You have got to look at this from a given perspective. I try and build each knife so that it will be used, so the sheath not only needs to look good with the knife but needs to be functional! I also build a lot of knives that represent the 1800's period. Here are a few pics of some early works and they are light years behind some of more talented makers on this forum. However I feel most are designed to compliment the knives the hold as well as being functional
Here is a sheath I made for a skinner one of the first knives I ever made! I was doing some experimenting on leather carving and now that I look back at I am not sure the carvings them selves really fit, with the sheath!
It is actually the second sheath for this knife as I carried and used this knife, in the field when hunting, the original sheath was what they call a pliers pocket,:wub:I had picked up on the side of the road!
What, it worked!
The braided cord wraps the knife handle and then the bone that is at the end of it slides into a pocket to secure the knife into the sheath while being carried. I learned as a child it really sucks when you lose a knife while in the field, as you rarely go back and find them. So either designing some way to secure a knife on as sheath becomes an important to me as the sheath itself. Sometimes its as simple as a strap, sometimes its the shape of the sheath itself, sometimes it is nothing that is obvious but if you are actually going to use the knife and the knife will be carried in field then I feel it is an important consideration!
Here is one that was designed as a belt sheath. The sheath goes thru one belt loop and and the belt going over the sheath provides the tension on the knife.
It was made to compliment my idea of a slightly fancier 1800"s style trade knife that had bone inserts in the handle.
Here is one that was made to compliment a traditional style friction folder.
It is leather covered by rawhide and designed to be worn over the shoulder/neck when used!
Here is a knife that is neither 1800's nor was the design and sheath my normal design, but it does work!
So yes I feel the knife and the sheath should compliment each other but that doesn't go with and one formula in my opinion! I think it all depends on the knife and what you have in mind with that knife. I have seen some elegant sheaths that would work with pretty much any time period.
Here is a pic of some sheaths by Paul Long, and they are elegant and functional in my mind. They would compliment any knife pretty much from any time period!
If it is some kind of a replica then not only does it need to compliment the knife but it needs to look like something they may have came from that time period. A replica piece would not look right say in Kydex . And I must say I am not a real fan of Kydex but having said that I will say this. There are some knives that really look good in Kydex. There I said something nice about Kydex and it didn't leave too bad a taste in my mouth!:s7435:
So back to the question the way that you phrased Eric.
QUOTE:
Can contrast be a compliment?
In my opinion absolutely!
In my opinion the sheath is just as important as the knife in creating a complete package. My goal as a knife maker and a leather crafter is to create a combination where neither of the two gets lost.
Agreed, most of my knives at this time are not presold. When I have an idea for a knife that I want to build, I usually have a good idea of what the sheath for that knife will look like before I ever start the knife!
Understand that I am relatively new to both disciplines and I dont hold the skill set that many of you do. This is why I turn to you with these questions.
On another note... how do you determine what style sheath you are going to make? I am speaking strictly outside of customer request of course. If you are making a knife and sheath lets say, for a knife show, where the knife is not sold. You want to present something to perspective customers that says "I am a quality package"...what do you consider when making the sheath?
I think the style of the sheath has to fit the knife, and I don't think there is a given formula for that.It all depends on the knife. Let's say it is a fantasy/art piece. It is more than likely never going to be actually used. So therefore practicality of the sheath may not be a consideration. However it may give license to go to the extreme or overboard so that sheath is as outrageous as the knife itself!
However if I am building a knife that is suppose to represent the 1800's, Kydex would be a poor choice. That doesn't mean though I am limited to choices. Leather and different colors give lots of options as well as inserts of different materials, not to mention rawhide and the various items that may used to accessorize such a sheath!
How many different styles of sheath are there? Can knife sheath design cross traditional usage roles? Maybe that didnt make much sense.
It makes perfect sense and too that end I say yes. Like I mentioned I don't think Kydex would work too well with an 1800's style knife an 1800's style knife would look just as well in say one of those sheaths I pictured from Paul Long. The average sheath of the 1800's period was just plain old leather. However many folks found that they could really show off to the eye, (so to speak) with a sheath that was over the top.
Having a custom built or presented by a friend would have been the biggest compliment they could have gotten. And even though it might have not been the norm for the average fellar, it was done and there set president for a sheath that had fantastic inlays or a beaded sheath such as often made my the Native Americans!
Eric I think the combinations for sheaths are as varied as the materials and what the mind can create. Speaking for myself I think they must compliment each other (the knife and the sheath) but as far as materials, uses and such. That is pretty much dictated by the maker and the customer coming to terms on what they want!
In closing this, I have seen some knives that I thought wow, he is a talented knife maker, but he needs to step up his game on the sheaths!
The workmanship of the knife over powered the sheath. In other words it looked like a fantastic knife in a meteoric sheath! Not a sheath that wasn't functional, not a sheath that even had bad leather work done on it, (just a PLAIN JANE sheath, on a fantastic knife)!
I have also seen it the other way but not as often. A sheath that just knocked my socks off and a knife that looks like it was done by a first timer that obviously should have put it away in the drawer of shame! (We all got one of them,
a drawer of shame, where we put the ones that didn't turn out well and we keep them to remind ourselves not to that again
)!!
Some folks that are fantastic knife makers just never do good on sheaths, its just not there thing. That doesn't make them bad knife makers just someone who doesn't have the passion in them for making sheaths. These makers often either contract out all sheaths or they sale without a sheath. Like you said Eric, to me it is a complete package, you can't have one with out the other but, the options on sheaths can be as endless as the knives themselves!
Well you asked for a response and I hope this help to answer at least some of your questions and you didn't find MHO to long winded! And yes I do talk with my hands in person, and yes I do use visual aids then too!:sad:
