Leather sheath making

K

kratos264x

Joined
Jun 26, 2017
Messages
34
Hello everyone,
Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to make a leather sheath for my Villager kukri. I've head successful meaning sheaths for knives with flat spines but no experience with kukri's. Can anyone give my some pointers?
 
Dylan Kratochvil said:
Hello everyone,
Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to make a leather sheath for my Villager kukri. I've head successful meaning sheaths for knives with flat spines but no experience with kukri's. Can anyone give my some pointers?
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There are some tutorial postings on this forum, but they might be hard to find with the limited search facility. Maybe someone else on this forum can find the links for you.

You can do a general internet search with Google or some other search engine, and you'll get lots of hits for Khukuri + Sheath + Making, or Kukri + Sheath + Making.

Make sure you use a thick enough spacer for the blade spine, since those are pretty thick on most HI khukuris. The edge side doesn't need as thick a spacer. In fact the traditional Nepal scabbards that come with khukuris don't have any spacer at the edge side, but those scabbards consist of two thin slabs of wood held together by an outer layer of leather. A western-type all-leather sheath can be done a little differently, since the leather is more flexible than wood.
 
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Thanks for the links.
I ended up getting creative and used some old firehose. I still need to get a loop attached, but it'll at least let me put it in or strao ont my bugout bag. I'll try to post a pic after work. I'm working on an EDC sheath for my Katunje and those links will be helpful.
Thank you
 
Dylan Kratochvil said:
Thanks for the links.
I ended up getting creative and used some old firehose. I still need to get a loop attached, but it'll at least let me put it in or strao ont my bugout bag. I'll try to post a pic after work. I'm working on an EDC sheath for my Katunje and those links will be helpful.
Thank you
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You're welcome! Glad you found them useful. FYI 8/10 oz leather is more then enough thickness for the sheath body. Sometimes I work with thick leather because it seams cool or the customer requests it. These days though, I mainly stick to 8/10oz or a similar thickness. On large sheaths where you need extra rigidity, I still use the 10/12 oz or 12/14 oz leather. Just depends on the need.

If you plan to carry a Khukri on your belt, I recommend a Thick leather belt. Made my work belt out of 14oz leather (3/16"). It's only 1-1/2" wide, and still very supportive. Allows me to carry my Cell phone and tools on my belt with no discomfort. Made a belt out of 12/14oz English Bridal leather a few months back. Talked to him last night, he wants a few more. He found out he likes the thick belt when carrying his CCW.

A baldric rig (Shoulder strap) is another good way to carry a heavy blade. Tried it and it wasn't for me at the time. But many people sure like them. If the Khukri is just to big for my belt, I carry it on my pack. That's where a very slim line sheath comes in handy. Actually a Slim line sheath is great most of the time. Khukri's are big, no need to add tons of extra bulk to it.

If you need help or ideas, let me know. I can ramble on all day about leather, knives and Khukris. LOL!
 
A good solid belt is a good foundation for carrying anything, knife or CCW etc.
We may have to talk, I have a really good belt, had it several years and it still works great but showing signs of wear and tear.
Like to one day get something natural or brown, always had black which I like but some think it's too coply.
 
Bawanna said:
A good solid belt is a good foundation for carrying anything, knife or CCW etc.
We may have to talk, I have a really good belt, had it several years and it still works great but showing signs of wear and tear.
Like to one day get something natural or brown, always had black which I like but some think it's too coply.
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Cool, cool! If you hit me up in a few months after I get my tax return, I can get some more Natural or Brown leather for belts.

Can totally understand about the color.
 
I'll be the one needing the tax return, I'd expect to spring for the leather. Hopefully find a large cow or horse, my girth seems to be increasing faster than I can fast.
 
LOL! Bawanna Bawanna I have belt blanks cut out that are over 6 feet long! I think I got you covered. ;) When I order hides for belts, I order a Side which is half a cattle. They can be quite wide at the top of the hide.

Just got an email from one of my suppliers, they have the leather I like for belts on sale till the end of the year. Looks like I will be buying some hides soon. . . . I'll contact you shortly.
 
wildmanh said:
If you need help or ideas, let me know. I can ramble on all day about leather, knives and Khukris. LOL!
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What do you use to make the holes for stitching? I have some leather punches but most of the time they end up getting stuck and not making a very good looking hole.
 
K kratos264x when I hand stitch, I use my drill press and a modified drill bit as a hole punch. Ground the back side of a drill bit into a needle/hole punch. First you use a stitching groover to mark the stitch line. Then an over stitch wheel to mark where you will punch your holes. Before punching holes, turn on the drill press. The spinning action allows the needle/punch to slip in and out of the leather easier. Stitching Chisels have worked well for me.

These days I mostly use a Tippmann Boss hand crank stitcher. But I still have everything to hand stitch.
 
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