Home grown leather tools.

[roughcountry]

I have lots of homemade tools I've made for my leather work. Just finished a edger that works real nice and thought I'd share.
I started a couple but the one is a specialty edger for saddle seats so focus on the one suitable for sheaths.
These are just scrap peices of steel left over from folder projects. The finished edger is O1, the other 1095.

I copyed the shapes of edgers I use daily and like, just wanted different sizes.

I dressed the blade the shape it needed to be, then heat treated it. I leave them at quench hardness and they seem to match the old edgers.

Once the edger was sharp and worked the way I wanted it, I put a handle on. One made from scrap edger ready to use.
The leather was edged using the tool, both push and pull mode.

A couple rawhide knots make it feel good in the hand and cover the soft end of the antler tip handle.

If you've got any homegrown leather tools that work well for sheaths feel free to stick them on here.

 

[feraldude]

I'm a big fan of home made tools, those are fantastic, love the rawhide braiding! can you or anyone point me towards a tutorial on how to braid it like that??? thanks for sharing.

 

[leatherman]

Very nice work!

 

[roughcountry]

Thanks guys.
Feraldude, it's easyest learning knotes and braiding from someone in person. The knots have a groundwork and then you just follow the patern to finish them.
The Bruce Grant books are a good place to start if you can't find someone who will show you. The bigger knots are a bit confussing in the diagrams but by following the written steps and diagrams you can learn them.
Cutting the string takes some special tools and is about half the work of rawhide braiding. The two knots on the eger are the spanish ring knot and a heel knot. The ring knot is the small one. Both are done with average size string and not fancy, just made for work. The heel knot has had the ground work increased once to cover the area better.

You can use gun brass to make ferals for wood handles like the vintage tools only a bit tougher. I've done several that way.
I'll add a few more homemade tools to this thread as I get pictures. RS

 

[C Craft]

The tools in themselves are outstanding but the handle is what really makes them awsome, that and the fact you made them yourself. I bet you get a sense of pride everytime you pick up one to do a job on your leather! :35:

 

[roughcountry]

C Craft. I feels good when you get a tool that holds up to real hard use, feels good in the hand and will really get sharp. Most of the old vintage tools were that way and I have a lot of them. It sure makes me feel good to be able to match the steel in those old tools.
Most all the credit goes to you bladesmiths that are so free with the information on how to build and heat treat fine steel. Pretty fun to have a finished tool that you like better than ones you've bought.