Members malabar Posted July 9, 2015 Members Report Posted July 9, 2015 We do a lot of gun shows for marketing, and have ended up getting a fair number of jobs from custom knifemakers. We just did a run of 13 black, bushcraft-style sheaths, and have gotten a reorder for another dozen. Those are the easy ones. The harder ones are the ones where the maker says "do something kinda cool." We just did some one-off sheaths with cobra inlays for a well-known knife maker (and dadgummit we didn't take pictures), and I've got four more customs sitting here that I need to get sheaths done up for. So give me some inspiration <g>. Show me some sheaths y'all have done that you're proud of, or think are innovative. I've put some photos of our stuff at the bottom. The hatchet sheath is particularly interesting: It's a fast draw sheath. Grab the handl pull upward, and it pops free. Just in case you're attacked by orcs while hiking through the woods <g>. tk Quote
Billsotx Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 Google says - https://www.google.com/search?q=custom+knife+sheaths&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#imgrc=EGL7oY_ctI_RkM%3A Quote
Members malabar Posted July 9, 2015 Author Members Report Posted July 9, 2015 Yes Bill, most of us can use Google quite well, thank you. I'd rather see something innovative that YOU made. tk Quote
Members Solitary Jack Posted August 6, 2015 Members Report Posted August 6, 2015 Knife sheath designed to be worn as a paddle for easy removal and no belt needed. Rides very secure. Quote
Members Red Bear Haraldsson Posted August 6, 2015 Members Report Posted August 6, 2015 Quite nice work, Jack. Quote
Members Solitary Jack Posted August 7, 2015 Members Report Posted August 7, 2015 Thank you Red! Quote
Members chiefjason Posted August 8, 2015 Members Report Posted August 8, 2015 Not sure about innovative but the customer and I were both happy. The fire steel loop was integrated into the welt. I shortened the welt on that side so it would not add thickness. My personal sheath. I've since replaced the screws with pull the dot snaps so I can take it on and off without re threading my belt. Quote
Members Eaglestroker Posted August 8, 2015 Members Report Posted August 8, 2015 (edited) My favorite sheath I've made was a high riding number for a short fat blade. It is probably a style easier to hand than machine stitch but I did it by machine anyway. I made this about 3 years ago. Liked the combo so much that I ordered a knife for myself and in all my free time would like to make a variant that sits between the belt and the pants. Not a fan of how the majority of sheaths have so much handle coverage it is a pain to draw them so that plays a part in all of my sheath designs. Edited August 8, 2015 by Eaglestroker Quote
Members snubbyfan Posted August 9, 2015 Members Report Posted August 9, 2015 Not really innovative but here's a pair of knife sheaths I made for a Cherokee friend. I traded them for a LifeTrak watch. Just finished this one for a Damascus Bowie. Quote Keep on Chooglin'Check out my YouTube Channel, comment and subscribe for updateshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOM3hbruUKHov9kquIxXKlA
Members Red Cent Posted August 10, 2015 Members Report Posted August 10, 2015 .... Quote https://www.facebook.com/redcentcustomleather?ref=bookmarks http://www.redcentcustomleather.com/
Members malabar Posted August 10, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 10, 2015 Knife sheath designed to be worn as a paddle for easy removal and no belt needed. Rides very secure. Jack, that IS interesting. Never seen anyone try that before. Thanks for sharing. Quote
Members malabar Posted August 10, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 10, 2015 Not sure about innovative but the customer and I were both happy. The fire steel loop was integrated into the welt. I shortened the welt on that side so it would not add thickness. My personal sheath. I've since replaced the screws with pull the dot snaps so I can take it on and off without re threading my belt. Very nice. Nice sheath and nice knife. tk My favorite sheath I've made was a high riding number for a short fat blade. It is probably a style easier to hand than machine stitch but I did it by machine anyway. I made this about 3 years ago. Liked the combo so much that I ordered a knife for myself and in all my free time would like to make a variant that sits between the belt and the pants. Not a fan of how the majority of sheaths have so much handle coverage it is a pain to draw them so that plays a part in all of my sheath designs. I like how well it is matched to the holster. Traditional elements blended with modern. tk .... Red, Lovely workmanship, as usual. But it IS unusual. Would you tell us a little more about it? tk Quote
Members malabar Posted August 10, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 10, 2015 One of the knifemakers we do some work for gave me the little knife shown below and asked us to come up with something unusual for it. This is a small knife -- palm sized - -and he wanted a horizontal sheath for it. What we came up with is a design that locks the blade into the sheath without use of a strap. The circle of leather at the mouth of the sheath locks into the cutout on the handle and holds it securely. To release the blade, just press the circle with your index finger and slide it out. Don't think I've ever seen one like this before. tk Quote
Members Eaglestroker Posted August 10, 2015 Members Report Posted August 10, 2015 malabar, you jogged my memory so here is the most unique sheath I've made, and I know I have not seen another one of these. I work with a local knife maker who is also a good customer and he was introducing a line of CNC neck knives and sent me a couple for myself and a few friends to test. I found using his kydex sheath and a tek-lok that it was a pretty natural addition to the front of the waste line and started wondering how I could incorporate it into being a 'last ditch effort' sort of back up knife. Thus, the in belt sheath. I can make it work for a 1.5" belt but it is better with a 1.75". There is a welt in there but I'm currently experimenting with a kydex liner just because. This is a fairly rough prototype pictured but you get the idea. Quote
Members malabar Posted August 10, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 10, 2015 Eaglestroker, Cool concept. Always thought the belt was a great place to hide a knife, but haven't seen it executed well. Glad y'all are working on a new innovation. I have a client who is crazy about these belt buckle knives. The B&W photo is below. The problem is that they're not high quality. I've made some nice leather belts for them and adapted the sheath-in-the-belt idea. They're pretty, but not good knives. Quote
Members malabar Posted August 11, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 11, 2015 Not really innovative but here's a pair of knife sheaths I made for a Cherokee friend. I traded them for a LifeTrak watch. Just finished this one for a Damascus Bowie. Nice workmanship! tk Quote
Members srtolly Posted August 12, 2015 Members Report Posted August 12, 2015 (edited) I went through a couple different designs before I came up with something the customer and I liked for his custom knife. This was a cheap knife but he wanted a leather sheath so I made it, not real interesting but pretty normal request for me. I don't always take pictures, I really need to do more of that. I'll look for more of them, the one I did for The Fatman on YouTube for his Buck Alpha Hunter came out pretty nice and he carries it daily. Edited August 12, 2015 by srtolly Quote
Members malabar Posted August 17, 2015 Author Members Report Posted August 17, 2015 Not innovative, but pretty. From the knifemaker's website. Quick disconnect, horizontal pouch in horsehide and croc. Quote
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