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Making a sheath (Read 6274 times)
benkolmer
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Making a sheath
Apr 29th, 2012 at 6:07pm
 
I recently purchased a fairly hefty 14" knife at the Fort Frederick Market Fair (1800's era Ren Faire, more or less) but it did not come with a sheath. I am thinking of making a hybrid wood and leather sheath. The blade itself would be cased in the wood but then leather would come up the hilt partway to help hold the knife in place. Any tips or suggestions?
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Mauro Fiorentini
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #1 - Apr 29th, 2012 at 6:30pm
 
May I suggest hardened leather instead of wood?
It's much easier to make a sheath with, and it's quite solid!
I tried some times to make a wood sheath for my knives, but abandoned it for the leather/hardened leather ones.
I also suggest you to fill the interior of your sheath with raw wool, it contains a chemical component that will keep your blade without a rusty dot.

By the way, a very good tutorial on how to make a leather sheath can be found here: http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1265160394/13#13

And here's another way to make a sheath (for an axe this time): http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1265160394/13#13

But there're a lot of topics about sheaths, just type that word in our Search button and... have fun!
Greetings,
Mauro.
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Pikåru
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #2 - Apr 29th, 2012 at 8:23pm
 
You have a ton of options. Having made everything from saddles and shooting rigs for historical reenactment groups your idea of wood and leather sheath is spot on for the period. Rawhide covered in tooled leather would be a good and accurate combo as well. you need to decide if you want something period, something functional like for field use or if you're going to need something quickdraw what side you're going to carry your blade like diagnal at the small of the back for example. If you were going to use rawhide or hardened leather for example I'd be happy to help you out. Not everything is in books.
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benkolmer
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #3 - Apr 29th, 2012 at 9:35pm
 
I'm not too concerned about period accuracy, as this is mostly just for personal use. So I guess function is my primary concern. That being said, I'm looking for something that will protect the blade well and hold the knife in place reliably. As for how I intend to carry it, probably either just on the belt or on the right leg. What I have right now is the knife itself, and a handful of large pieces of scrap leather. I'm not sure of the weight (I'm relatively inexperienced with leatherworking) but it's definitely not as thick as I've seen other sheaths made out of. That's another reason why I was considering the wood/leather combo.
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Pikåru
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #4 - Apr 29th, 2012 at 10:19pm
 
Well if you want something that is convertable, you can make the sheath out of rawhide and either cover it in leather especially if your leather is thinner than it should be if you were going to use straight leather. I might avoid a wood and leather combo if I was going to consider strapping it to my leg. As far as a convertable carrying package, some bayonets came with a metal sheath that dropped into a leather carrier. You could have a carrier for your belt and one for your leg and the rawhide sheath would easily drop into either one. I wish I had an example to show you so if I sound crazy, first off I am and secondly I could sketch something up.
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benkolmer
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #5 - Apr 29th, 2012 at 10:46pm
 
Quote:
so if I sound crazy, first off I am and secondly I could sketch something up.


All the best people are crazy Smiley
I totally get what you're saying though, it makes perfect sense. I wasn't really intending it to be convertable, but that's definitely an interesting idea. How much can rawhide be shaped to the blade and hilt? Does it hold the knife as securely in place as a thick leather deep sheath would?
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Pikåru
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #6 - Apr 29th, 2012 at 11:10pm
 
benkolmer wrote on Apr 29th, 2012 at 10:46pm:
Quote:
so if I sound crazy, first off I am and secondly I could sketch something up.


All the best people are crazy Smiley
I totally get what you're saying though, it makes perfect sense. I wasn't really intending it to be convertable, but that's definitely an interesting idea. How much can rawhide be shaped to the blade and hilt? Does it hold the knife as securely in place as a thick leather deep sheath would?


Rawhide will hold it well and with the length of your blade it shouldn't be a problem even if you use just leather or leather with a woolen lining inside to wick away moisture. Rawhide is probably the most forgiving and easy to work with in forming it to a shape. The biggest mistake people often make is not accounting enough for the shrinkage of the rawhide as it dries. You need to have the right moisture in your rawhide before you begin. Too much and you may have too  much shrinkage and not enough moisture the rawhide will be more difficult to form and especially to sew a good seam. You can make a single seam on the backside of your sheath which works well and looks nice for a dagger type blade that you have. Since you have the thinner leather, your leather could be on the inside as a lining and the rawhide on the outside. If your seam is on the backside, center of your blade, the material wraped around the blade it does not leave a sewn seam at the edge of your knife and with rawhide, the material is strong and less prone to be cut by the edge of the weapon.
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benkolmer
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #7 - Apr 30th, 2012 at 10:48am
 
When making the template for the knife, should i measure on the dry rawhide? In other words, during the wetting and drying process, does the rawhide shrink back to the same size every time?
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Pikåru
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #8 - Apr 30th, 2012 at 11:08am
 
Depends. What you don't want to do is cut it to an exact measurement at your sewn seam. You want to leave a little extra and once your done sewing your seam, for a very clean and neat edge you cut it after it's sewn. If you are going to wrap lace or thread around the edge then it won't matter as much.

It is preferable to work with your material while it is softened. Measuring it out too if your not doing something with complex bends which you're not. Remember the rawhide must be moist enough to be pliable but not soaking wet, a dry feel on the surface but cool to the touch and when you press on it with any tool or your fingernail it does not expel water.

To 'case' (properly moistening leather or rawhide for cutting molding and tooling) your rawhide submerse it until it begins to soften but is not like a noodle. Then take it out of the water and place it in a sealed plastic bag and put the bag with the rawhide in it someplace warm but not in direct sunlight. You'll leave it like this for a few days. This will allow all the rawhide fibers to evenly absorb the water  throughout your piece. Then as you're working with the rawhide you only need to slightly moisten it with a sponge and sometimes only along its edges to keep it pliable. 

Your sheath is fairly simple with one fold and one sewn seam. If you leave enough room at the edge and with a welt you're going to put in you should be fine and safe from shrinkage and remember,  you are still using a wrap around the blade and shims to ensure your finished product has enough room for the blade after the rawhide is cured.
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benkolmer
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #9 - Apr 30th, 2012 at 11:31am
 
Sounds great, thanks for the tips!
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momanoheadhunter
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #10 - May 3rd, 2012 at 7:20pm
 
Mauro Fiorentini wrote on Apr 29th, 2012 at 6:30pm:
May I suggest hardened leather instead of wood?
It's much easier to make a sheath with, and it's quite solid!
I tried some times to make a wood sheath for my knives, but abandoned it for the leather/hardened leather ones.
I also suggest you to fill the interior of your sheath with raw wool, it contains a chemical component that will keep your blade without a rusty dot.

By the way, a very good tutorial on how to make a leather sheath can be found here: http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1265160394/13#13

And here's another way to make a sheath (for an axe this time): http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1265160394/13#13

But there're a lot of topics about sheaths, just type that word in our Search button and... have fun!
Greetings,
Mauro.


Thanks for that !
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Mauro Fiorentini
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #11 - May 4th, 2012 at 1:11pm
 
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benkolmer
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #12 - May 16th, 2012 at 4:58pm
 
Ok, it's made and drying! I'll try to get some pictures up at some point. Thanks for all the help, Pikaru!
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Pikåru
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #13 - May 16th, 2012 at 7:58pm
 
You're most welcome. Always a pleasure to share the craft.
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benkolmer
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Re: Making a sheath
Reply #14 - May 20th, 2012 at 1:34pm
 
Well, it's made and dry, but a little loose on the knife. I used shims like you said, Pik, but there's a bit of wobble. Other than that, I really like how it turned out. Is there a way to lessen this?
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