Damascus Knife with Alligator Skin Handle & Sheath

[MedusaOblongata]

It started as a damascus blade blank from a local knife show (1095 & 15n20), 5" blade:

Then I added leather scales (horse butt?):

Then wrapped in alligator and fastened the scales, and started the sheath with 5.5oz leather:

And N52 magnets:

I designed the sheath so the knife could fit in facing either direction: 

Wrapped in alligator:

And stitched together, attatch strap, and done:

The strap is attached with a chicago screw and it swivels, so I can wear it IWB or OWB.

Yes, it took a very long time, but if I did it again it would be much quicker next time, now that I have some clue what I'm doing. This was my first knife handle, and first sheath.

[bikermutt07]

Nice job. Thanks for including the rundown.

[garypl]

I like the idea of using magnets for retention.  How much resistance is there pulling out the knife?  Will it withstand holding upside down and shaking?  Nice job on that handle!

[x101airborne]

You for sure get first prize for originality. I would have never thought of half the stuff you came up with and executed.

[malabar]

You've done some really innovative things here, especially the magnets.

But is gator really a good choice for a handle? I would think it would get slippery when wet, and that the acids from your hand would chew up the finish on the leather.

Stingray might work better

[MedusaOblongata]

On 10/5/2017 at 9:32 PM, garypl said:

I like the idea of using magnets for retention.  How much resistance is there pulling out the knife?  Will it withstand holding upside down and shaking?  Nice job on that handle!

I wanted the knife to fit in the sheath facing either direction, so wet molding was out. I don't like retention straps, and this knife doesn't lend itself to them well anyway, so magnets seemed like the best choice. The magnets are each the size of a penny, and they're so strong that it's almost impossible to pry two apart with a thumbnail - you have to slide them apart, similarly when they stick to a larger piece of metal, you have to slide them off. I gave myself a blood blister getting part of my finger sandwiched inside a stack of them. If you haven't played with strong magnets like this, they're quite remarkable and nothing at all like refrigerator magnets. 

I made the sheath with 4 magnets on each side. They had some strange effects I didn't predict and didn't know exactly how to explain or work with. With each half of the sheath constructed separately, the knife would stick to one side quite well, and wouldn't slip off. When I put the two halves together, the magnets somehow seemed to counteract each other and the knife would slip out. I positioned the magnets with polarities aligned, so the strength of the magnets should pull them together, making a tighter fit around the knife. 

It didn't quite work that way, though, and the knife would slip out of the sheath more easily than I wanted it to. I ended up folding a piece of leather making a speed bump inside the sheath, the friction of which provides most of the retention. Now the knife will not fall out if I hold it upside down and shake it. Had I anticipated this, I could have skipped the magnets all together and saved a lot of time, and made the sheath much thinner. As it stands, though, the sheath is the same thickness as the handle, 1/2", so it looks good together.

If you're planning on using magnets, which I still think could be a good idea, do more research and experimenting than I did.

[MedusaOblongata]

On 10/12/2017 at 6:11 AM, malabar said:

You've done some really innovative things here, especially the magnets.

But is gator really a good choice for a handle? I would think it would get slippery when wet, and that the acids from your hand would chew up the finish on the leather.

Stingray might work better

Stingray would be much tougher for sure. We'll see how the alligator holds up over time, and how it looks as it wears, but I do love the way it looks.

[Bayou Bengal]

6 hours ago, MedusaOblongata said:

I wanted the knife to fit in the sheath facing either direction, so wet molding was out. I don't like retention straps, and this knife doesn't lend itself to them well anyway, so magnets seemed like the best choice. The magnets are each the size of a penny, and they're so strong that it's almost impossible to pry two apart with a thumbnail - you have to slide them apart, similarly when they stick to a larger piece of metal, you have to slide them off. I gave myself a blood blister getting part of my finger sandwiched inside a stack of them. If you haven't played with strong magnets like this, they're quite remarkable and nothing at all like refrigerator magnets. 

I made the sheath with 4 magnets on each side. They had some strange effects I didn't predict and didn't know exactly how to explain or work with. With each half of the sheath constructed separately, the knife would stick to one side quite well, and wouldn't slip off. When I put the two halves together, the magnets somehow seemed to counteract each other and the knife would slip out. I positioned the magnets with polarities aligned, so the strength of the magnets should pull them together, making a tighter fit around the knife. 

It didn't quite work that way, though, and the knife would slip out of the sheath more easily than I wanted it to. I ended up folding a piece of leather making a speed bump inside the sheath, the friction of which provides most of the retention. Now the knife will not fall out if I hold it upside down and shake it. Had I anticipated this, I could have skipped the magnets all together and saved a lot of time, and made the sheath much thinner. As it stands, though, the sheath is the same thickness as the handle, 1/2", so it looks good together.

If you're planning on using magnets, which I still think could be a good idea, do more research and experimenting than I did.

If those are the neodymium magnets, I had some issues with them while experimenting with a small case a while back.  They’re strong as hell, but if you don’t put them together just right, they’ll give you fits.  I think it looks great. 

[MedusaOblongata]

15 hours ago, Bayou Bengal said:

If those are the neodymium magnets, I had some issues with them while experimenting with a small case a while back.  They’re strong as hell, but if you don’t put them together just right, they’ll give you fits.  I think it looks great. 

What did you learn about the best ways to put them together? Anything you can share could help everybody else considering using them.

[Bayou Bengal]

11 hours ago, MedusaOblongata said:

What did you learn about the best ways to put them together? Anything you can share could help everybody else considering using them.

I didn’t have a good experience.  I scrapped them in favor of snaps.  The problem I had was that if you use metal to try to secure them, it seems to affect the bonding strength.