Shrinking a Leather Sheath???

B

Brian6244

Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
537
I have a leather pancake sheath on my CRK Shadow III that has become a little loose at that top. Is it possible to somehow effectively shrink it just slightly? For those that are not familiar, the sheath is pictured below.
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Whet it and let dry - and let the knife be in the sheath when it is drying. I think that will work for you.

Thomas
 
Soak it in hot water, put knife in sheath and mold the leather around the knife with your hands, remove the knife and let the sheath dry. Should take two or three days.
 
NO!!! DO NOT WET IT!!! You will ruin the leather as it is already molded to the knife and treated. The best thing to do, and the sheath maker for CRK will tell you this, is to send it back. If you can't do that you can cut out a piece of 7-8 oz leather and glue it behind the handle inside the sheath (use contact cement - coat each piece that will be glued together and let them sit for a few minutes before setting them in place). It doesn't have to be a big piece, just enough to tighten it up. It will tighten up the sheath without the possibility of warping the leather if you have no idea what you are doing.
 
CRK has an outstanding warranty on their knives but I'm not sure if they stand by their sheaths in the same way since they do not actually make them. So sending it back may not be reasonable.
 
Brian6244 said:
CRK has an outstanding warranty on their knives but I'm not sure if they stand by their sheaths in the same way since they do not actually make them. So sending it back may not be reasonable.
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CRK stands by their sheaths as well as there knives. Trust me on this. I know this because I have had to return sheaths for repairs.
 
I have wet my leather sheaths, wrapped my knife in a plastic bag, placed it in the sheath, drapped a bag of shot over the assembly to mold the shape and let it dry. After drying I use Resistol Leather on the sheath and have seen no negative results. The Resistol may darken the sheath a bit.
 
george tichbourne said:
I humbly stand corrected.

All these years I have been doing it wrong.
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George,

I was not implying that your method was wrong but in this case there was a better way than to go through all of that trouble. GFeller Casemakers sheath are treated and it has been my experience with their sheaths that remodeling the sheath to the knife is not the way to go especially for someone such as Brian who has never done it before. It takes some skill to get molding such as that correct. Your method will work for someone who is a little more experienced in leather working. I myself have done it on my own sheaths only because I know what to do and how to do it. I meant no disrespect to you.
 
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