Sheaths

[Longstrider]

Trying to post a picture of a few of my toys in the sheaths I have made for them.

 

[Longstrider]

Not much of a shot. My leatherwork is better than my photography... Honest.

 

[Yohny]

Hi Longstrider. Some nice leather work. Just wondering what you use the Bowie knife for? I have an old one, a pain to sharpen, but I use mine for heavy splitting & brush cutting.
Cheers

 

[Longstrider]

Hi Yohny, That bowie doesn't see much service these days. It has seen a good deal of use as a general purpose chop this, split that and slice the other knife in the past, but has been superseded by a Cold Steel Trailmaster now. That particular sheath I made as an experiment as much as anything else. It is very thick (Built up layers of 4.5mm leather) to allow for the width of the guard. I used this thickness to incorporate a pocket in the layer between the back piece and the layer that sits behind the blade. This "mini-sheath" within a sheath contains a DMT mini hone on which I have cut down the plastic handle to make it small enough for a neat fit.

 

[g4ghb]

nice job(s) longstrider!

a couple of questions for you.....

what is the 'stamp'? - I cant quite make out and

what thickness leather is your std sheath?, i'm just starting on my first knife and would like to make a sheath for it, i've looked at all the tutorials i can find and none seem to mention the thickness

cheers (and Grrrrrr - have something to live up to now! )

 

[Longstrider]

g4ghb, The leather I will use for any sheath will usually depend on the size/weight of the knife. The heavier/bigger the knife, the thicker the leather, generally. Between 3 and 4mm seems to be the commonest for the sheaths and belt pouches I make.

The stamp is my makers mark. It goes on all the leatherwork I do, and consists of 2 capital "L"s in a circle very much like the @ symbol.
L L = Longstrider Leatherwork.

 

[g4ghb]

thanks for the thickness tips long... was kinda what I was leaning to!

LOVE the mark! - did you make it? if so how or else where did you get it from? - have been wondering about making / getting a stamp for card/ paper so am interested in whatever info I can glean

 

[Longstrider]

I designed the makers mark myself but had the stamp made by a guy in Sheffield. It's a heavy duty piece of kit. Made of steel rod about 3/4" diameter and about 4 1/2" long with a 15mm diameter design cut in the end to "stamp" with. I cannot remember the guys name but could get it for you if you want it. I recall that my stamp cost me about £55 as a one-off piece.

I see that le Prevo do embossing plates, http://www.leprevo.co.uk/custom.html so perhaps they could help you out with what you want. They will charge a minimum of £35, but you can get quite a bit done for that money. The plate would be best mounted onto something solid if you want to hit it with a hammer to stamp leather.

PM me if you want the name and details of the guy/company that made my stamp and I'll dig the details out for you.

 

[g4ghb]

ouch £55 - £35 seems a lot but I may just streatch to that (if SWMBO does not find out! )


cheers for your help mate!

 

[Longstrider]

g4ghb, You could always see if your scout troop wanted a stamp for their gear and add your design onto the pattern you give to le Prevo. That way you could split the cost. Paying by the square inch you could get a nice sized piece done for £35. All you would need to do was cut it up with a hacksaw, smooth off the edges and each/all have your own sections to mount onto good solid blocks ready for use. It might end up costing a little more for each design but why not leave a good margin around each one on the plan and cut the block you get with enough room around each design to fix them with small, well countersunk screws, to something like a small block of box wood or lignum vitae ?

P.s. Have managed at long last to make my logo become my avatar so you can see what it looks like now. Computers and I don't normally get on well. It would have been quicker and easier for me to make a shelter, start the fire, catch dinner and cook it with one hand behind my back!

 

[g4ghb]

funny enough longstrider I was thinking allong the 'group' line myself! (in fact i've already been chatting to somone to spread the cost.... )


Is there anyone else out there that is interested?

at £1.75 per sq inch it's crying out for a group buy - If you are interested drop me a pm and i'll see where we end up...... i'm happy to combine all the designs into one large 'design' - I guess if we all work to a 1 inch square that is at minimum if 144 'shares' (as the largest they will do is 12"x12")

If there is interest i'll create a new thread under the 'members clasifieds' and we can go from there!

 

[Indi]

Nice work,
The stitch look so small, is that strong enough? Correct me if I'm wrong!
Did you glue it befor you stitch it?

Thx,
Ind

 

[Longstrider]

Indi, The stitching along the top and bottom edges of the front "chevron" are purely decorative. (They would be in the way of the blade if they went all the way through!) The stitiches that hold the sheath together are spaced at 8 stitches to the inch and are made with very strong waxed linen thread. As the leather is so tough and each layer is 4.5mm thick I did not think the stitches would ever pull through, especially as the sheath has 6 layers of the leather at the mouth and 3 layers down the blade. The sheath was not really made for much practical use as the knife has been replaced with another that I am happier to risk losing or damaging out in the field.
As with most of my sheaths, all the layers were glued prior to being drilled and stitched.
With more practical sheaths I will often stitch at a count of 5 or 6 to the inch, and have been known to stitch at about 2 to the inch on a big machete sheath I made many years ago. I "stitched" that one with string and used a "lace it up" method as opposed to a true stitch. It looks in keeping with the whole thing and has lasted well so far.
No problem with you asking the question though. If we don't ask, we never know.

 

[Indi]

Thank you for a fast reaction, I can see clearly now.