was so thick I had a heck of a time getting it to push up. I actually ended up wet molding it around the cutout pieces in order to get it as far as I did. The way it turned out, it kind of bubbles up so that the center of the lizard is the same level as the top leather. I just have to remember to choose a thinner piece next time I think.