Knife Sheath Leather?

[TheShiek2008]

What weight leather do most use to make a knife sheath? 5-6 is what I was thinking but not sure. Opinions?

[Josh Ashman]

Shiek, I suppose it depends on the size of the knife and style of the sheath. I would think 5/6 would be OK for a small folder. Maybe 8oz or so for a mid size fixed blade hunting or skinning knife. And probably 10/11 or better for a large fixed blade fighting or bowie knife. It's totally subjective so there isn't really a "right" or "wrong" answer, but that's my 2 cents. 

Good luck on your project!

Josh

[MADMAX22]

Depends if your doing double layered leather as well. Pretty sure some of the really good sheath makers use a thinner lining leather then a layer or two outer leather depending on the design and style. 

I found about 30 ways to skin a dead cat but someone else said there were 100. If ya get my drift. 

[katsass]

FWIW from a grumpy old fart, I use 3-4oz on most all of my sheaths. That appears too light for most folks , and on the surface it would seem so. I do however, double them up. That is two layers of 3-4 oz bonded together on their flesh sides, then treated as a single piece of leather. I've done this on reasonably heavy Herman Schneider fighting knives (one shown) as well as others and find that they work well. This has the added benefit of leaving a smooth interior for a polished blade to move against.   Mike        

[malabar]

All depends on what kind of a sheath you're making. I've made sheaths out of horsehide, 10-ounce veg tan, 14-ounce bridle leather and exotics. I sometimes split the leather down to 4-5 ounces in sheaths with several layers.  You have to use the weight and type of leather that's most suited to your design.

 

tk