KentuckyFisherman
Well-Known Member
I'm a newbie and put my first set of wood scales on a finished blank about 3 1/2 years ago. I've put scales on about 15 blades since then, making the usual newbie mistakes, but also learning and improving. After my first half-dozen knives or so, I realized I wanted sheaths for them.
First I found really inexpensive, lightweight, riveted sheaths at Smoky Mountain Knife Works. Stain these and put a finish on them and they look OK, but the snap retainer didn't always fit my knives properly and they just didn't say "quality." Next, I ordered some heavier, better built sheaths from Etsy, ebay, and some other Internet sites. These were heavier and better built, but it was always a guess whether they would fit a certain knife I had.
All during this period, I was reading threads about sheathmaking and admiring the incredible work of Dennis Morland and others. Many of the threads mentioned a frustration that sounded a lot like what I was experiencing: I don't have anyone locally or an Internet source for sheaths that do justice to my knives. Finally, back in November, I took my credit card to Tandy Leather. Luckily, one of the clerks that day was a guy who teaches sheathmaking at that store, although those classes had been canceled due to COVID. He told me I could start with just the basic tools, a front shoulder of leather, and should be able to learn pretty quickly on my own. After buying the basics, I started literally devouring the threads about sheathmaking, especially one really good tutorial done by DeMo.
This thread is not really a request for a critique of my work to this point, as it's still full of mistakes. Rather, the purpose is to say thanks to DeMo, Ed, and so many others here who have been welcoming and helpful to this newbie. The tips and techniques you've shared have been invaluable, as are the photos of your work. Here's my second sheath and the spearpoint I built it for.
First I found really inexpensive, lightweight, riveted sheaths at Smoky Mountain Knife Works. Stain these and put a finish on them and they look OK, but the snap retainer didn't always fit my knives properly and they just didn't say "quality." Next, I ordered some heavier, better built sheaths from Etsy, ebay, and some other Internet sites. These were heavier and better built, but it was always a guess whether they would fit a certain knife I had.
All during this period, I was reading threads about sheathmaking and admiring the incredible work of Dennis Morland and others. Many of the threads mentioned a frustration that sounded a lot like what I was experiencing: I don't have anyone locally or an Internet source for sheaths that do justice to my knives. Finally, back in November, I took my credit card to Tandy Leather. Luckily, one of the clerks that day was a guy who teaches sheathmaking at that store, although those classes had been canceled due to COVID. He told me I could start with just the basic tools, a front shoulder of leather, and should be able to learn pretty quickly on my own. After buying the basics, I started literally devouring the threads about sheathmaking, especially one really good tutorial done by DeMo.
This thread is not really a request for a critique of my work to this point, as it's still full of mistakes. Rather, the purpose is to say thanks to DeMo, Ed, and so many others here who have been welcoming and helpful to this newbie. The tips and techniques you've shared have been invaluable, as are the photos of your work. Here's my second sheath and the spearpoint I built it for.
