Tightening up the retention of a leather sheath

L

Lennyo3034

Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
490
I have a leather sheath that is a little loose fitting for the knife. I'm wondering if there is a way to make it tighter? I was thinking of dipping it in water with the knife in it and letting it dry. Any suggestions?
 
The success of your project depends on the type sheath you are talking about. A photo would help us help you. I doubt dipping the whole thing in water and letting dry will produce the results you are after without some other considerations.

Paul
 
Second on the pic. I have a method but it does depend on the type of sheath, won't work on all of em. If you can post a pic that would help.
 
3rd on the pic. Be sure to post a pic of the knife too. The ricasso/scales/guard area matters when using wet forming to aid in retention.

If there is help to be had, the two guys above plus a couple of others here will be able to offer it, that's for sure. :)
 
Sorry, I haven't posted the picture yet. Was out in the woods this weekend. I will get a picture tonight.
 
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Well, that sheath is styled kind of as a "generic" sheath, meaning it doesn't seem to match the knife anywhere except the mouth. Probably the quickest fix, and considering the shape of the sheath, the only fix would be to tighten up the mouth a little. This can be done by going to the point in the upper left corner of the mouth and just inside the outer stitching punch a number 7 hole and insert a Chicago screw, The screw can be tightened or loosened to the correct tension and then set with lock tite or a dab of Elmer's white glue. Because of the shape of the sheath, there will always be some play around the lower end of the blade. This can only be cured by a secondary stitch line following the blade shape, but without a welt it would probably end up being an exercise in futility and cut stitches.

Paul
 
For that sheath Paul's method is probably the best. Mine probably won't work on a sheath that lacking in contour for the knife. However there is a pretty non invasive way to test. Get ya some Dr Scholls moleskin, the kind with the sticky on the back. Cut a piece to fit the inside of the back of the sheath and say down about an 1.5 to 2". Stick it in there working it flat with a popsicle stick or a finger. Start with the bottom end and get it flat as it comes up to the top of the sheath. Trim any excess flush. If the moleskin, once it is applied, adds enough friction to give you a decent friction fit then my deal will work. What I do is replace the moleskin with piece of chap leather. 4/5 oz takes care of most deals. I trim the leather to fit leaving about 1/2" out the top of the sheath. I put Super Glue (Gorilla Brand as it is thick and doesn't absorb into the leather too quickly), onto the chap leather piece. I then spray a little CA accelerator into the sheath where the leather will go. Quickly, I slide the chap leather piece into place making sure that the joint around the throat of the sheath is complete. While pressing that together I give er another little spritz of the accelerator. I use a roundknife to trim flush, bevel the interior side of the chap leather with an Exacto knife and sand the two pieces together. I use a flap wheel on a Dremel tool. Dye the raw edge to match and rub. If your belt loop gets in the way you could do this to the front side of the sheath not the back. Hard to tell from the photo if the belt loop is all one piece or if it is sewn on at the top too giving you enough clearance.
 
I think you could easily wet mold that a bit, but it would (in my opinion) look bad.

The advice above is good. I'd also consider contacting Herber directly to see what he thinks. He's a good guy.
 
Honestly, wet mold that bugger.

Soak it good in warm water from the tap till it starts getting flexible.

Insert the knife and mold around it with a smooth object, I use a bone folder but any nice smooth thing, even a sharpie will work.

When you have it like you want it, remove the knife and push the leather back in place as the removal will push it out a little.

Let it dry slow in room temp. Dont get in a hurry here, you'll regret it. When its dry, 24 hours or so, apply some leather conditioner. Sno Seal or Aussie Leather Conditioner or your favorite beeswax and oil mix are good to go.

I'll go find Heber and see if this is good for his work.....
 
Success! I put a little bit of hot water into the inside, put the knife in and left it overnight. Retention is quite good now.
 
Lennyo3034 said:
Success! I put a little bit of hot water into the inside, put the knife in and left it overnight. Retention is quite good now.
Click to expand...

Hi Lenny, I'm glad it worked out for you. That's what I would have recommended. :)
 
I looked at some Herber sheaths after posting because I wanted to know how they looked wet molded. Turns out they look fine, but I guess you know that by now. ;)

Glad it worked out for you.
 
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