Advice On Making Wooden Sheaths

Triquetra

Triquetra

Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
759
I have been wanting to try my hand at making a replacement sheath for my Khuks. I'm wondering what the best wood to use would be. When I was browsing through Lowe's the other day I found some Ceder or Cypress that seem pretty strong but still felt light enough. Hardwoods like Oak seem like they would be too heavy, although I don't think that you would have to worry about the knife breaking through and you could probably make them a little thinner since the wood is so strong. What have you all used?

My other question is if it is good to seal or coat the wooden part before covering it with the leather (epoxy, laquer, water seal, etc.). At first this seemed like a good idea but I wondered if you got it wet if it would take a lot longer to dry out when opposed to the natural porous wood.
 
put the treatment on the inside and the outside.
 
Something I was wondering and this might be a good place to ask:what about Micarta? then cover it with leather?
 
Daniel Koster said:
put the treatment on the inside and the outside.
Click to expand...
Would it make any sense to do this and then drill small holes to lighten the sheath some and help with drying the inside in case it got water down in it. I guess you would drill the holes first and then treat it but you get the idea. Would the holes weaken it too much?
 
The Sarkis don't put anything on the wood inside or out, just cover it with the buffalo leather and sew it up the back. I prefer that the oil or whatever I use on the blade soaks into the wood from the inside.YMMV.

Krul, you wouldn't need to cover Micarta with anything. Actually if you could get it in large enough slabs you could use what they call Ivory Micarta, pin the sides and then have a scrimshander scrimshaw the scabbard. That would be beautiful.
You could even do the reverse and use black Micarta and then use white ink.:thumbup: :eek: :D :cool:

Problem is that Micarta wouldn't be practical as it doesn't have any way to get rid of moisture and in the right conditions it would maybe condensate which could lead to rusty blades.:(
 
just drill a drain hole...or two...


micarta would obviously be more expensive than just some light hardwood. I agree with Yvsa, though, that there would be no need to cover it with leather. If you must have leather, then use kydex to make the hard shell.
 
The Micarta sheath is an idea I've been rolling around in my head for awhile (hey,your dealing with a upcoming knife maker :D )

As far as condensation goes as Daniel said a drain hole would do,or I could see doing a pattern of "vent holes" on the back.

Plus all my knives/swords get the "Tuf-Cloth" wipe down.;)
 
Kydex works very well and is impervious to water and most other things. Easy to work with, too.

Thanks, Steve
 
Basswood is my first choice. It is light weight, easy to work and strong enough. I put several coats of lacquer on to seal it, then brush on Elmer's glue and wet fit the leather. I use small 1" spring paper clips to hold the seam together until the glue dries, then stitch it with a speed stitcher ($10). Then trim the excess to about 1/8" above the stitching.
I seal the outside, so the Elmer's won't dry too quickly, and to help waterproof the finished sheath - but mainly because the basswood is so porous. It also makes it somewhat stronger.
 
Next to Terry, BriChi is the god of wood sheaths:thumbup:

Isn't Basswood dimensionally stable also?? So it would be less likely to shrink than some other woods?
 
Bri in Chi said:
Basswood is my first choice. It is light weight, easy to work and strong enough. I put several coats of lacquer on to seal it, then brush on Elmer's glue and wet fit the leather. I use small 1" Gem paper clips to hold the seam together until the glue dries, then stitch it with a speed stitcher ($10). Then trim the excess to about 1/8" above the stitching.
Click to expand...

Brian, what weight leather are you using to cover your scabbards?
Also what are you using to carve the wood out so the knife will fit and what do you do to ensure that the blade fits properly?
I like the idea of sealing the wood but wonder if doing so wouldn't lead to condensation?

I sure wouldn't have thought that small paper clips would hold the leather in place. Are these just the standard paper clips or are they heavy duty?
 
I took a bunch of shots of Brian building a quickdraw at the khonvention. May not be this week but I'll try to post them.
 
basswood is available at Michaels / HobbyLobby / craft stores / etc.

Good choice. easy to shape too.
 
I use wood that is about 1/4 - 5/16 up to 3/8" thick. Trace the blade outline, plus a little extra at the tip. Cut around the outline with a sharp utility knife, then remove the necessary wood with sharp chisels. When the fit is right, cut the sheath outline, then glue the 2 halves together with any good wood glue, and clamp until dry. Shape the sheath with a rasp and sandpaper, A little plastic wood will repair any boo-boos, so don't worry if you don't get it perfect right away. Lacquer the wood (3 -4 coats is needed as the wood is quite absorbent).
Another trick if you're going to sew on a belt loop before glue-up, inlet a square of thin scrap leather on the inside so the sewing thread doesn't pull through the wood.
Any thin leather can be used to cover, but vegetable tanned is preferable, since it wet-forms much better than chrome-tanned. I found a big piece of very thin, un-dyed pigskin on sale at Tandy. It takes Fiebings dye very well, so I can make any color sheath I want, and it has a nice texture to it. It's very thin, like perhaps 2 -3 oz.
To finish, I use lacquer with some paste wax (Johnson's) dissolved. Tandy Neat Lac would work too. Then a couple of coats of the paste wax.
The paper clips are the spring type called binder clips, I believe. Not the wire ones. I use a bunch of little ones to follow the curve of the sheath. They hold quite well.

Basswood in larger quantities: http://www.nationalbalsa.com/product1.htm
 
Thanks Brian, et al.:thumbup: :cool: :D
I've given some thought about a native wood for scabbards and have given Western Cedar a great deal of thought. I've made a few ndn Flutes outta it.
You can get it in several thicknesses and widths and also some really straight grained pieces. It's also easy to carve but I wonder in the end if it might be just a tad too soft for a long lasting scabbard.
Anyone else have any ideas on the Western Cedar?
 
Yvsa,
I'm thinking that western cedar would be a great choice. Smells nice, too.
As far as strength is concerned, with the blade in the sheath, it's very solid and would take a pretty big hit to damage it. An empty sheath is definitely more fragile.
The most time-consuming part of getting set up for wooden sheath making is probably getting a few wood chisels in shape. I like old chisels. Check your local thrift stores and garage sales. If they have been around for a while, they probably are OK. The junkers have been relegated to paint scraping and can opening. The woodworking forums are rich with opinions on this subject.

Anyone remember the "Primitive Pete" movies from woodshop class? On second thought, does anyone remember woodshop classes?
 
I have a couple or three old and new wood chisels but nothing that I would set out to carve a scabbard with. Brian, I'm thinking a good *crooked knife* would be about ideal for carving out the inside of a scabbard, I'll bet Sarge will agree too.:thumbup: :D ;)

Edit:
I don't remember anything about a Primitive Pete but I remember Jr High and High School wood shop classes.:D
 
You'know that's one thing I don't like about wood scabbards...they can "break" even plain leather is better then wood when you come down to it.

I've had enough wood ones to know :( can be a pain in the -a**-
 
"Anyone remember the "Primitive Pete" movies from woodshop class? On second thought, does anyone remember woodshop classes?"
Heck Yeah!

I did my wood shop time here:

http://www.lanetech.org/
Not too far from you, Brian. I do remember Primitive Pete, too.
Class of 1982.5

RE Western Red Cedar:
It's a well though of wood here in the PNW. First Nations peoples used it extensively for masks, bowls, bentwood boxes, dugout canoes, totem poles, etc. It should work fine for a sheath. As Brian noted, it smells good, too :)

RE Crooked knives:
I agree that they should work great for sheathmaking. I'm looking at getting or making a few myself. If you don't have a source, a well thought of maker up here is going out of business (Greg Bloomberg, Kestrel Tools). So if ya want one from him, order now. Greg also carries tool blanks so you can grind/forge your own tools. I have some adze blanks from him, and need to order some crooked knife blanks.

http://www.sculpturetools.com/kestrel/crooked.htm

tool making blanks here:
http://www.sculpturetools.com/kestrel/toolmaking.htm

Northbay Forge (Also Pacific Northwesterners) have some great tools, too. Check out the videos on their site showing tools in use.

http://www.northbayforge.com/

Lastly, Lee Valley carries some larger crooked knives.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=43352&cat=1,130,43332,43339&ap=1

BTW, I have no financial interest in these companies, though I have tools from all but North Bay Forge. My HS will likely deny any knowledge of me :)

Pat
 
the only problem with cedar is that it has a tendency to split (in board lengths anyway) if not treated properly, or harvested "too green".

It would certainly make for a nice liner...something I've considered. I will, actually, be making a wooden sheath (exposed) out of cedar sometime later this spring. Should be fun!
 
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