leather cutting die?

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has anyone tried to make one of these? If you make multiples of any of your styles of knives they should be very handy for cutting consistent quick leather panels.

I'm gonna try one using a saw blade wrapped around a piece of aluminum and pinched with a bunch of screws to hold it in place. The you tubes I've seen look like they work real well. Even if the edge doesn't come out perfect, you're gonna dress it up after gluing anyway.

If I make it for a stacker sheath...I can just make one die and cut both panels by flipping the leather...and the die will be a relatively simple shape.

If you've made one let me know how it worked please.
 
Quick sanity check....I'm using a leather cutting bandsaw blade...it bends nice...resists a bit. My wood split of course...bunch of screws in a line...no pre-drill. But I think this will work...in a chunk of hard wood with some pre-drilling you could whip one of these out pretty easy with out having any milling machine capabilities. the blade is SHARP...

On the next on I think I will butt the two edges on the straightest part of the sheath. The foam interior is the "ejector plate" so to speak... Crude...but gave me enough info to move forward...DSC01527.JPGDSC01528.JPGDSC01529.JPG
 
So...wood is split...using another out of flat piece of two by six(pine) below...let's see what we get off the arbor press. Really needs hard rubber below... only cut through one side...but that's to be expected with all the out of flat issues.

piece of 8-9oz welt material.

The 122" blade was 36 dollars...I used about a foot....

I think I am getting close to DONE with cutting out sheaths(my least favorite job) I do like finishing sheaths...but cutting out the initial profile? Naw....

cutout is 5" long...didn't take much pressure. next time will be air-jack into rubber (my home made clicker...20 ton)

Real HAPPY with this lil' experiment!!DSC01530.JPG
 
Ted, I remember seeing a commercial rig that used a stamp so to speak to cut leather for use with a pattern cut. The form was a bevel edged pattern and the press they used would come down on the form and stamp/cut each of the pieces out!

For the life of me I can't remember where or what they were cutting from the leather but, it can be done!! That is how they do say the different parts of a shoe!! It is cut with a form and a press!!

You would have better results if your form had a straight edge instead of that serrated or wavy edge but , as you can see it works!!

EDIT: Check out this video He is using an arbor press and a made form!

Here is a company that makes custom dies to do leather cut outs! www.usacuttingdie.com
 
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Looks good Ted and that's a great idea. I use the folded sheaths on my knives so I couldn't copy your invention :)
 
It would probably work fine for a folded sheath. But only worth doing if you repeat designs.

This is old old technology.....I just wanted to see if I could make it work for me.

Cliff...I had the one inch wide leather cutting blade...when I was looking for die rule (what they call the cutting steel) Everything was "call us"...I try to eliminate human "experts" when working on new ideas...I come by it honestly...lol. I watched a few YouTubes before I tried this...don't want anyone thinking I'm claiming a new invention. I do think it's easier than I previously thought.
 
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This is interesting Ted, but......I got to ask, has this thing bit you yet? because it sure is sporting a set of choppers.
 
Lol...took a very thin layer off one finger...no blood....just tender
Yes...razor sharp. I'm thinking a few bread slicers when i get the die finished! This stuff drills as bad as anything I've drilled...

Working on a real version now...decide to drill clearance holes for 8-32 should make it stiffer being farther up the blade. Three drills later (51 holes)I'm ready to machine the profile...
 
well...here's a more finished version...I have some to learn about bending and shaping the blade. I think this will work...it does not conform perfectly to my profile...BUT...I don't hate the shape it's settling into either...may be usable....hopefully finish tomorrow...and test...I'm whooped...long day.

drilling holes in that blade material was a project of it's own....DSC01535.JPGDSC01533.JPGDSC01537.JPG
 
I make my living with custom leatherwork. I'll add a few small things for you. I make these dies all the time. I do mine with a piece of 3/4" birch plywood with a strip of 0.080 stainless shim stock shaped around the edge. I can make one in about ten minutes. One quick trip to the sander and a pass around the outside and it slices through 12oz veg tanned like butter. One other thing....from the face of the form to the edge of the cutting edge only needs to be about 1/2". That keeps the cutter stiff and gives plenty of clearance for the leather.
 
Here's where I'm at now....I made a small bending fixture that works real good. I don't even make a buck to bend around. I draw the sketch on paper and then bend the blade material to match the sketch...it takes me about 1/2 hour per...But I am no pro...(yes...you are correct...I am using 1/2 blade material now which is stiffer due to shorter height and EASIER to bend than the 3/4" or 1 "...win/win.)

Since I am making many of the same design the fabrication time of the die is less critical than the time spent punching out duplicates. I've tried to streamline my die technique to share with the custom makers on here...But you've proved my point as to this being a viable method for guys only making 5-25 of the same knife.

I have not punched with these yet....my plan is to epoxy them to a 3/4 piece of maple and see how they perform. I can match the sketch pretty easy.

I'm glad to see someone doing this professionally Vombrown. I am tooling up to make semi-production knives and sheath making AND grinding the blade are my two bottlenecks. My tests on sheath making are real positive using this method. One I know i can replicate a system I move on to the next problem...which is now blade grinding....I am experimenting with grinding in a CNC milling machine.

My goal is to give away a blade in the KITH that is made using all the semi-production techniques I have been developing....or in other words...A knife that is made the way I intend to sell them. This for me is a huge milestone!

Vombrown, Do you sharpen the .080 material? what do you punch with? I started with hydraulic press but they punch so easy I use an arbor press now.
 
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Google, leather clicker. This is a small press we use to punch patterns into leather. That tool uses a "Die" that is made from 1/8" cold rolled steel, 1/2" wide. They heat it and shape it with a torch then weld the seam together. Add a brace or two and sharpen the edge on the strip to cut the piece. An arbor press is even overkill. When I make these little cutters and dies all I ever use to press is a mallet. A few taps around the perimeter cuts cleanly through. The cutter allows you to maximize waste and scrap leather more than anything else. Of course cutting the pattern faster. I only do this when I need to make a ton of them. 20 or less I can cut out by hand in the time I would spend making a die. I rarely make "Production" type stuff so I have little use for them. Most everything I do is one off for a specific knife, the most I have ever done that were the same was a batch of ten or fifteen. I made a cutter for this style sheath below. I make quite a few of these and this is of my own design. A forward canted weak side belt sheath. Of course this one is tooled and embellished a little with beaver tail but still machine stitched.
 

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That's a nice design! Not all knife makers enjoy leather work...simple dies can make it less painful.....
I enjoy leather work but have to face the reality that I need to get much faster or make more expensive knives.

Here's a little bending fixture I made to bend the blade material...the $80 store bought bender did not work well at all....

I'm pretty slow at leather cutting so my idea that this is faster for even 5 sheaths is due to my lack of speed...your milage may vary...lol.

 
The most important part is the pattern. Make your pattern from plastic sheet or some kind. After that I don't scribe it onto the leather. I just simply take a new blade in an exacto knife and trace the pattern. You'll get two cutouts in 10oz leather and then toss the blade in the trash. With the angular design of your sheath above, I would just use a razor knife. Another thought to consider is to stack leather and make your cutter "deeper" so that you can cut multiple pieces at once. For me, time is money. And while I appreciate an expeditious process, sometimes the juice isn't worth the squeeze. With leather work there is only so fast that you can go. Cutting patterns and stitching are really the only places that speed and machines can help. My customers are usually looking for a custom piece, not production. Or at least the customization of something specifically for them.
 
I am coming at it from the other angle. Many years ago I stopped making knives to concentrate on leather work. I'm just now spinning back up to make knives again. I'll only be making a few custom pieces at a time concentrating on my own designs. Of course offering the custom leather as a side bonus.
 
Ted, that’s fantastic! I remember us talking about how you make these. Thanks for showing us. When I get the tools, I’m going to try to tackle this for a normal sized skinning knife sheath.
 
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