Recovering the sheath of a kukhri

[JohnC]

The black thin leather was peeling a bit and appeared fragile, and i wanted to change it..., i peeled it off, i took photos, and tried to use reuse parts as templates..

the wooden sheath had drawings on it.... The wood seemed to be pine, possibly from a packing case or pallet

I made a new set of holders for the small knives and accessories, this also folded over the top of the sheath...

I carved a new piece of wood to cover the holders, based on the shape of the original that was too small..

No pictures of soaking the leather, but i roughly sized it using the original, i soaked it in warm water and stretched it over the wood sheath, moulding it till the leather was drying out. I stitched it in place and trimmed it once dry. I used some clamps to help hold unstitched pieces together...

Once dried out, i checked the fit of the blades, then eventually i warmed it up and covered it with beeswax..

i made a belt loop to fit over the sheath from some thicker leather...

 

[copper_head]

Nice work there!

 

[Toddy]

Oh very good, John
That looks so much better, and secure

cheers,
M

 

[Dreadhead]

very nice looks way better

 

[Jomo]

awesome stuff, this has given me some good ideas thankyou

 

[mark stotesbury]

thats cool!!

 

[JohnC]

Thanks, it was a good project..

 

[Ogri the trog]

I have one that could benefit from a similar job - though I very much doubt I'd be capable of achieving a similar quality outcome.

Very nice indeed.

Ogri the trog

 

[hog]

That is fantastic, I have a knackered sheath for my Khukri, although I think mine is made for the tourist market, still from an old truck spring etc with the buffalo horn handle, will need to obtain some decent leather to sort it out though, also the two companion knives are long gone, cost me 50p at a car boot you see !!!

 

[bojit]

Good looking sheath john , I also have one that could do with a bit of work to handle and sheath to make it a bit more useable .

Craig....

 

[Niels]

That's an improvement

 

[santaman2000]

That is fantastic, I have a knackered sheath for my Khukri, although I think mine is made for the tourist market, still from an old truck spring etc with the buffalo horn handle, will need to obtain some decent leather to sort it out though, also the two companion knives are long gone, cost me 50p at a car boot you see !!!

Actually the genuine ones are made from recycled steel (be it old truck springs or dismantled cargo ships) The problem with the leather sheath covering is due to the Hindu religion not being able to use cow leather (it's a sacred animal remember) They sometime use buffalo hide but most often goats' leather due to coat; on pretty much all khukuris (for local or tourist market)

 

[JohnC]

Thanks for the comments, I'd heard from somone that it was probably goat leather.. the finish on it made it feel hard and plastic-like..

 

[greensurfingbear]

Nice work mate. My kukri sheath is pretty knackered as well and now I'm getting better at leather work it'd crossed my mine to make a new one. What was the trickiest part if the process? Any advice or improvements you'd recommend?


Orric

 

[SCOMAN]

That's lovely, I've some lovely Roe deer leather that would do mine. Hopefully later in the year when I'm finished studying

 

[JohnC]

.... What was the trickiest part if the process? Any advice or improvements you'd recommend?
Orric

I tried to keep everything and avoid tearing or breaking any bits so I could use them as templates.. The major changes were slightly thicker leather, and I increased the number of loops for the small knives as I fancied adding an awl or something to the set.
Once I had a good look at the way it had been assembled, it was not too difficult to adapt. I had to carve a slightly longer and wider wood cover for the small knives, but the shape was there in the old bit. This also meant that I needed to use a larger piece of leather to wrap the whole thing.
The belt loop was based on pictures I'd seen on here and elsewhere and slides off the sheath.
I think the most difficult bit was (other than starting) stretching the damp leather over the wood, especially getting the folds at the top ok with a decent "hold" on the blade. small plastic clamps helped a lot with keeping it all in place.. I hope this helps. Its good to see Hamishs and hear others are planning!

 

[grip]

Great post, thanks forsharing. Thats inspired me to have a go at mine.......Grip

 

[Gasparo]

Good sir, that is some excellent work, good job *thumbs up*

 

[smokyjoe]

Nice work.... NOT

 

[Karl82]

good job looks good.