Formed Knife Sheaths

[ABR]

All of the sheaths were formed over wood forms except the folded one with natural finish.  Some of them were formed by rubbing with rub sticks and my hands over a wood form.  As I have progressed I have plywood center forms and plywood exterior form that I clamp down until all of the wrinkles are down tight.  All are 6 to 7 oz. leather, all are hand stitched.  They are stamped when the leather is dry enough to hold a stamp while still on the form.  I wait to put the snap on the flap to see what the exact length the knife is that it will be used for.   

  

[Retswerb]

These look really nice, ABR! Thanks for posting.

[noobleather]

Great work.

Was wondering how to put a pattern on the formed leather,Thanks

[Mattsbagger]

You do it before you wet form it.

[Rockoboy]

On ‎29‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 10:52 PM, Mattsbagger said:

You do it before you wet form it.

Does wet-forming stamped or carved leather reduce the sharpness and detail? Is there any way to help with this?

[plinkercases]

Those are very nice pieces ABR for sure. I like the pancake version it is very well formed and designed over all.

Well done.

As for the stamp before or after issue...

Depending on that stamping or carving I do it before or after but when after... I have collected a variety of steel flat stock sections and width so I can select a piece or pieces that the molded leather fits over and stamp against that on the granite rather than the wooded forms etc. I also have a variety of cobbler's anvils which can often give good solid support in or under the work that needs any stamping after forming... to each their own I guess.

[ABR]

I stamp the knife holders while they are on the forms, when the leather is dry enough to hold the stamp shape.  My forms are made of maple or high density overlay concrete form plywood.  I was a contractor for 40 years and did a lot of concrete work.  I have a few scraps of the plywood left.  It is available in 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" and possibly 1 1/8" thicknesses, 4' x 8' sheets.  It is pretty expensive.  It would last for a lot of pours if taken care of.  If you would like I can put some pictures of my forms on the web site.  

Thanks for your interest, ABR

[Rockoboy]

On ‎14‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 8:21 AM, ABR said:

If you would like I can put some pictures of my forms on the web site.  

That would be good to see. I am always looking for a better way to do something, and at the moment ... any different way to do what I am doing, has to be better!

[ABR]

Thanks for your reply Rockoboy,  Here are a few pictures of my forms with the (HDO) High Density Overlay plywood.  For the base I use 3/4" plywood and fasten the inside form to it.  I use the center piece cut out for the inside form.  For 6 to 7 ounce leather I make 1 table saw blade width on each side to allow for the leather thickness.  If you use 7 to 8 or 8 to 9 ounce leather the cut will have to be more than 1 table saw blade width. Then using a band saw cut the inside radiuses to finish cutting out the inside form.  Then cut the outside radiuses to finish cutting the outside form.  A piece of plywood is fastened across the legs with screws to hold the outside form to the right width.  The piece of plywood fastened across the legs also gauges the outside form to the right distance for the bottom of the leather sheath.  I adjust the inside form to the thickness of the knife by adding plastic laminate (1/16")or Masonite (1/8" or 1/4") to the bottom of the inside form then screw it to the 3/4" plywood base.  I use a 3/16" round over bit in a router to round the corners where the leather bends over them on the inside form.  The rounded corners make a nice looking appearance on the outside of the leather.  This is close cutting with the table saw so safety is a major concern.  You have to mark where the saw cut should end on the bottom side on top so you can stop before the blade gets into the area for the radiuses on bottom.  I case the leather over night then I mold it with my hands and rub sticks so it sits on the form where it should then I clamp it in place.  If you are making a pancake sheath the leather needs to be wider to allow for the belt loops.

[ABR]

Here are some more pictures

[Rockoboy]

Excellent detail thanx @ABR. There are a couple of considerations I had not thought of.