Leatherwork Help Needed

[BEEDEE]

Bought a great little knife when I was in Buenos Aires recently. It's a damascus blade that is wickedly sharp with an antler hilt. But the sheath is a disaster.

Has a 3" blade and is 7" overall so I want to use this as a sgian dubh.



My thoughts are to make a sheath that encloses about 2" of the hilt so that the sheath would be at the top of the sock and 2" of hilt exposed. I would ideally like to make the sheath one piece folded and shape the top on the outer side to the shape of the hilt.

I can cut and sew leather but have never shaped a piece. My thoughts are to rough cut the shape oversize, wet the leather and shape to the hilt and hold in place with small plastic clamps until dry. Will that work?

Also, what should I do to protect the blade from rusting? Vaseline or similar?

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Brian

[ANGELMAN]

I use WD-40 to wipe down the blades of my knives. It works well for me, but there may be something better others can advise. Nice looking knife by the way.

[Brian Boru]

Brian,
Greetings and salutations.
What weight (oz) leather will you be using to make your sheath from? I would recomend no heavier than 7-8 oz veg. tanned leather.
I have been working leather since I was a kid and here is what I have learned over the years from making custom knife sheaths. Your approach is good,but, watch how much you "oversize" the sheath, leather will stretch a bit after you soak it for molding. After you have made your sheath, put it in a plastic or glass bowl of clean water (Do not use a metal bowl as this will make the leather react with the metal in the bowl and turn color). Hold it down untill it stops bubbling.
Take a piece of plastic wrap and using WD-40, spray the plastic lightly and the blade. Wrap the knife in the plastic wrap, you may want to put a little tape on the edge and around the point to prevent the blade from cutting the plastic when you insert the knife into the sheath. Take the sheath and lay it on a towel, to soak up some of the excess water. Insert the knife into the sheath, form the case with your fingers around the knife blade and the hilt. To secure the damp sheath use a couple of clothes pins, clamps may leave an indentation in the wet leather and mark your sheath. Now, just leave it alone for a couple of days, do not force dry the leather. Let it dry naturaly. After that, put a little 100% pure neatsfoot oil on it with a soft cloth, use lightly, a little goes a long way.
To protect the stitching, as sharp as that knife looks, I would suggest you make a filler and stitch through that. That way it protects the stitching from the blade, so you don't wind up cutting the stitching out when you draw the knife.
I hope this helps you a little, If I can be of any more help, shoot me a reply and I'll do my best to help you out.

Regards,

Brian

[Tartan Hiker]

Brian knows what he's talking about...follow his advice. I have one comment on the clamping, though. When making a sgian dubh sheath, I want the back to be flat and keep all the shaping in the front. Usually soaking only the front side leather will take care of this, but often the water will move into the rear side leather and it will take a bend as well if you are just using clothes pins. Instead, after I get things formed up I'll place the work on a flat surface and use weights rather than clamps to hold it in place. That way the back remains flat. Strips of wood along the edges with several gallons of paint on top will clamp it nicely.

[Howard Clark]

I'd like to offer the alternative suggestion of denatured alcohol for the wet molding. It works just as well, and it does not take days to dry. But of course it doesn't come out of the tap for free, either.

[Moosedog]

One addtional note: you can use a small copper rivet just inside the stitching at the top to protect it from the blade (the copper is soft enough it won't hurt the blade.) If a small enough one is not available you can fashion one out of some heavy copper wire using a hammer and vise.

Moosedog

[Brian Boru]

Brian,
If you want the back side of the sheath to be flat, you may try putting a small flat piece of wood, like a tongue depressor or a few popcicle sticks taped together side by side ( get them at your local hobby & craft store like A.C. Moore, Ben Franklin, Michaels). Place the wood in the sheath just behind the hilt, you may have to draw the knife slightly, once you have the wood strip in place slide the knife back in the sheath. That should help you to keep the back flat.
As for Mr. Clark's reply about the alcohol, I have never used it for wet forming leather, thinning dyes, yes, for wet forming, no. I would just stick with the water, as the alcohol might remove too much of the natural oils in the leather and make it dry and brittle. Good luck and happy leather crafting.
Happy Christmas!

Regards,

Brian

[BEEDEE]

Thanks for all the input. Have cut the sheath and a filler piece. Now to stitch up and shape. Will post photos when finished.

Brian