Bowie Sheath

[Dennis Morland]

One strip of leather.

 

[Dennis Morland]

For the past year I have been on a very low carb diet. I have lost quite a bit of body weight (fat). I am transitioning back to regular food. Tonight, I ate my favorite food for the first time in over a year. El pastor burrito. This thing weighs almost 1 lb. Oh so good!! If any of you ever get to Norfolk, NE I will treat you to the best burrito EVER!

 

[Dennis Morland]

Back to the build. I need to work around this insect mark. It is actually in a pretty good place.

More tools. Cutters. Use sharp blades.

The insect mark is gone.

 

[Dennis Morland]

I took my time and got all the pieces rough cut out.

 

[Dennis Morland]

I just layed the pattern on the leather strip. Traced around with a pencil. And cut it out with the cutting tools

 

[Dennis Morland]

I did use another tool. A 1 inch round end punch.

Line it up. Hit it with a mallet. You get a very clean cut end for the snap.

 

[Dennis Morland]

I did cut one other piece of leather. This is a piece of goat skin. It will be the front liner. I will trim it to fit after attaching it to the front cover. It is too hard to line up if I cut it to shape now. Once attached, just trim and it fits perfectly. Way easier. Patience-just wait.

 

[Dennis Morland]

Just cut the liner a bit oversized. You will lose some length when it gets wrapped/rolled over the top. Width will get trimmed away after attachment.

 

[ChrisRaymo]

This is a very interesting build! I've never seen one put together, before. Thanks for the detail and pics.

 

[Dennis Morland]

This is a very interesting build! I've never seen one put together, before. Thanks for the detail and pics.

Thank you for following along. I will do my best to keep it entertaining and informative. I am going to try and do a couple things that I have never done before. Hopefully it will work out.

 

[Bruce McLeish]

Thank you for following along. I will do my best to keep it entertaining and informative. I am going to try and do a couple things that I have never done before. Hopefully it will work out.

Dennis, thanks for the wip. I'm just about ready to start on a sheath (first one !) , so this is happening at the correct time in my neophyte knife making journey. Thanks again. BJ

 

[Dennis Morland]

I have a little bit of time to work on the sheath. Here is the front cover as it it’s, dry...

Now it is wet with water. Not soggy-just wet. Note the color change.

 

[Dennis Morland]

Here is a new tool. It is called a groover. It will cut a groove. Leather makers sure no their marketing tricks.

I need 3/4 inch to use lacing around the edge. So I set the groover at that distance.

 

[Dennis Morland]

Just lean it against the outside edge and carefully draw it along.

Done properly and you go all the way around. In the top I cut it at 1.25 inches for the roll over on the liner.

 

[Dennis Morland]

Time to stamp. Another tool. A big block of granite. This one measures 4x9x16. Weighs just shy of a bunch. Here is a great tip. Ask the local headstone place for a broken unsaleable piece. Or the local kitchen installer for a sink cut out. You can get a piece cheap, if not free.

 

[Dennis Morland]

Here are some more tools and tips. I keep the majority of my leather tools in a fishing tackle box. It works for me.

 

[Dennis Morland]

Let’s talk about leather tools. Like knife tools it can get fairly expensive. I try to buy a new stamp or two every time I buy more leather. If you just buy a few tools each time and spread it out over time, it is not so bad. Some buy complete sets of stamps. It will be in the thousands. I will just continue to add them over time. Just keep at it and eventually you get there.

 

[Dennis Morland]

I am going to try something new with this sheath. I will be weaving on top of the stamping. Never tried it. We shall see how it turns out. Going with a subtle honeycomb stamp and simple edge stamp. We shall see how it turns out.

 

[Dennis Morland]

This is a one pound poly mallet. They make them in 2 lb. and 3 lb. I will get them eventually.

 

[Dennis Morland]

The leather is case (wet) and ready to stamp. Nice even mallet strokes for consistent depth.