Kangaroo Leather and Chef's Roll

[IMay]

My son has asked me if I would make him a chef's tool roll. He has got about 20 knives and also some other tools he would like to have in one place. I have never worked in leather before, but hey what's life without challenges.

My first thought was to make it in kangaroo leather, which is lovely and soft and I know they say it is very tough, but I am unsure if it can hold the shape and carry the weight. I have wondered if I am better off making the outer layer in bovine leather and the inner knife pockets in kangaroo leather to keep the roll as light as possible.

I am currently working on 2nd sorting leather to get a better idea of the work processes and have tried to bevel the edge, but it seems to me that the leather is to thin for me to get a good result as it moved with the beveling knife.

I will have to make the pattern myself as I have been unable to find any patterns online - which in itself is a challenge as well.

Any advise will be appreciated.

[Tugadude]

My first thought is that 20 is a lot of knives to put into one roll.  I wonder if there is a way to break it up into 2 groups of knives in a way that makes sense?  That would cut down on bulk.  Here is a video of a tool roll made by Nigel Armitage.  It is quite nice and he details the leather used and gives some brief direction on how it came about.

 

Secondly, did you see this instructable?  It might be of assistance or inspiration.

https://www.instructables.com/Leather-Chefs-Knife-Roll/

[Tugadude]

And finally, when I want to make something I rarely use a pattern.  I guess I'm lucky in that I can typically just eyeball something and approximate the sizes and then adjust as necessary.  I know many can't do that.  So the way I approach it is I go online and search for examples of what I want to create and then I take a little from one design and little from another and combine them all to make something that meets all of my needs.  Here's an example of a screen shot of a number of rolls.  Just search for "leather knife roll".  There's probably more patterns out there to find also.

[Tugadude]

crickets.......

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Tugadude said:

crickets.......

don't ya just hate that? Happens to me a lot also seems some folks think a person is just here to answer questions cause they have nothing better to do.

[Tugadude]

While I didn’t do it for recognition, it is frustrating how many times help is taken for granted.  I will take a positive attitude and assume the OP has gotten busy and not viewed my post(s).

Yep, their last visit was Wed. 1:28 p.m.  So, that explains it.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Tugadude

[fredk]

It happens a lot, not just here but on other forums I'm on. Just about 1 in 2000 will come back to acknowledge any advice given

PS: what do you guys mean by 'crickets' ?

 

[Tugadude]

4 hours ago, fredk said:

It happens a lot, not just here but on other forums I'm on. Just about 1 in 2000 will come back to acknowledge any advice given

PS: what do you guys mean by 'crickets' ?

Might be an American expression.  Basically it means so quiet you can hear crickets.  No reply = crickets.

4 hours ago, fredk said:

 

 

[fredk]

10 hours ago, Tugadude said:

Might be an American expression.  Basically it means so quiet you can hear crickets.  No reply = crickets.

Thanks. That makes sense. Cricket, the insect, is rare in N.I. but not the game. I suppose the closest here to that saying is 'hearing the fairies whispering'

[Retswerb]

1 hour ago, fredk said:

Thanks. That makes sense. Cricket, the insect, is rare in N.I. but not the game. I suppose the closest here to that saying is 'hearing the fairies whispering

My experience with cricket the game is limited but I know enough to say it’s a poor simile to use for quiet! Our other similar expression would be to say it’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I like fairies whispering though.

We often use crickets in situations (like this) where we’re talking about some kind of response that was expected, but instead of that response all you hear is crickets chirping. The focus is less on overall quiet and more on lack of expected response.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Retswerb