Beaded and Tacked Sheath

[SCALPHUNTER]

" End of the Trail" beaded and tacked sheath I made for this mid 1800's era knife.

 

[Dennis Morland]

I love this type of sheath. But there appears to be a ton of work in each one.

 

[John Wilson]

that’s cool! i wouldn’t even know where to start on something like this.

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Here's a couple more I made a while back.

 

[John Wilson]

that’s amazing! how much time goes into a sheath with that much bead work?

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Depending on the size of the sheath, one with a lot of beading can take anywhere from 30-60 hours depending on the amount of beadwork. I don't do nearly as much beading as I used to. I'm almost 60, and after nearly 40 years of doing it, it's getting tough on my eyes and I hate wearing magnifying glasses.

The most time consuming beading project I ever did was my peyote stitched straight dance cane from around 25 years ago. It had around 80,000 beads, give or take, and took about six hours of work per night for an entire month...170-180 hours. I carved the eagle's head handle from a piece of elk's antler.

 

[Heikki]

Beautiful work! I've been tempted to try some simple beadwork on the frontier sheaths I've done. How much set up and planning goes into it?

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Beautiful work! I've been tempted to try some simple beadwork on the frontier sheaths I've done. How much set up and planning goes into it?

I usually sketch a picture of the sheath I'm preparing to make. Then I duplicate the lines for the design lightly with a fine tip pen directly onto the cloth or buckskin.

Then I stitch the beads into place...usually three at a time, then run the needle back through the three I just put down and repeat with the colors I need to complete the design.

Here is an example of a design picture I did along with the completed sheath.

 

[John Wilson]

Are there meanings to the colors and the symbols?

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Are there meanings to the colors and the symbols?

The colors of the wheel signify the four main winds or directions. The rest are just personal preference.

 

[MarcWeitz]

Thanks Scalphunter - I'll post it. Thought you might like to see this bead work - from Big Chief Larry Bannock - Star Hunter. 24"X24" He finished it in 8 months. Afterwards he thought it was cursed - he had a lot of bad luck that year...so he gave it to me.

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Thanks Scalphunter - I'll post it. Thought you might like to see this bead work - from Big Chief Larry Bannock - Star Hunter. 24"X24" He finished it in 8 months. Afterwards he thought it was cursed - he had a lot of bad luck that year...so he gave it to me

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Excellent work. Very impressive. Thanks for posting it.

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

This horizontal carry sheath obviously isn't a beaded one, but still has that southwest look going for it.

 

[MarcWeitz]

Thats a nice belt carry...looks better there, and far more accessible than in the pocket for sure.

 

[Randy Lucius]

That takes a lot more talent than I’ve got.

 

[wmhammond]

This is beeded either but its my verson of an authentic Native American knife and sheath.

 

[SCALPHUNTER]

Thank you all for your good words.

w.m.hammond...In reference to the knife...I like you style.