Making a pouch sheath - Apprentice Thread.

I have a drill press dedicated to leather work - it has a small plate made of wood that indexes the needs as it goes through. However, I do NOT grove before punching holes. I agree with Sky - it would be very hard.

TF
 
Well... I watched a lot of the videos, read the instructions and pig-dogged my way through a ..... sheath? I had this cool little scandi karda with no sheath. I wanted to make something I could drop in my pocket so I could actually take it out to the woods with me. I didn't put a belt loop on it. I rarely ever put a sheath on my belt. I don't like wearing one around unless it is horizontal on my back. Don't worry about me having a fixed blade in the pocket... It's not like I live in California... Oh, wait a minute...

Anyways, I made a bunch of mistakes that I could have been avoided had I read and watched more carefully. Now that I have a little experience, I am excited to go back through the material and all the little tips will have a reference point.

Mistakes -

#1 - I didn't allow for extra space. I actually had to cut out the leather twice as the first was too small. Even then I didn't think I was actually going to be able to fit a knife in it. It turns out I could, but not by much.

#2 - I didn't start with enough thread and ran out 3/4 of the way through stitching. I had to improvise....

#3 - While trimming the welt and the side it was glued to, I didn't have the razor blade totally perpendicular which meant the welt was not on an even plane with the outer edge. I had to sand like crazy to get the edge mostly straight.

#4 - I was too aggressive on trimming the inside of the welt angle at the top to allow the knife to slide in easier. It made the top of the welt side taper on the outer edge.

#5 - The stitching line is goofy, because the outer edge is goofy.

#6 - edges need more work, especially along the top

I am sure there were more. It was a lot of fun though and hopefully there will be some improvements next time. I have redone the wet forming since the pictures because I don't think I got the sheath wet enough.

Thanks Tal for putting this together. The videos were great and it was really helpful to have the links to the tools. That save a lot of time. It is evident you put a lot into this thread so thank you!

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Really cool sheaths on here!

I have done a little myself. Have not taken the time to read all the threads. Did not know if someone has mentioned using an umbrella support for a grooving tool or putting a buffing wheel on a grinder or chucked in a drill really helps shine up the welt side.
 
Generally anything on a grinder moves to fast to burnish and moves right into burning. I have used dense felt with a grinder motor moving at 1750 before - but I don't find it gives any better edge than the methods mentioned here.

TF
 
Hasco - I missed yours. I think it looks great! A very simple pouch sheath that is heirloom quality. Well done!

By the way - you "improvisation" with stitching was right. You back stitched and then stated anew. This is EXACTLY what Al Stohlman would have done and says to do in his book.

TF
 
Well done gentlemen!

I've had to do the Stohlman thing a couple of times. He never measured the length of thread before sewing so probably had a lot of experience with it. Seven inches per inch of stitch length is a great rule of thumb, although you do need to compensate when doing very thick sewing. One of the two times I ran out was on a Busse sheath that had a combined 32oz at the top.

I've tried all kinds of burnishing, powered and by hand. What I've found over time is that the most critical thing is getting a very even edge before doing any finishing. You can't have any voids in the leather (if you have trouble with it, compress your welts) and a thin glue line is important. If you sand above 400 to remove any fuzzies the actual burnishing is very easy. It can be done with wax, gum trag, or even just water. As Jason points out at the beginning, prep goes a very long way to a great finished product.
 
When buying tools, I have always tried to follow the " Buy once, cry once" philosophy. Is there a benchmark brand for leather craft tools? I'm not looking for boutique tools but if there is something out there better than Tandy, I would spend more to get more in terms of quality.
 
Master series from Weaver, Barry King... really it depends on the tool you're looking for because there aren't really brands that make one of everything. Tandy slaps their name on lots of stuff from various different factories.

The most comprehensive high quality tool maker that I'm aware of is CS Osborne.
 
All my strap end cutters, slot punches, hole punches are CS Osborne. They take a beating with every usage and need to be of high quality steel and quality manufacturing to last any time at all. My other daily users include Osborne, knock off Osborne, Craft Tool (Tandy), and home made items. My observation has been that the older Osborne tools are vastly superior in fit and finish than the newer ones. Not that they're poor tools, just takes some hand finish/polish to make them right.
 
That's a good point Rick. I was almost ready to toss my Keen Edge beveler but decided to sharpen it very carefully (I made a little rig for the job) and I'm very happy with it now. Before, it would trim the corner off of firm veg tanned, but struggled with tight radii. Now it cuts tight areas very well and also does soft leather like shark skin nicely.

I haven't bought a tool yet that didn't require some work straight away (except for a Japanese groover).
 
Thank you so much to all the contributors to this post. My ultimate goal is to make my own scout sheath for my RAT-5 (rather than paying $$$ for it). I know my leatherworking skills are not there yet, since I have none.
So the plan is to tool up and start with a fairly basic belt pouch with dangler and an option for horizontal crossdraw. In the meantime I'm scrounging for scout patterns.

Thanks again, this is so educational and I will be referring to all of it once my stuff gets in.
 
Finished another one of the blanks I got from Skyler. Had to make my own welt to match the knife, an EDC II

I really need to get a free hand groover and a drill press. For me, it's almost not possible to get the holes straight with a hand drill. Live and learn.

Dyed it a 'mottled' brown and SnoSealed it, thread is artificial sinew.

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