Aloha @Mountainman, For these final four.... I will make them in either configuration as folks ask here... If you are interested in the middle design... I will put one aside for you #2 of 4 Limited Edition Thanks for the interest and the kind comments... Hope to get these done before Christmas ... should be end of next week hopefully... add a day or two cause I am old and well... I'm always overly optimistic Have a great day! Take Care and God Bless, Bear
You did it again and posted while I was posting, LOL. I will take one of the middle design #2 of 4. Thank you very much! BTW - Kydex would be great if you want to go through that much trouble.
LOL @Mountainman great minds in sync I'll get to working on it this week... I'm interested in the Monkey's thoughts on Kydex versus Leather... so @HK_User , @Witch Doctor 01 , @Sapper John ,@kellory , @DarkLight @BTPost and others I missed may want to chime in... I know some or all of you may have some of my leather sheaths and kydex sheaths as well... I wonder if for those in cold / freezing might not prefer leather... I have heard of kydex "freezing up" and getting too stiff to draw the tool / weapon out... and therefore in some extreme cases even cracking when being drawn... also on the other extreme... for high heat or for those that will leave these in their trunks or the vehicles... where the kydex deforms or loosens... It's the reason I think leather... and riveted leather is a safer and more secure way to go... Yes I have have a Tippman Boss stitcher... and yes that would be easier... or even hand stitching... but rivets (even though some don't like the green patina over time) last forever... don't get me wrong I love kydex (very cool colors and patterns) ... but just seems like the safer bet when you don't want a failure at the worst possible time... is leather... Thoughts... is this old fart monkey, who doesn't live in really cold or really hot country off his rocker??? Would love to hear from the experts and their stories... That would make me a better craftsman for sure Thanks everyone... Take Care and God Bless, Bear
I'm no expert, but I like leather. Also like wooden sheaths for tropical climates. @Bear's leatherwork is most excellent!
I'm no expert either, and I've never worked with kydex. I have done a few wood sheaths, but mostly leather with stitched edges.
Speaking for myself, I would take leather every time. I have a sheath from a knife that is older than I am (52yrs in Feb) and is still going strong. The knife/sheath has been taken care of, but has been WELL used during that time. Leather is quieter IMHO. Being a Cowboy all my life, what else would I pick? On a personal note, being newer here I have to say that I look forward to seeing pics of your work. I know craftsmanship when I see it, and I've been seeing it on a regular basis in your pics..
I have zero experience with wooden sheaths. The only ones I have really handled are the ones from my sword collection. I have three from WWII and a few from earlier times. They all have seemed to have held up well considering their age and what they may have "seen" during their lifetime. The oldest we have has been dated to the 1700's and there are no cracks or separations anywhere, so I guess wood makes a good sheath
My first choice is leather with stainless steel rivits. Second is sewn Leather with selected placment(stress/saftey) of stainless steel rivits. Third is thick Kydex on leather with stainless steel rivits. Fourth is Leather with brass rivits. Fifth is wood, this would be my first choice but the time it takes to make a fitted rattle free sheath and a leather frog can exceed the price point of all but the most demanding buyers.
Hehehe... Your comment made me think of The Muppets: Most Wanted. My little monkey has been on a Muppet kick lately. Even bought a couple of soundtracks. One of the songs she has been singing incessantly is, "I'm number one, you're number two..."
Split the wood length wise on a table saw, sand or surface the inner faces (I use an electric bench planer for this step. Measure the blade, and use a router to inlay half of the blade into each half. Wrap blade in saran wrap, and glue the wood halves back together, and clamp. When dry, remove blade, and start sanding to shape scabbard to meet personal specs, or run it through a table saw as needed to remove excess material, then sand and finish. Remember to leave enough material at the throat to mount the frog. This works rather well on straight and tapered blades.
The skilled maker part is not having any part of the sharp blade ever touch the wood. Then of course no rattle and yet ease of drawing. Special wood and methods needed. You need only remove wood from one side.
Leather for me... I'm Old Skool... rivets at the stress points I prefer subdued rivet instead of shiny ones...
After thinking about sheaths, leather would be better then Kydex since Kydex would take longer to make and bring the price up.
You're too kind @Hanzo ... my leatherwork is utilitarian and simple... there are a couple members here who do some really nice stuff
Nice list... @HK_User Can't beat stainless anything... sure wish their made stainless burrs and washers... but it would be a bugger to peen the head over... It's a toss up with me... just depends buts I would lean towards leather with rivets... (stainless, nickel silver, brass or copper depending)
@Mountainman actually depending on the design and the tool... given that you have all the right tools for either leather or Kydex... I find that Kydex is both easier, faster and cheaper than leather... Good quality veg tanned leather is expensive. You need a good skiver to get it to a consistent thickness. Then you need to dye it to the color you want... Black requires dying twice to get a true black... navy blue first and then black... good quality thread (I like real flax) is expensive as well... then you need all the hardware and tools to set, stitch and dress the edges... and then if you want to treat it after everything... that is why leather workers get high dollars for their work... even on something as simple as a sheath... now inlay it with snake skin or some other exotic and it only goes higher... each step takes time to dry from glueing welts and inlays, to dyeing and final treatments... I've left out a ton of different steps but for me anyway... a full blown leather sheath takes a ton of time and is harder to get right than kydex. Kydex comes in uniform thicknesses and colors.... is thermo molded... can be redone if you mess it up... and setting the rivets is easy... the kydex sheeting is cheaper in the long run as it is already colored and of the thickness you want... less tooling and supplies... and they are definitely cheaper than the leather tooling and supplies.... a full blown kydex sheath can be made for less money and time than it's leather counterpart... IMHO... YMMV.... That being said... I usually supply a basic undyed, untreated, tough as nails, thick veg tanned, copper riveted sheath with my blades and let you do what you want with it.... for the size and the steps I go through... I think its a hell of sheath and value ... but that's just me So there you go... on old fart, stinky, opinionated Bear's opinion on the subject.... Hope that helps... let me know if you have any questions ... happy to explain further... Thanks again for the kind comments and for weighing in on the sheaths... Take Care and God Bless, Bear
