alpha2 Report post Posted February 7, 2018 Well, after getting some practice, including gluing up a proper thickness piece, I stitched a knife sheath. It went PRETTY well. I went REALLY slowly. I didn't use the edge guide, as I'm waiting on a part. I only messed up on the stitch line once, at the acute angle at the tip of the sheath. If I hadn't used a stitch groover it wouldn't show as much. I'm thinking I'll darken the visible line somehow. I'll be cutting a slot in the needle foot so I can see the line better. I imagine with practice I'll get a better at following the line. It appears that I'll have to do some more grinding/sanding on some parts, like the feed dog or edges of the plate. On the back you can see some sharp cuts from those parts. I didn't mind so much hand stitching the smaller, thinner projects, but keeping the back of the piece straight was always a challenge for me. Also, the thickness of holsters and welted sheaths was not as much fun as I'd like. This monster of a machine didn't break a sweat, though! The edges aren't finished yet. Just did some quick burnishing so far. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CowboyBob Report post Posted February 7, 2018 Hello Jeff, That's a great looking first sheath there.Since your not sewing that thick you might try loosening up the foot pressure a couple of turns that will lessen the marking.(The black knob on top) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamPCain Report post Posted February 7, 2018 First try wow looks awesome, I am picking up my first sewing machine this Friday can't wait. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted February 7, 2018 Great job, Alpha. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 7, 2018 50 minutes ago, CowboyBob said: Hello Jeff, That's a great looking first sheath there.Since your not sewing that thick you might try loosening up the foot pressure a couple of turns that will lessen the marking.(The black knob on top) Thanks, Bob, will do! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 7, 2018 Interestingly, the knife fit fine before stitching. It was tight after stitching. The stitches are right in the middle of the glued-in welts. So I took a open end wrench and shoved it in as far as it would go...perfect! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rolandranch Report post Posted February 7, 2018 7 minutes ago, alpha2 said: Interestingly, the knife fit fine before stitching. It was tight after stitching. The stitches are right in the middle of the glued-in welts. So I took a open end wrench and shoved it in as far as it would go...perfect! sometimes all it takes is a hammer... Good job! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dun Report post Posted February 7, 2018 very nice alpha! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted February 7, 2018 Looks good Jeff! You might want to take a small paintbrush and apply some light dye to the groove where your stitch line wandered a bit - might make it invisible. Most folks probably wouldn't notice anyway, but I am like you - I like everything to be as good as I can make it! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 8, 2018 That's my plan, Gary, darken it a bit. Easy fix. This was a "no charge" prototype, so it's going to be GTG. Still, I want it to be indicative of what I may be able to do! There's a local VFW biker group that has been good to me re: sheaths, I'll get the pics off to them. They MUST have a bunch of KaBars that need upgraded sheaths. They seem to be hankering for some sheaths in their club colors. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted February 8, 2018 (edited) Sheath look good. I don't groove. Needle maybe 1 size over. I like salad. Edited February 8, 2018 by JLSleather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 8, 2018 Yeah, I won't goove the next one, either. I did it this time to have a very visible line to follow. Generally I just lightly scratch a line with a scribe. Thanks for the tip on the salad! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
R8R Report post Posted February 8, 2018 15 hours ago, JLSleather said: I like salad. Is a bowl of cereal with milk in it a soup or a salad? Oh and nice first piece! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 8, 2018 Well, it's got liquid in it, so...soup! And, thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olfart Report post Posted February 8, 2018 Good looking sheath! You'll have that machine tamed in no time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 8, 2018 Thanks, olfart! I plan to have fun figuring it out. I thought when I retired I'd have a lot of time on my hands to work with it...hasn't turned out that way. Wife's still working, so I'm the chief cook etc. etc. etc. now. Can't complain, it's good to not be on the road all the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plinkercases Report post Posted February 9, 2018 Alpha2 that looks Alpha1. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alpha2 Report post Posted February 9, 2018 Hmmm, plinker, I think I may have to work that into my product descriptions! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gregg From Keystone Sewing Report post Posted February 9, 2018 Looks really good! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plinkercases Report post Posted February 10, 2018 13 hours ago, alpha2 said: Hmmm, plinker, I think I may have to work that into my product descriptions! Go for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
