I couldn't dump this in my usual carboot tool thread as the Ray Iles scorp was got for me new as a present.
4mm veg tan, copper rivets and washers, recycled brass roll pin buckle, linen thread. The whole thing was dipped in hot beeswax and will lighten off a bit when its fully cured.
The easiest way I found to get the curve right was to cut card templates of the 3 sections from thick card but all parts over long so they could be trimmed to size. the inside section with the strap I curved and masking taped on to the blade once it was centred and lined up with the top of the blade.
The central section I cut to fit around the blade with a 1/2 inch of leather all the way around. I then used contact adhesive on fix it in place on the 1st part then used more of the same to fix the front on to it, using more masking to hold it all in place.. Once that had cured I trimmed the outside two pieces to match the central piece then made the holes for the 4 end rivets with a pliers type punch. This tapers much less than my hammer punches so will go through 3 thick layers without stretching the top hole excessively. Being a tart I used a tongue depressor inbeween the back of the piece and the anvil part of the pliers to stop it digging into the leather. To be honest I usually went through just the top two layers then flipped the piece and using the mark that showed through the third layer as a guide cut through the last layer rather than go through all three at once.
Once the end rivets were on I removed the tape and the blade , attached the buckle and other rivets then sanded the edges smooth with a smooth Permagrit block.
I then got a double boiler going full of beeswax and once it had all melted soaked the mask for a few minutes, making sure everywhere got a good dose. As soon as it was out of the wax I fitted the blade back in and shaped the leather around it, using a hairdryer to keep the wax flexible and a rag to wipe off the excess.
Once it had gone good and hard i removed the blade, hit it with boiling water to remove the wax stuck to it, scraped out the slot and replaced the now cooled blade. I then made the holes for the buckles tongue ( i've noticed straps shrink before now during the hot waxing so now do it last ) and gave it a last go with the hair dryer and rag.
Not pretty but more than strong enough. I deliberately didn't bother with a loop to hold the tail of the strap after its passed through the buckle, just extra faff.
I'll now put a final edge on the thing and get some oil on it and (lightly) inside the slot.
On the off chance your not a avid follower of my carboot tools thread here's the equally no frills mask I made for the last drawknife I restored.
And since it don't merit its own post a little spatula /pot scraper I made to go with a camping pot from a mystery piece of wood in the shed. possibly sycamore.
Thats all folks!
ATB
Tom
4mm veg tan, copper rivets and washers, recycled brass roll pin buckle, linen thread. The whole thing was dipped in hot beeswax and will lighten off a bit when its fully cured.
The easiest way I found to get the curve right was to cut card templates of the 3 sections from thick card but all parts over long so they could be trimmed to size. the inside section with the strap I curved and masking taped on to the blade once it was centred and lined up with the top of the blade.
The central section I cut to fit around the blade with a 1/2 inch of leather all the way around. I then used contact adhesive on fix it in place on the 1st part then used more of the same to fix the front on to it, using more masking to hold it all in place.. Once that had cured I trimmed the outside two pieces to match the central piece then made the holes for the 4 end rivets with a pliers type punch. This tapers much less than my hammer punches so will go through 3 thick layers without stretching the top hole excessively. Being a tart I used a tongue depressor inbeween the back of the piece and the anvil part of the pliers to stop it digging into the leather. To be honest I usually went through just the top two layers then flipped the piece and using the mark that showed through the third layer as a guide cut through the last layer rather than go through all three at once.
Once the end rivets were on I removed the tape and the blade , attached the buckle and other rivets then sanded the edges smooth with a smooth Permagrit block.
I then got a double boiler going full of beeswax and once it had all melted soaked the mask for a few minutes, making sure everywhere got a good dose. As soon as it was out of the wax I fitted the blade back in and shaped the leather around it, using a hairdryer to keep the wax flexible and a rag to wipe off the excess.
Once it had gone good and hard i removed the blade, hit it with boiling water to remove the wax stuck to it, scraped out the slot and replaced the now cooled blade. I then made the holes for the buckles tongue ( i've noticed straps shrink before now during the hot waxing so now do it last ) and gave it a last go with the hair dryer and rag.
Not pretty but more than strong enough. I deliberately didn't bother with a loop to hold the tail of the strap after its passed through the buckle, just extra faff.
I'll now put a final edge on the thing and get some oil on it and (lightly) inside the slot.
On the off chance your not a avid follower of my carboot tools thread here's the equally no frills mask I made for the last drawknife I restored.
And since it don't merit its own post a little spatula /pot scraper I made to go with a camping pot from a mystery piece of wood in the shed. possibly sycamore.
Thats all folks!
ATB
Tom
