Oil and Resolene?

[zuludog]

Briefly, this is how I make my sheaths -

Dye the leather and sew it up, as far as I can, to the correct size. Then I soak the sheath thoroughly with leather oil inside & out. This softens the leather enough so that when I put the knife in it, I can knead/shape/form the sheath to a close fit. I don't do any other kind of moulding or wet forming

I've been watching a few videos on sheath making, and I notice that some of them coat the inside of the sheath with Resolene or Tan Kote to protect the leather from any dampness brought in on the knife. If I did this, would I still be able to soak the leather with oil and mould it?

Incidentally, I've been watching videos by Jacklore, they're excellent!

Edited August 28, 2017 by zuludog

[TonyRV2]

If your serious about sheath making, consider getting the 3 DVD instructional series done by Paul Long...a master crafter of knife sheaths.  The DVD''s are a bit pricey, but when I started out they probably cut 2 or 3 years off of the learning curve, well worth it imho.  Personally, I wouldn't soak a knife sheath in anything that I wouldn't want to come in contact with a knife blade.  Which basically means that I wouldn't soak the sheath in anything at all.  Usually I line my sheaths and find this to be enough.  Also, if you produce a proper pattern for your sheath, something that Paul covers, then there is no need for any kind of molding what so ever, and to tell you the truth, I know of no sheath makers that do this, but that's just me, I'm not saying its never done.

 

[Halitech]

Not going to say Paul Long isn't as good as you say Tony but google shows he does a pancake style sheath and that is it. With a pancake sheath, no, you shouldn't need to wet mold the leather however, that is not the only style sheath and I would say wet molding is done probably half the time a sheath is made.

[NVLeatherWorx]

12 hours ago, zuludog said:

Briefly, this is how I make my sheaths -

Dye the leather and sew it up, as far as I can, to the correct size. Then I soak the sheath thoroughly with leather oil inside & out. This softens the leather enough so that when I put the knife in it, I can knead/shape/form the sheath to a close fit. I don't do any other kind of moulding or wet forming

I've been watching a few videos on sheath making, and I notice that some of them coat the inside of the sheath with Resolene or Tan Kote to protect the leather from any dampness brought in on the knife. If I did this, would I still be able to soak the leather with oil and mould it?

Incidentally, I've been watching videos by Jacklore, they're excellent!

Soaking your leather in oil isn't quite a good thing to do as it will give the leather a very spongy feeling and it won't ever be quite right.  When I have made sheathes I always have the clients knife with me and I wrap it in plastic wrap and painters tape to seal out moisture from the blade; this allows me to properly wet form the sheath around the knife and I don't get the spongy results that come from over oiled leather.  The plastic wrap and painters tape do not add enough extra dimension to the blade to create an issue and just for safety sake I remove the blade from the sheath a bit before the leather is totally dried; when the leather finishes drying it has a little bit of room to snug up (some may call it "shrink") and the knife fits snug once finished.  That is just my way of doing things.  If moisture is going to be an issue then I create a form of the blade with the thinnest Kydex I can get and then build the leather around that; have used it repeatedly when the local hunters need a new sheath for their hunting knives.  The Kydex sleeve allows them to put the blade into the sheath while they are working on cleaning their kill without getting the blood on the leather itself.

[zuludog]

NVLEATHERWORX - thanks for your comments

If I wet form the sheath as you have described, what do you then treat your sheath with, so that it does not then become too oily/greasy and soft?

If you have made up & wet formed your sheath from, presumably, untreated veg tanned  leather, surely you must use something to penetrate into the leather and condition it?

[NVLeatherWorx]

7 hours ago, zuludog said:

NVLEATHERWORX - thanks for your comments

If I wet form the sheath as you have described, what do you then treat your sheath with, so that it does not then become too oily/greasy and soft?

If you have made up & wet formed your sheath from, presumably, untreated veg tanned  leather, surely you must use something to penetrate into the leather and condition it?

I use Pure Neatsfoot Oil to condition it after it has dried but the oiling is not heavy, and it never should be.  I give it a simple wipe of oil using a 1" stippling brush and let it cure for about 12 hours; I give it a second application using the same method and let it cure for another 12 hours.  Once I have the two treatments applied and they have had time to set I check to make sure that the leather has the soft supple feel that it should and that the shape has been retained.  Oiling of leather is so commonly done incorrectly and that is what results in the myriad of issues that leather workers are having with dyes/finishes not taking properly, heavy rub-off, excessive stretching, and so many other things; just apply your oil treatments as light coats and let it set before you repeat the process. I also apply my dye/stain/antique to formed items in light and layered methods with at least a 24 hour set time between each one.  It takes awhile to get a formed piece done this way but you don't run the risk of undoing everything that you have just done by doing so; patience is what makes a fine finished product and patience is not found in speed and rushing things.  

[zuludog]

OK, thanks. I'll ease off on the oil in future

[Handstitched]

G'day,  

I concur with NVLeatherworx, 

I shape all top  pieces according to Al Stohlman    Soak the leather, then shape and pin it, let dry. Wood stoves are handy in Winter   

Then after any tooling/carving etc.  I  lightly oil, dye, , (use a sealer if required) ,  assemble, burnish   and finish off with either neatsfoot, or a leather , saddle dressing. 

Its always best to have the clients knife / tool . I wrap mine in gladwrap, or plastic packing tape....or both prior to molding and remove just as the leather is drying.  I use a block  on some sheaths. 

 

HS