Pancake Sheaths and how I go about them. (PIC HEAVY)

darkmatter, I got that block from Sheffield knife supply. Its sold as a knife handle block. Any really, really hardwood would work. Google the Janka scale. What we consider hardwoods ain't so much compared to some that are out there.
 
Dave,
I found a source of Genuine Lignum Vitae.They have smaller sizes similar to what looks like in your photo, What size is your piece? or what size do you recomend?
Thanks, John S.
 
Thank you for taking the time to share and post all this information. I have enjoyed seeing your process and my future attempts at sheaths will greatly benefit from your generosity.
Wayne
 
darkmatter. Mine is 1"x1 3/8" x 5" Whateve would be comfortable in your hand I guess would work.
 
What a great and well thought out tutorial.
Thank you for taking the time to put that together.

Most definitely "sticky worthy"

:D
 
Dave,

I've never worn or made a Pancake type sheath , this thread has stoked my interest .
The belt loop on any form of sheath tends to mold and conform to the curve of the belt over time and continuous use , do you have any pics of one of your sheaths that has been used for a long period of time ?
I'm just interested in seeing how the shape of the sheath and in particular the belt slots contour and transform over time .
I personally love the look of a well used sheath that has molded to the user .


Ken
 
May I make a suggestion? I think that my expertise coupled with your relative inexperience to matters like this make me an obvious choice to give solid and good advice.


I would not use a tennis ball for the dog, I think that you will find a handball will last much longer. ;)



Thanks for the pictures and thread. It is always cool to see someone else's process as well as final product.

TF
 
Thanks EBB and Jason. Jason its a matter of supply. Tennis balls are available here in our local little mountain town, handballs not so much. Next time we "go down the hill" might have to stock up. When she has kilt all her balls she'll start dropping a piece of gravel on your foot. She wants you to throw that. But you throw a piece of gravel out into a gravel driveway and how does she find the right piece of gravel? I think she cheats. Runs out to the genral locale, does a sliding stop and picks up just any piece of gravel in the ensuing smoke screne of dust from her stop. Then she trots back to you smiling with the rock in her teeth.

Ken, yes the sheath does conform to the body, depending on where it is worn. I have one here I can get pics of later to put up for you. Takes a month or two for a pancake to really break in.
 
The one thing about a pancake sheath, in dire situations, you can run the belt over top of the sheath, providing even stronger retention from the belt itself pressing on top of the knife. I say this but then I've not carried a pancake sheath type rig, but that's how I envision such a thing if you were in situations that may be more strenuous and need that extra bit of retention.

G2
 
John didn't see any emails. Try it through our website in my sig line if ya didn't.
 
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Horsewright said:
Thanks EBB and Jason. Jason its a matter of supply. Tennis balls are available here in our local little mountain town, handballs not so much. Next time we "go down the hill" might have to stock up. When she has kilt all her balls she'll start dropping a piece of gravel on your foot. She wants you to throw that. But you throw a piece of gravel out into a gravel driveway and how does she find the right piece of gravel? I think she cheats. Runs out to the genral locale, does a sliding stop and picks up just any piece of gravel in the ensuing smoke screne of dust from her stop. Then she trots back to you smiling with the rock in her teeth.

Ken, yes the sheath does conform to the body, depending on where it is worn. I have one here I can get pics of later to put up for you. Takes a month or two for a pancake to really break in.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that story. Man - I laughed until I cried imagining that dog bringing back rocks and cheating. Hilarious.

Jason
 
Ha, our golden retriever also did that when you threw rocks into shallow water. How he actually sometimes found the right one still eludes me, especially since his smarts didn't exceed the one of the rocks.
 
Dave ,

If you haven't already , you should see if you can find and watch an Australian movie called Red Dog .


Ken
 
What a pleasure seeing a craftsman at the top of his game. Your leather is truly a work of art. Thanks for sharing.:)
 
Gary thats absoultely true. I know a lot of guys that do just that, run the sheath under the belt. If ya have a horse in your string that might be a little "tight" first thing in the morning or a little "broncy" you might want to do that. A couple of my other designs lend themselves to be worn that way too. In fact my Slotted sheath is designed to be worn under the belt.
Ken here are a few pics of some Pancake sheaths with some use on them.

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This pic shows a sheath about 2-3 years old. This guys family business is making saddle trees so thats what he had me put on the sheath.

lD6xT89.jpg


This is the backside of the same sheath with my old makers stamp. I have the sheath back to build a different sheath for him. This is pretty common. Lots of times I have guys order two sheaths at the outset and lots of times I will get the knife back to build another. So in this case I will be building him a Horizontal sheath for this knife. Most of the time when I do that it will be for the other side. So this pancake is worn above the left front pocket and the Horizontal sheath is to be worn above the right front pocket. I also have this customers little Gordo knife to buld him a Vertical Pancake sheath for.


VOdQgSy.jpg


This larger pancake sheath built for this AG Russell Bowie is about 10 years old. This sheath was designed to be carried vertically on the rear billet of a saddle using my Saddle Chinkasa. This knife and sheath belongs to a good customer in Alaska and is used hard. This shows that the pancake sheath can be adapted really to just about any knife and any design and any size. My little damascus Tapadero from the first sheath is 7" in over all length. I have this sheath back to design a new sheath for the knife. His new saddle, in order to save weight, does not have a rear billet. So I need to design and build him a sheath that will hang from the saddle horn. This one has me thinking. I will also be building him a new pair of leggings at the same time.

n3EM0jq.jpg


This is the knife and sheath I built for him to wear on a daily basis. This he keeps on his person and the other, the bowie he keeps on his saddle. He told me it took about a month for this sheath to lay down flat and break in. This one was heavier 8 to 10 oz leather due to the size of the knife.

4IuWppw.jpg


Here he is packing out the caribou his wife shot. If you look close you can see the bowie just behind his right thigh.

And for Jason: I use to have a basketball playing horse. Heck its almost March Madness time!

XRM8nTt.jpg
 
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