Help with doing a braided edge

D

Dixieblade57

Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Messages
1,361
I am trying to figure out how to do a braided edge on a sheath. I saw one a while back but there was not explaination of how it was done. I am not for sure but I think the edge may have been glued together and the briad was done down the edge. In other words the briad sewed the leather together but as the stitches were being made they were also braiding there way down the outer edge of the sheath.
This is the sheath on another forum I have tried to contact this guy to no avail. He may be out of town of something but I want to learn how the heck he did that braid. His work is fantastic. So decided to throw this out on this forum. Can anyone shed any light on how to do this braid on the edge of a sheath.

http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=7091


No remember I am kinda dense :eek: so be kind, and pics or hand drawings would be of great help!!!!!!! Actually if I can figure out how the stitch is done it will be a matter of practice, practice, practice!
Anybody, who can explain this stitch I sure would appreciate it!
 
Dave Cole of DC Knives

the shaman of braided leather, he frequents here.
 
Sorry, no help from me. I am just stunned at the work you linked to. Thanks for that and here's a pic from that link to help get some info. I too would like to know.

vaina47.JPG

vaina35.JPG
 
It looks like a Mexican Round Braid to me. Which is suprisingly easy to do. There are several books on the subject. How to lace and Lacing and Stitching for Leather Craft. These two books are both under $10.00 apiece.

The best one is The Encyclopedia of Leather Brading by Bruce Grant. This book will teach you everything you could ever need to know about braiding leather. It will even teach you how to do stuff like on the knife handle in that pic. If you are going to buy this bok buy it used off Amazon or Ebay. They want way too much for it at Tandy/leather Factory.
 
nick681 said:
It looks like a Mexican Round Braid to me. Which is suprisingly easy to do. There are several books on the subject. How to lace and Lacing and Stitching for Leather Craft. These two books are both under $10.00 apiece.

The best one is The Encyclopedia of Leather Brading by Bruce Grant. This book will teach you everything you could ever need to know about braiding leather. It will even teach you how to do stuff like on the knife handle in that pic. If you are going to buy this bok buy it used off Amazon or Ebay. They want way too much for it at Tandy/leather Factory.
Click to expand...

Thanks to nick681, I googled Mexican Round Braid and this came up;

http://www.btinternet.com/~kingsmerecrafts/page100.html

So now I got to play around a little with this and see if this what I was looking for!
 
Well, guys, I can't be of much help on how it's actually done, but the sheath in that "How it's done" thread belongs to me and those are my initials woven into the front of it. It was made by an Argentinian artisan named Horacio Marziali. He picks up fresh hides at the slaughter house and processes his own rawhide after dehairing the hide. He then cuts his own rawhide strings which are micro small and braids it from there. His braiding is much more complex than the mexican loop. Back to the strings for a moment. They are about the width and thickness of waxed hand sewing thread. He also hand braided the handle on the knife that came with the sheath and that work is absolutely amazing. The knife handle is shown in his thread toward the end.


Paul
 
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Hi Dixie, the tutorial from Kingsmere works fine and is about the same as the "how to Lace" booklet.Horatio is a very gifted artist and his braiding is generally done with threads, sometimes braided together to make heavier cords, very cool stuff.I generally use leather lacing, superior cow or Kangaroo in both 3/32" and 1/8" sizes depending on the item being laced. A few tips and the tutorial should help you do the leather lacing and for Horatio's style I would suggest contacting him as he can explain his method better than I can.

For Mexican braid style lacing, it is best to use round holes.I use drill bits with the shank sharpened and chucked upside down in my drillpress.I punch the holes with the press on and it does burnish the holes nicely( don't drill the holes as the end result is not as pleasing).For 3/32" lace, I punch the first three holes witha 3/32" drill, after that I use an 1/8" bit because you will be going thru the holes twice.On the corners and the last hole go a little bigger like 9/64".For !/8" lace use, the following bits 1/8",5/32" and 3/16".I like to use the flat needles with two prongs, a small set of needle nose pliers will be needed as well as a lacing fid( available from, Tandy or Hidecrafters).The lace length varies with the thickness of the item done versus the two layers shown in the tutorial and the hole spacing.Some suggest using short lengths and splicing but I prefer doing a single length.You can figure on at least 8-10 times the lace as the length needed to be done.I also like to keep my lace damp,not wet so use a small sponge or rag.For hole spacing I use 1/4" for 3/32" lace and 5/16" for 1/8" lace. On the sart of the lacing tuck about an 1 1/2" in under the lacing and on the bottom I feed the needle under and up thru about an 1 1/2" of the lacing and cutoff.That should be good to get you started, and if you have any more questions feel free to contact me.Dave:)
By the way, thanks Dwayne.

here's some pic's of mine to help you along

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dsc019869vx.jpg



Lacedpython3.jpg



MBfolder3.jpg


http://dcknivesandleather.blademakers.com/
 
DC KNIVES said:
For Mexican braid style lacing, it is best to use round holes.I use drill bits with the shank sharpened and chucked upside down in my drillpress.I punch the holes with the press on and it does burnish the holes nicely( don't drill the holes as the end result is not as pleasing).
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the great info and a great tip in the highlight there. Now I know the trick as I have tried drilling before and your right the result ain't too purdy!:D
 
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