Simple Foldover Sheath

Greg Rice said:
Very nice sir - at beginning you mentioned 5-6 oz leather. There are many options Shoulder, double shoulder, belly First, for the ol' hillbilly - can I get nose or other 'special request' areas? and second - other than that - what leather would you recommend - thank you
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Great question. Answer is “just depends”. Leather is just like steel. You have a myriad of price ranges. If you want cheap leather choose bellies. I would suggest in the 5-7 oz. range. Bellies will vary greatly in thickness from top to bottom and left to right. It is one of the drawbacks to bellies. They also tend to stretch more than other cuts. But for price $5 to $10 for a belly will get you enough leather for several sheaths. For a beginner they are hard to beat.

On the top end of the spending scale Double Shoulders and Double Bends. You will get much more consistent leather from these areas. Consistent for lower stretch and consistent for more equal thicknesses throughout the piece.

I buy sides of decent quality. It will have range marks, brands, scars, bug bites, etc. I just work around them.

I prefer leather from Wickett and Craig. But, if I can personally look at it I will buy leather at Tandy. You can get it from a variety of sources. Weaver comes to mind. There are others.
 
Time to slick the edge. I use plain old tap water applied with a q-tip. Above the sheath in the picture is my favorite slicker. Siberian Elm Burl. Works great.

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The last step is sealing/protecting the leather. Dozens of choices. Leather sealer, mink oil, waxed of all kinds. Too many to mention.

The two that I use are called Tan-Kote and Obenaufs leather protector. Tan-Kote can be found at any leather store. Obenaufs can be purchased at Cabelas in the leather boot department. I love the stuff.

Kind of a waxy paste. Just smear it on your hands to warm it up. Then slather it all around on the leather. Concentrate on the cut edges, inside the belt loop, and in the throat of the sheath. Let it dry and buff with a paper towel. Add a second coat if desired.

Before:

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After:

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Greg Rice said:
How do you use the slicker? Do you actually 'burnish' the edges? Or do you press them into those grooves around the slicker? Very cool
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Another excellent question. You place the edge slicker on the edge like in this picture. I wet the edge with water first then rub/stroke the edge by vigorously moving the slicker along the edge. Forward and back motion. You are attempting to compress and form the edge fibers of the leather. Make it look uniform.

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Here is the best part about this knife/sheath. Our local DU banquet is coming up. I give away a knife to a veteran at that event. It will be this sheath/knife.

I am so looking forward to it. This will be the third year that I get to build and give a knife to someone that proudly served this country. It does not get any better...
 
Dennis Morland said:
Which type are you??
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I dye the whole inside, but after gluing the welt on.
I enjoyed reading this WIP/Tutorial. I like to see how you take the time to make the basket weave go all the way under the border stamping. There's a fairly well known maker who doesn't take the time to do this on his sheaths, and this turns me off completely on his work and I have no desire to have one of his knives.
 
Bruce McLeish said:
lets just say someone doesn't have a grinder (hypothetical, of course) , what is the best way to trim the welt?
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Wow. That is a tough one. You can cut excess with a sharp blade and straight edge. Sandpaper will cut the edge but will be time consuming. You would want to use a stiff backer of some sort.
 
billyO said:
I dye the whole inside, but after gluing the welt on.
I enjoyed reading this WIP/Tutorial. I like to see how you take the time to make the basket weave go all the way under the border stamping. There's a fairly well known maker who doesn't take the time to do this on his sheaths, and this turns me off completely on his work and I have no desire to have one of his knives.
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I notice this all the time. To me it sticks out like a sore thumb. Honestly, I screw up and do it sometimes. Really burns my chaps when I notice that I did it...
 
Here is another sheath build along that I did some time ago.

Simple sheath build along

I have had several members ask me leather related questions. I am more than willing to help you out if I can. At best, I am an advanced novice. So take my advice with that in mind. I am going to be making a very simple sheath for a knife that I just completed. I will post pictures and...
knifedogs.com
 
And here is a Bowie sheath build along that I completed some time ago.

Bowie Sheath

In another WIP I did my best to make my very first Bowie knife. Or my interpretation of a Bowie knife. The knife is almost complete, so it is time to make a sheath. For all that struggle with leather sheaths, I will do my best to chronicle this sheath build in a WIP/build along. If anyone...
knifedogs.com
 
Really enjoyed seeing this Dennis. Thank you!
One of my big challenges is getting the stitching to come out evenly on the back.
Gotta stay focused on keeping that punch vertical.
 
Owl said:
Really enjoyed seeing this Dennis. Thank you!
One of my big challenges is getting the stitching to come out evenly on the back.
Gotta stay focused on keeping that punch vertical.
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You are not alone. I mess up stitches all the time. I have learned to hide screw ups quite well and just move on.
 
Thanks Dennis - excellent job - I will visit it often. It looks like with just a few tools, some decent leather and some patience one can make a decent sheath - I appreciate it!
 
Greg Rice said:
Thanks Dennis - excellent job - I will visit it often. It looks like with just a few tools, some decent leather and some patience one can make a decent sheath - I appreciate it!
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I posted a couple more build along. You are correct in your assumption. A few tools, decent leather, a bit of practice and you are good to go...
 
Dennis Morland said:
Another excellent question. You place the edge slicker on the edge like in this picture. I wet the edge with water first then rub/stroke the edge by vigorously moving the slicker along the edge. Forward and back motion. You are attempting to compress and form the edge fibers of the leather. Make it look uniform.

BDA8-D696-5-EB8-4824-AB94-0-B5781-FDE6-CC.jpg
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Dennis in the photo you have the burnisher at a slight angle. Is that just for the photo or do you burnish at that angle as well? The reason I ask is you mentioned you burnish 'vigorously'. When I've burnished vigorously I end up with a lip on the edge. So I go very gently to avoid raising an edge. Or maybe it's just my crappy leather?
 
Sean Jones said:
Dennis in the photo you have the burnisher at a slight angle. Is that just for the photo or do you burnish at that angle as well? The reason I ask is you mentioned you burnish 'vigorously'. When I've burnished vigorously I end up with a lip on the edge. So I go very gently to avoid raising an edge. Or maybe it's just my crappy leather?
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sean - pretty much straight and perpendicular to the sheath. I try to use friction at it finest to set the edge. A little bit of water and rub back and forth with some speed to it. I did use the biggest groove and the second biggest groove. If I get a lip, I straighten it with the opposite pointy end and go back to rubbing.
 
Dennis Morland said:
sean - pretty much straight and perpendicular to the sheath. I try to use friction at it finest to set the edge. A little bit of water and rub back and forth with some speed to it. I did use the biggest groove and the second biggest groove. If I get a lip, I straighten it with the opposite pointy end and go back to rubbing.
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Thanks Dennis. That really helps. If I have time I'll be finishing up a sheath tomorrow and I'll try your method on the edge.
 
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