All About Pocket Knives

I noticed I had pics through many steps of one sheath I made. Would anyone like to see the progression? I usually start on paper and so this is how this one started.

I for one would love to see them Ross.

Always interesting in seeing how things are done, especially those I know little about.

Ken

Ok then I will keep adding to this thread over the next few days and do my best to explain. I want to point put again a lot of this process I learned from the video tutorials of paul long who is a master sheath maker in my opinion.

Ok so after the pattern I layed it out on my leather. Using and awl I push points into the leather around the pattern then I cut it out.

I'm using wicket and Craig 7 to 8 ounce leather skirting pre dyed a color.

After that i cut out a block of the deer hide for the lining. Note its layed good side to good side when I do this. Hence the non colored leather.

Note if you arent using a liner you just use the cut out leather part and skip the deer hide.

Next up I take and sew the liner to the saddle skirt leather. (Im using a machine because I have one and it.makes it faster. That being said this could be hand stitched as well) Once that is done i.cut away the excess to the edge. Put contact cement on each side and once it's ready I roll the edge over and it is cemented in place. Then I trim away the excess around the edges

I would definitely like to see that!!!

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Mike

Cool topic Rossr! Looking forward to seeing it's progression! Thanks for sharing!

Ok so back to the sewing.machine I stitch down the other side of the belt loop. Then I fold it over and head to a different machine to stitch the belt loop over. Finally I add on my makers mark. Again I use the machines cause I have them but you can and Inhave hand sewn before

Time to add some stamping. I use a divider and make a line about 1/2 inch in from the edge. This gives me room to stitch later. I also then make one on top and on the far side. This shows me where I can stamp or carve some designs. In thos case I cut the border l8 e with a swivel knife and then beveled. Client wanted initials stamped and some basic stamping. Note the practice piece. I do that often to see how things look before moving forward. Next will be adding the welt and stitching the sheath together

Nice work, sir.
Those machines are super nice!
I like the hoof prints up the front. I have a sheep's foot print that I made years ago to mark leather work. I have made many sheaths with the prints walking up the sheath.
The leather lining looks great and gives a great finish.
How is the deer lining finished? Have you ever found that to tarnish metal in any way?

Beautiful work Sir! Looks like that would be a very fun hobby! Thanks for the pictures and insight!

Tony_Wood wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 2:01 pm Nice work, sir.
Those machines are super nice!
I like the hoof prints up the front. I have a sheep's foot print that I made years ago to mark leather work. I have made many sheaths with the prints walking up the sheath.
The leather lining looks great and gives a great finish.
How is the deer lining finished? Have you ever found that to tarnish metal in any way?

There is much debate in the leather world about chrome tan leather and it hurting metal. I worry about this, however I've seen little evidence of issues. Discussions from others that have far more experience then I seem to feel the same. That being said most knifes i recommend storing long term outside of the sheath since all leather can hold moisture and cause rust. Meaning If u arent going to use them for 6 months I'd keep em separate... not that I follow my own advice well. They do veg tan deer also I've read but I have no idea what type the one I have is as it wasn't stated. So I assume its chrome tanned. Supposedly veg tan is not an issue to metal. Hope that makes sense

Nice looking knives u make as well. Oh and that stamp is a hackbarth leather stamp hackbarth made stamps in Arizona for a long time I got it with a bunch of craftool I bought it's a fun one

TPK wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 4:38 pm Beautiful work Sir! Looks like that would be a very fun hobby! Thanks for the pictures and insight!

Thanks and it sure is enjoyable.


Appreciate everyone's comments and happy to share

Almost done now. Next a welt is added I will again use my pattern to lay it out. Cut the welt then glue in place. But I do skive the deer skin away so the edge isnt as bulky and the deer skin doesnt show. Yes it's a rough skive job sometimes I get it nice sometimes its chewed up looking. It's part I'm still improving. The welt panther to help protect the stitching. Once I glue it the sheath is folded over and ready for stitching. I will teue up the edges on a sander at this point to make them uniform and smooth. Indo also run some dye down it to match color.

Ok so I now stitch it on the needle awl machine I have. Again you can hand stitch and it will work fine. I really want to impress u can do nice sheath work with some basic hand tools it just takes longer. Sewing machines are expensive but nice if u have them on hand. Once its stitched I burnish the edges so they smooth out and get a nice finish. I will add pecard leather dressing to help protect it. I also press the knife in and make sure I have a snug fit. Theres a bit of learning on the spacing when you draw it out to make sure I get a nice fit. Comes down to how thick the handles are etc and making sure you arent too big on the layout or too small.

So that's the overall theres a lot of small steps I probably forgot to add but that's the basic idea. Hope folks enjoyed the photos ...get some leather and give it a go fun stuff

Ross

The sheath looks nice, Ross.
The leather lining is a great finish feature. I always encourage folks to store knives outside of leather, especially for long term storage.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for taking time to show us how it’s done. Enjoyed the lesson.

Ken

You did a very fine job Ross! Thanks for all the pictures and explanations. It was a real treat to see & learn how the whole process works from start to finish. Great work on the awesome looking sheath & this thread! Thanks!

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:37 am Thanks for taking time to show us how it’s done. Enjoyed the lesson.

Ken

Tony_Wood wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:30 am The sheath looks nice, Ross.
The leather lining is a great finish feature. I always encourage folks to store knives outside of leather, especially for long term storage.

Keep up the good work!

TPK wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:37 am You did a very fine job Ross! Thanks for all the pictures and explanations. It was a real treat to see & learn how the whole process works from start to finish. Great work on the awesome looking sheath & this thread! Thanks!

Thanks all

Nice!
Really appreciate you taking the time to walk us through.
Looks great!

Thank you for posting your sheath project. I wouldn't attempt it but did find it very informative.

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Mike

Steve Warden wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 12:40 pm Nice!
Really appreciate you taking the time to walk us through.
Looks great!

my pleasure and thank you

XX Case XX wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:13 pm Thank you for posting your sheath project. I wouldn't attempt it but did find it very informative.

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Mike

Never say never! It's very doable!

Thanks for the progression. What a great finished product.

doglegg wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:56 am Thanks for the progression. What a great finished product.

Thank you