FINALLY

[Sharpshooter]

I had a customer ask me to build him a custom sheath....

I don't do a lot of custom work, the hand made sheaths I do are prototypes.

This challenge was too good to pass by...

a Double Sheath to carry a Bark River SOCOM and Classic Light Hunter.

I'm usually not a fan on double rigs because they just don't carry right. Either they're too wide on the belt or way too bulky.

We was heart set so....

Click for full size Image

Now I just need to figure out how much to charge him...

[wildrose]

That is really beautiful! I'm curious about one thing, because it's the only thing I'd change...the snap strap for the back knife: why not bring it up and over from the back, rather than the front?

[Luke Hatley]

LOOKS GOOD .IF HE HAS THE $$$$ $75.00 WOULD BE A FAIR PRICE.

IF TOOLINGG WAS WANTED THEN ... MIN OF $25.00

[Sharpshooter]

That is really beautiful! I'm curious about one thing, because it's the only thing I'd change...the snap strap for the back knife: why not bring it up and over from the back, rather than the front?

Thanks...

Something we always do on sheaths from the shop is to find a way to assure that the retaining strap is unlikely to be accidentally sliced when inserting or removing the knife.

The Stacked sheaths we make have a relief cut in the drop loop to hook the strap behind. like this....

Since the front of the sheath is occupied I simply went the other way....

[Pip]

really cool idea on the loop catcher system, I like it..... and dag nabbit.... I wish I'd thought of that on my last sheath d'oh

[TomSwede]

That is a good looking..eh two good looking sheaths!! Charge him for two sheaths;-)

beatuful colour on that stain, what is it?

Tom

[Sharpshooter]

That is a good looking..eh two good looking sheaths!! Charge him for two sheaths;-)

beatuful colour on that stain, what is it?

Tom

Thanks guys....

I wish I had invented the idea of retaining the strap but I stole it from someone else just like I expect you to steal it from me...

The Color is something we call Oxblood. It's not a commercially available dye, it's my own concoction that we do in the shop on some specialty jobs. It's a trade secret so I won't share the exact process, BUT I will tell you that the depth to the color is isn't accidental. It's also important to think outside the leather dye catalog when looking for unique colors.

We spray the finish on before cutting the leather which gives us uniformity. The finished sheath is sprayed with neatsfoot oil compound as the last step.

[abn]

That's one heckuva nice combo. Congrats! Now that you've whet our appetites, we expect more pics of future projects!

Nice job! -Alex

Edited September 9, 2008 by abn

[ETW Grumpy]

That's really a nice job. The stitching grooves are nice and deep and the stitches are tight and uniform. Do you hand stitch? From a functional point of view, why a tactical knife and a hunter together? Very very nice workmanship and the Oxblood color is very rich. Great looking work. Can we see the knives or have contact information on the makers? Also, what's the little loop on the left side of the sheath?

Edited September 9, 2008 by ETW Grumpy

[TomSwede]

Thanks guys....

I wish I had invented the idea of retaining the strap but I stole it from someone else just like I expect you to steal it from me...

The Color is something we call Oxblood. It's not a commercially available dye, it's my own concoction that we do in the shop on some specialty jobs. It's a trade secret so I won't share the exact process, BUT I will tell you that the depth to the color is isn't accidental. It's also important to think outside the leather dye catalog when looking for unique colors.

We spray the finish on before cutting the leather which gives us uniformity. The finished sheath is sprayed with neatsfoot oil compound as the last step.

Thanks for the info, gotta respect you wanna keep some secrets!!

Sure is a nice and deep red tone to that.

Tom

[Spider]

This is a really nice combo. turned out great. I've heard of the oxblood and I think I read somewhere about the combo but I will respect your secret. Looks good.

[Sharpshooter]

That's really a nice job. The stitching grooves are nice and deep and the stitches are tight and uniform. Do you hand stitch? From a functional point of view, why a tactical knife and a hunter together? Very very nice workmanship and the Oxblood color is very rich. Great looking work. Can we see the knives or have contact information on the makers? Also, what's the little loop on the left side of the sheath?

Thanks, This sheath was machine stitched, we're a commercial shop and the prospect of hand stitching 300 sheaths a week is frightening.

The Knives are both made by Bark River Knife and Tool which is why I ended up with the job. The owner of the knives came to me since I make all of the production sheaths for Bark River so it made sense that I would have the knives on hand.

Here are the Knives:

CLICK for Full Size

TOP is the Bark River Knife and Tool SOCOM

BOTTOM is the Bark River Knife and Tool Classic Light Hunter

We've promoted the concept of "Piggybacking" knives, making a pair of knives to deal with a wider variety of outdoor situations. The larger SOCOM would be used as the big chopper in situations where the user doesn't have access to an axe. The smaller Classic Light Hunter would be used for fine work as well as game and food prep tasks.

The Loop on the side is a "FireSteel Loop" to carry a Swedish Army Fire Steel as a firestarting tool.

Bark River has made several batches of Firesteels with handles that match the knife handles so the guys have completely coordinated rigs.

This sheath will carry a pair of knives and Firesteel with the same handle material as the SOCOM. It will be a terrific rig.