Some tips and thoughts on folder sheaths

[808]

Great tutorial Gary! I'm new to leather crafts and I started making my own sheaths for my knives. Your techniques will really help me. Cheers!

 

[RyanW]

Gary,
I just wanted to thank you for posting this information, we all know you didn't have to. It has been a great help to me. I had never done any wet molding so I gave it a shot over the weekend. I think it turned out decent, but I have a long way to go.

RyanW

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Looks pretty nice Ryan ! glad to be of help.
G2

 

[klamp]

Sand down, dye and burnish the sides

finished sheath

Thanks for the info! This thread has piqued my interest in this craft. Can you recommend a starter kit? Would something like this be adequate: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/store/4899-00.aspx? Apart from the tools you already mentioned, are there any other tools that I would need? Are glue and cement interchangeable or are they each task-specific?

A quick question about the above pics: The edge on the finished picture looks impossibly different from the first pic. How did you you get that rolled edge after cutting?

Edit. Added this question: In general, what difference does the cut of leather make? I inquired to Wickett & Craig about buying shoulder leather, but they've informed me that they don't sell it. They only sell side/back and belly and suggested using carving or skirting leathers for making holsters/sheaths.

Thanks!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

That kit looks to have quite a bit there, should be good to start, as you progress, you'll find
you'll end up with a few key tools that you use and the rest will collect dust/character as they say

As for the edge being rounded, good eye, that's something I've started to do a bit more in recent years
I've always knocked down the edge with an edge beveler, but now I do a bit more dangerous thing by
CAREFULLY, VERY CAREFULLY grinding down that edge on my sander, the drum roll one, and then dye
it and then burnish with the bone folder, then apply some Gum Trag and lightly sand and repeat with
the exception of the grinding down part, just do that once to get the corner knocked down as evenly
as you can, I'd suggest gluing up a few scraps and experimenting before committing a finished work
to the grinder though.

When I grind that edge down, I do it longitudinally, (paid $5 for that word ) but basically I have the
edge perpendicular (that word was on special this week, $2.50) to the sanding drum and I bring the leather
up and down to sand off the sharp corners of the work. Some guys will just use a larger edge beveler
but sometimes those can 'chatter' and cause it to look not so nice, so I do the grinding way myself.

As for the leather, I'd go with what they suggest, just make sure they understand your intended use,
you can always ask to get the type of leather that Gary Graley gets, tell them I recommended them or
I'm sure Paul Long won't mind, you can ask for what kind of leather he gets also, since he buys from there too.

G2

 

[Mikes Leather Shop]

New to the site but I like what I'm seeing.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks Mike, there was a thread on embossing that I'll also put these images in, but wanted to keep them in this tutorial too. With the 3D stamps, it can be a pain to get it to emboss cleanly, usually I'll carefully strike the stamp with it's handle and a heavy mallet, being careful not to let it bounce and strike towards the 4 corners of the globe to get a nice even embossing, but with that you can still get some minute shifting/bounce that will show up as not as crisp as you'd like. I tried the C clamp before but just a smaller one, picked up a larger one and that works great, depending on how far into your project you need to emboss, you may need a larger throated clamp to allow you to access the area.

Here are some shots of what I was doing this morning, a sheath I'm working on for a fellow has one of my favorite embossings, a Celtic circle/endless knot, here you can see the great detail even in the texture below the cords.

Using a small block of metal as an anvil, you might get away with some really hard wood, but I'd recommend an aluminum block.

on a flat piece like a belt, you would have it setup like so

here it is with the sheath I'm working on, you can see the block inserted under the leather, I'll carefully tighten it down, making sure it doesn't slide, and possibly will move it towards the clamp's edge to get it to emboss on that side a bit deeper, as it doesn't always emboss straight down. I recommend the screw end be on the bottom side, I think it helps because if you have the swivel on top of the stamp, it could twist itself off and screw you up, pun intended

the resulting embossing, the leather isn't dyed yet, I wiped down the entire piece with a very damp paper towel, not soaked but lightly damp

and here's a couple more I tried this morning to see the detail it provides

Now, you might also be able to do this with an arbor press, that's a bit more money and not as easy to move around, and, I've not tried that but with the C clamp, you tighten down slowly, let it sink in, then tighten slightly more and let it set and then remove it. BE CAREFUL not to over tighten especially if you are using thin leather, as you can cut through the leather! and possibly damage your embossing stamp!!

If your leather is TOO thick and TOO soft, you might also see the corner of your embossing stamp outlined on the leather, you would need to use a bone folder to smooth that impression out, just how it goes, but that will tell you that your leather might not be as firm as you should have.

Hope that is clear and helps you guys and gals with the 3D embossing method I'm starting to use from today on.
G2

Edited to add:
a tip on C clamps though, a small one you can EASILY bend the rod if you over tighten, but the larger C clamps are a bit more rugged, but again, I'll stress don't try to be superman when you go to tightening down the C clamp for two reasons;
1. you might end up shifting the entire embossing stamp by your attempt to over power it
2. you might end up cutting through your leather and harming your embossing stamp and of course, tossing your hard work down the tube !

I think the C clamp is probably the way to go, as most vices you have to screw around holding things in place while you try to tighten it down, with the C clamp the work can rest on the cutting board allowing you some measure of control.

Same method would work on folded sheaths too, you'll just need to open your work up and insert the metal block so you can clamp down the embossing stamp, just be careful before you open the work up, I would dampen the sheath, then by hand press the embossing stamp where you want it to be, because when you open up a folded sheath, you can lose track of where it should go, the light pressure will leave a mark to help guide you. Also, DO NOT put the metal block on top of the back side of the sheath, otherwise you could mess up the other side of the sheath, so just be sure the metal block is resting on the cutting board and the leather on top of the block.

G2

 

[jon_slider]

Thanks for the generous sharing of your tools and techniques, including great photos. I love your work!

 

[luke213]

I've got an Arbor press for stamping but it's actually more difficult to get a good clean stamp for me on larger stamps. Not to mention it's tougher to align with a large item like a holster or belt. So typically I use a large c clamp with a piece of flat Kydex behind the other side to keep it from imprinting on the back of the leather. Works well for most stuff.

Another tip take a file and take the sharp edges off the square part of the stamp so that it's less likely to go too far and Mark outside of the stamp area. I've done that on my makers mark that I use all the time and it makes it harder to make a mistake.

Take care

Luke

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks Luke, I've been thinking about doing just that with my stamps, only worried that if I broke the surface what was beneath or if it might chip, but I'll give that a try on a few that I don't get much cause to use.
G2

 

[Gary W. Graley]

and Thanks Jon ! sorry missed that post! and you're most welcome sir, it does take time but then, photography is another strong passion so it kind of goes hand in hand

G2

 

[paynter]

Thanks Gary for sharing your knowledge and experience. It is very much appreciated.

 

[harronek]

Gary

Very early on in this tread you show a picture of a combination sheath (knife-small flashlight ) .
Do you have any other pictures of this , or advice ?
Now you are a man of leisure , maybe you could create more ,or add to your existing tutorials .
I know I really enjoy them and I'm sure many others do as well .
How's the ankle ?

Ken

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Hah, leisure, well, I guess laying around all day might fall into that definition but I don't feel like it, the ankle is still stinging, the incision has leaked some but I think it's stopped, insurance runs out around the 16th, hopefully the doc will also allow that I can go back to work, but doubt I can put any weight on that leg yet, a lot of healing still to go.

Now, as to the 'combo sheath' I've made a handful of them over the years, but they are a bit tricky to keep as tightly made the way that I do it, since I am not able to work leather right now, and the fact I'm not looking to make another one of these I'll try to give a written overview of the process involved, here are a couple images of what Ken is talking about;

OK, the sheath part is the same as for a vertical sheath, you have the wrap to go around, but in this case, make it quite a bit longer, this is where the bubble wrap comes in handy so you don't cut up too much leather or too little either.
The wrap around the knife will still have the cut out at the bottom to allow it to fold down tightly, I would continue to wrap around the flashlight as well, keeping it tight to the sheath, but it won't be fastened down yet, just to make sure you do have enough leather, the wrap will go behind the knife almost to the other edge, I cut a bevel down on the leather to make it blend in smoothly. Once you are sure you have enough leather to wrap around, you can forget the flashlight for the time being.

Continue the forming process for the knife, get it nice and tightly formed, once dry, emboss as you want and then dye the leather to the colour you like, do the light section too.

Now, go ahead and GLUE down the knife side to the sheath, and punch in your holes down and around the bottom.

I stitch the sheath from the top down to the bottom but not around the bottom of the knife, BECAUSE, I'll be REMOVING the thread once I have the light's section formed to where I want it to be.

The light side isn't really wet formed as it just forms a tube, but I want that tube to be snug up against the knife to keep things tight fitting. I'll wrap the light with the leather, fold it along the back, mark the back side where the leather ends with a pencil and then I'll remove the light and REMOVE the thread I had sewn for the knife. The knife section will still be retained by the glue at this point so it should be safe to take the thread out now, I had sewn it for protection against pulling as I formed the light's section.

NOW you can wrap the light's side of leather around and glue into place, let it set and then punch in the holes down through along side the knife...again as you need to make the holes through the light's section now.

Go ahead and sew down through and finish as I've shown to finish off a vertical sheath.

The light that a lot of guys have don't have any contours, so I would glue in to the bottom of the light's 'TUBE' a short piece of leather to act as a stop so the light won't slide down and out, and, that's about it guys/gals

Any questions on the above just let me know, but as I say, I'm kinda laid up with a busted ankle and moving about a lot isn't conducive to recovery, plus it hurts like the dickens.

And here are some flashlight sheaths made, you can see that I formed around the light lens to make sure it doesn't slide through.

Hope that helps you some?
G2

 

[harronek]

Now if that's not the best excuse to buy a new little flash light then I don't know what is .
I think I'll have a crack at making a combo sheath , but logic tells me it won't be as nice as those ones you posted up Gary .
I really love the middle sheath , the grey of the steel and the colour of the sheath just go together like Beer and BBQ's .
I've never really taken any notice because its not something had an interest in , but on many fixed blade sheaths I've seen here they have a little tubular sheath on the side of the welt to carry a fire starter . How are they incorporated into the sheath - welt ?


Ken

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Not sure on the firestarter loop but from the one's I've seen I think you are correct, they incorporate the section of the loop ends stuck in place of the welt and so it would be glued and sewn down as part of the welt.
G2

 

[Sandstroem82]

I'm completely new to leather craft and found this thread a treasure trove of great information. I now have enough information to start working on my own sheaths for my knives and tools. Thank you Gary for starting it!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

My pleasure, and I welcome you to the forum as well !

G2

 

[harronek]

Gary

Do you have any pictures of sheaths you have made for CRK Seb knives other than those knife flashlight combo's ?
Have you made any horizontal ones ?
Thanks

Ken

 

[Gary W. Graley]

For a time, all I made were the horizontal style sheaths, and most of those were for Sebenza's, I had quite a stable of Sebenza's in my collection, alas those have all gone to new homes one of my most favourite Sebenza was this one, got it shortly after 9-11 and I considered the image in the wood as an eagle flying through billowing clouds of smoke, I called this one Freedom;

Seems that while I made a lot, I didn't get time to photograph very many of them this one is indicative of how they are formed, from the tutorials;

G2