Leather Double welt??

P

Philip S Ericsson

Joined
Jan 8, 2019
Messages
1
Hey all!

I've been getting into knife making this past year, and recently I've begun making some leather sheaths for a few of the knives that I'm most proud of.

I started a sheath today by making a template out of graph paper that fit nice and snug around the knife, but now that I've cut it out of the leather it looks like it is about 5mm too narrow and I'm not sure I'll be able to fit the knife in once its all sewn up. However, I *think* I might be able to make a functional sheath by adding a second welt layer in to fill out the gap.

So my question to you is have you done this/heard of someone trying this before? Any particular reason whey this would not work? I have a feeling I'll just end up buying more leather anyways so I can do it right, but my supplier has a minimum 30 euro purchase (I live in Sweden) and I don't want to make an order that large right now..

I'm going to continue making the sheath, and it might be that I can get the necessary space through wet forming around the handle but I doubt it.

Cheers!
 
No reason why you can't. I have done it on some cases in the past when it was the easiest way to get the fit I need without too much leather bulk for very wide items. The only downsides are appearance and your ability to sew through a thick welt. Many feel a thick welt detracts from the looks of a sheath but sometimes necessity demands such a solution.
Randy
 
OP, anyway you can post pics. Just not picturing what you are saying.
 
I've done multiple stacks of welt material in the past. I think I did one that had 10-13 layers.... once....

That's all I took for me to realize that punching super thick welts by hand was no fun!!!!

Also, the fit of the blade was not improved!!!!

It was for a big Khukri, an open spine sheath, and my first ever attempt at several of the features.
 
Oh I'm getting it now. Little slow today need mor coffee.
 
I did a few layer welts for a knife that was 12mm/.5 inch at the spine, there is really no other way.
And for the handle, you can widen the mouth of your sheath by adding wedge shaped bits to your welt. Punching holes/stitching might get a bit tricky...

Probably if you posted a picture or two of the knife and your sheath, someone could give you a few pointers how to get around your problem.
 
Wouldn't be a problem.

Your problem comes from the thickness of your leather. The template fits, the leather doesn't.
Make a measuring strip from the leather you'll be using and measure with that around your knife. It should make your template a bit larger.
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Wouldn't be a problem.

Your problem comes from the thickness of your leather. The template fits, the leather doesn't.
Make a measuring strip from the leather you'll be using and measure with that around your knife. It should make your template a bit larger.
Click to expand...

Great idea.
 
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