not much to look at, but it's done :)

[Lorien]

I picked up this E. Russ Andrews III piece some time ago, and the wonderful sheath it came with is a little bulky for discreet carry, so I made a sheath for it. I tried a bunch of new things, mostly process things, but particularly the deerskin lining which I didn't do a great job of. The lining doesn't go past the threads so it doesn't show along the welt and that was pretty tricky. Not real happy with the way it looks, but so long as it holds up...

Anyway, I keep picking up great nuggets of knowledge with every project I take on, and may at some point attain enough skill to feel ok about getting paid. Not yet though!

Pearls of wisdom and constructive criticism would be appreciated

 

[jideta]

I think with sheaths there's no wrong way, just better ways.
Looks good!

 

[Robber58]

Paul Long is a master of applying deer skin linings to sheaths of all types. His videos show in great detail how to handle the lining, including how to keep it away from the finished edges. I highly recommend them.
Randy

 

[sheathmaker]

Lorien, Robber58 is correct. Go ahead and line the full width and prior to assembly skive the deer skin away from the edges all around about 3/8" from the edge exposing the base edge. When you glue up for assembly the lining has just "disappeared" making the edge finishing a lot easier. This process is shown in nearly all of the DVDs Chris Crawford offers. and they can even be downloaded on line now for a lesser price. You might even be able to find an old thread with still photos of the process either here or on Knifenetwork forums.

Also I am not a fan of multiple thicknesses in the welt except in extreme cases and then only a short wedge welt addition. It ia a rare blade that won't fit into a sheath with a welt of single thickness of the same weight as the body. It will be an extremely tight fit for the first insertion but stretches to fit nicely after several insertions and extractions. This is true in the guard area of the knife also. The belt loop will give and mold to the guard thickness and you don't wind up with a thick "clubby" looking sheath.

 

[Lorien]

Lorien, Robber58 is correct. Go ahead and line the full width and prior to assembly skive the deer skin away from the edges all around about 3/8" from the edge exposing the base edge. When you glue up for assembly the lining has just "disappeared" making the edge finishing a lot easier. This process is shown in nearly all of the DVDs Chris Crawford offers. and they can even be downloaded on line now for a lesser price. You might even be able to find an old thread with still photos of the process either here or on Knifenetwork forums.

Also I am not a fan of multiple thicknesses in the welt except in extreme cases and then only a short wedge welt addition. It ia a rare blade that won't fit into a sheath with a welt of single thickness of the same weight as the body. It will be an extremely tight fit for the first insertion but stretches to fit nicely after several insertions and extractions. This is true in the guard area of the knife also. The belt loop will give and mold to the guard thickness and you don't wind up with a thick "clubby" looking sheath.

thanks Pappy! Your suggestion is well taken

I don't consider this sheath a success. It doesn't work quite the way I want it to, and it's fat and ugly. It does what I want it to, vis a vis carrying the knife, but I'm considering it a prototype and will probably make one more deserving of this fine blade at some point in the future. I will hopefully be more competent by then