Make a Wooden Sheath (with no electricity, and few skills)

[Steve Tall]

My "Ugly Villager Khukuri" came without a sheath, so I wanted to make one myself, and maybe develop some more skills along the way. (This khukuri, by the way, is 16 inches and only 20 ounces, feels great in use, and is proving to be a tough worker for its size.) I challenged myself to see what I could come up with, only using materials I already have on hand, and not using any power tools.

Some suitable pieces of scrap wood were rounded up: a 5/8" base that will be carved to fit the blade; and a 3/16" cover piece that will be glued and screwed to the base. The blade was outlined on the wood, and then the outline was enlarged to allow the widest part of the blade to be withdrawn without interference (with some extra clearance). A utility knife was used to make deep scores along the line, and a chisel made a first pass along the scored lines.

The cavity was more or less evened out, then the process was repeated until the cavity was deep enough for the blade. Complicating the task was the taper of the blade from spine to edge, and from cho to tip. In the following photo, the depth is about right, but the back end of the board needs to be cut off before the blade will fully sit in the cavity.

In the next photo, the wood has been cut to the right length, and the cavity is the right depth. Note the cutout portion for the bolster (designed this way to hold the knife more securely in the sheath). The thin cover piece is shown underneath, and the cover was placed on top to check the cavity depth with the blade in place. The fit needs to allow for easy retraction/insertion, but I left the tip portion a little tight for good retention.

In the above photo, note the markings for the sheath exterior outline. I decided to go with the wider marks for a stronger (and safer) sheath.

The next photo shows the base and cover after being cut with a coping saw. The cover dimensions were oversized a little to make the glueing easier; the cover would be cut down to size afterward.

Next is the glueing (with waterproof glue) and clamping. The glue amount was not excessive, and pretty minimal near the interior edges, to avoid having a glob of dried glue interfere with the blade insertion. (I previously wondered whether the plywood cover would be waterproof, but then a small scrap of it survived a couple day of submersion without delaminating or weakening.)

After the glue dried, the cover was also screwed down (the belt and suspenders approach).

All exterior surfaces were sanded smooth. A reinforcing strip of wood was glued and screwed to the back of the sheath.

To be immediately continued...

 

[Frmacastan]

that is sick!

 

[Steve Tall]

Holes were added for paracord lacing, to attach accessories (a "karda" and perhaps some sharpening equipment) and to rig up a carrying method. The following two photos show that there is enough wood around the blade that these holes shouldn't appreciably weaken the sheath.

This back view shows the cutout portion for the bolster, designed this way to hold the knife more securely in the sheath.

The sheath exterior was coated with some leftover finish, which is a mixture of linseed and tung oils combined with some beeswax and pine rosin dissolved in orange oil. For the interior of the sheath, I poured in about a half cup of food grade linseed (flax) oil, and let it soak for a while, moving it around to coat the entire inner surface, before draining it out and putting it back in its container.

After the finish hardened for a couple weeks, paracord was laced through the holes to make a belt attachment and to attach an accessory knife (a Condor Bushbuddy, the tradeoff for its flatness is that it's not so comfortable to grip).

The belt attachment is two double loops, knotted with a short "tail" loop for alternate attachment to a strap (salvaged from a piece of luggage).

The paracord ends were not trimmed yet until I figure out how much I really need. Until then, the extra length goes down the back, and can be used as a leg tie.

The retention is very good; turning the sheath upside down and giving it some decent shakes does not dislodge the khukuri. The final inch (or so) of the sheath was made with very little clearance so that it would be snug on the blade tip. However, a one handed draw is easily accomplished by pushing on the sheath with the thumb as the handle is being gripped, as shown in the photo below. Once the blade is dislodged by this thumb action, it slides out the rest of the way without hindrance.

A final shot, in hand:

 

[Shinook]

Wow!!!!

 

[sweetcostarica]

I usually use Kydex for my sheath making but thanks to this very good tutorial I know how to make wooden sheaths and will try it out to see if it is just as good as Kydex or even better. Thank Steve :thumbup:.

 

[nepki]

Awesome workmanship. Very nice.

 

[TPVT]

truly awesome. thanks very much for sharing.

 

[Karda]

Nice job, Steve!

 

[Cal45]

Very nice work, how much does it weigh?

 

[rkmoore]

Very nice work. Well thought out & executed! I just might have to give this a try.

 

[Steve Tall]

Thanks for all the kind comments. I am strictly a beginner, trying new things, so I can't make any claims about my technique.

that is sick!

You forgot the "L" in slick.

I ... will try it out to see if it is just as good as Kydex or even better...

Old Jimbo posted another method to make wooden sheaths, more like a 3-layer sandwich, with a strap or cord for retention. You might prefer this style:

from http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/edgewise/woodensheath.html

I tried a different method because I thought a one-piece base would be stronger (without a separate welt piece) and I wanted the retention to be similar to a sword's scabbard.

...how much does it weigh?

The sheath itself, excluding the accessory knife and the paracord (but including the 15 screws ) weighed 7 ounces. I'll weigh it again sometime after trimming the excess paracord.

A couple comments about the two loop attachments: They seem to work best if they are kept wide on the belt, in other words separated by a couple belt loops. They also work without wearing a belt, by tying the paracord loops to a couple belt loops on the pants. I'm right handed, and wear this on my left hip for a one-handed cross draw.

 

[Stormdrane]

Very cool sheath project, thanks for sharing! :thumbup:

 

[7rip13a]

Brilliant work Steve, just brilliant.

 

[Steve Tall]

Thanks for the comments, Stormdrane and 7rip13a.

 

[Berkley]

Well designed and well done!:thumbup:
I especially like the bolster retention / thumb push extraction feature.

 

[Steve Tall]

Thanks, Berkley.

 

[Howard Wallace]

Thanks for sharing your inspiration. I'm sure it will light some fires in other people's minds.

 

[bric]

That's awesome Steve!

Thanks for taking the time to document and share your method with us.

As a variation maybe pegs (short sections of dowel rod) could be glued in and sanded down to perfectly flush with the surface, instead of the screws, for a more all-wood look (although the perfect symmetric pattern you made with the screws and paracord holes looks really sharp ).

The notched out wood at the bolster was executed very nicely and really makes the look.

 

[Steve Tall]

Thanks for the comments, gents.

...As a variation maybe pegs (short sections of dowel rod) could be glued in and sanded down to perfectly flush with the surface, instead of the screws, for a more all-wood look...

Yes, that definitely would be more attractive. The screws might be overkill. I was thinking that the screws would give extra holding power to keep the cover from being accidently pried off (during very sloppy unsheathing, or from the knife twisting during a fall), and I liked the idea of having some metal between the knife edge and my body parts in case of catastrophe (like a major fall). I figured, with an "Ugly Villager Khukuri", its looks come in second after how it performs.