Shark skin vs. leather?

[d.weglarz13]

hey guys. has anyone ever used shark skin for a sheath? not inlay, but for the actual sheath? some say its tougher than leather but what about for a knife sheath? how does it compare to cowhide? thanks

 

[efahl]

Well, I can't answer any of your other questions, but I can attest to the toughness of sharkskin. I've had a pair of riding boots with shark vamp and cowhide shafts that I bought in 1979, which get worn not very often these days but have seen some riding and stomping around duty in the past. The shark shows not a mark even though it's exposed to lots more abuse than the cowhide, and the cow is scuffed through the surface finish just above the heel counter and in a couple other places.

 

[SDS]

There are a lot of makers with much more knowleadge about this than me, but I'll tell ya what I think anyway.

Shark skin is some really tough leather but it is also pretty thin. You will likely want to back it with some veg. tan cowhide. The shark skin that I have takes dye pretty easily too.

SDS

 

[sheathmaker]

Shark skin is some really tough leather but You will likely want to back it with some veg. tan cowhide.

I kind of butchered the quote some, but what's left is a true story. It is generally not heavy enough to make a serviceable sheath by itself, but with a veg.tan core it makes a fine sheath. The sheath pictured below is a full Shark front and back laid on top of7/8 oz. veg. tan.

Paul

 

[SDS]

Well there ya go.........Paul is the man on this topic.

Al Mar Warrior? I don't think I've ever seen one wearing as nice a sheath as that one. I'd love to figure out how you build and attach those belt studs like that.

SDS

 

[d.weglarz13]

Okay great. How about stiffness? is it stiffer or softer than cowhide? and what about working with it? thanks again

 

[sheathmaker]

SDS, yes, that is an Al Mar Warrior. It belongs to Joe Paranee. Joe had that stud custom made. It attaches via the rivet principal. There is a hole in the stud that accepts the male rivet and you drive it on (very carefully). It's the same attachment method the standard Sam Browne studs that Tandy/LF sells use.

DW13, Shark is generally speaking much softer than veg. tan leather although on occasion you can run into some stiffer stuff. Even the stiffer Shark is still way too thin and pliable to make a reliable sheath other than doing the overlay method I mentioned. I generally lay out my pattern in reverse on the veg. tan and then glue up the Shark and veg. tan flesh side to flesh side and THEN cut out the pattern. There is rarely any further embellishment so other than final construction, that's about it.

Paul

 

[SDS]

Paul, thanks for the explanation. The fact that the knife/sheath are Joe Paranees explains why the stud looks like one Bill Bagwell would have made. He most likely did. Bill explained to me how he builds those once but it has been a LONG time ago. Sounds like he has changed the way he makes them.

Thanks,
SDS

 

[sheathmaker]

SDS, this style is made by Joe's gunsmith. Bill's are the reverse where the stud is the male and has a compression fit washer that locks up on the stud ala the old copper harness rivet system.

Paul

 

[Tactical Tanto]

Well, Sharkskin is way more water resistant than cowhide leather.

 

[SDS]

Paul, then Bill is still doing it the way he described it to me. I haven't tried to use one like that but never understood how it would be strong enough to use. Obviously he has it figured out or he wouldn't use it.

TT, it was more water resistant on the animal wasn't it? I like shark skin myself. Until I knew what I was looking at I would have never guessed that it came from a shark. It doesn't look the same on a boot or sheath as it did on the critter.

SDS

 

[d.weglarz13]

Thanks again. I might have to try that shark overlay. I appreciate it.

 

[Phil Dwyer]

D.Weglarz13 -- If you do a search on shark in this forum, you'll see quite a few shark skin sheaths right here.

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Where do you guys source shark skin? What little looking around I've done, it seems pretty scarce and kind of pricey.

 

[gajinoz]

This is a sharkskin sheath I had made. It has neodymium magnets embedded in it which hold the knife in very securely.

.

 

[SDS]

Phil, I don't remember where I got mine but I am pretty sure I didn't pay a whole lot for it. I'm sure it isn't the highest quality though. I am always looking for unusual leathers and knife materials so there isn't much telling where I got it.

I managed to find some turkey skin/leather once. I ended up giving it to a friend to use on a sheath he was building. Kinda wish I had bought some more of that.

Gajinoz, nice looking sheath.

SDS