advice on axe sheath?

[smithy82]

Hi,
I just bought a Fiskars camping axe and would like to make a better sheath for it, as the hard plastic one that comes with it isn't very practical IMO. However, I haven't tried making a sheath for anything before.

Any suggestions for what material I should use. Am I right in thinking leather is quite difficult to work with if your new to this stuff?

Ideally, i'd like a strong, durable sheath, which is quick and easy to make.

Cheers

 

[Squidders]

My advice is that Leather is easy and fun to work with...

You'll need:

A hammer
A stanley knife
Some rivets (less than a pack of 10)
approximately 1 square foot of 3mm+ thick leather

That's about it really, that lot will set you back not a lot of money... check out Leprevo or give them a ring

 

[Big John]

Hi Smithy,

Have a look in this thread for an example by rapidboy and check out his knife tutorial at the top of this forum for a leatherwork example (a sheath in this case, but the principles are the same!).

Also have a search for axe sheath on here and I'm sure you'll find others (there's a pic of one I made in my gallery here , but it's pretty basic!).

 

[Seagull]

Wotcher , Smithy82 and welcome to the site.

Well I have a Fiskars and , like you, I wasn,t happy with the plastic "snap-on" thingy. So I had a go at a leather sheath and, found that there was more to it, than the mechanics of cutting and sewing.

IMHO, the biggest prob, was to do with the actual securing of the cover, to the axe handle....if you look at BJ,s photo, you,ll see what I mean. The Fisker dosn,t have a very large "poll"; theres hardly enough to stop the strap from riding over it.

Also, because of this small poll, I dont think this type of head will be suited to a ,"drop-in-from- the-top" , type of case.

At one stage, I considered chopping up the plastic case, provided, and leather-covering the whole lot .

Eventually I settled for what is ,basically, an edge cover, thats tied ,with round turns, around the handle...will post up a photy, later.

I wouldhave to point out that you need to take really good care, during the actual try-fitting, its got to be a reasonable tight fit, but dont force it....you,ll see what I mean.(Tape up the sharp edge)
Also, I really think you need to include a fillet, in the design, to afford protection to the stitching.

The actual leather work, is not difficult and you can do a more than passable job with just the barest of toolkits .

Lets see how you get on.

Ceeg

 

[Stew]

This was the sheath I bodged together and used for a long time. It was actually very effective.

At the Moot I made a simple yet secure leather one with the help of Leon (Thanks!).

I'll take a picture for you as soon as possible.

 

[smithy82]

thanks for the quick replies.

I think i'll attempt a leather one, I'll let you know how i get on.