Waxed Leather, Knife Sheath Experiment.

[rancid badger]

I'm sure someone else will have done this before but I fancied trying it and had a load of wax sitting doing nothing

I had acquired several kilo's of beeswax from a local beekeeper, a few years back now and had intended to use it for making leather drinks flasks, inspired by Eric Methvens beautiful flasks.

I had a bain marie set up, made of a largeish roasting tin and a smaller, silicone rubber roasting "tin" which fits comfortably inside the larger one with plenty of room for the hot water.

Anyway, I just couldn't be bothered to get cracking with the bottles and the materials and indeed the whole idea was shelved for a good 3 years or so.

Then I decided to give it a go but to try a couple of my sheaths instead of making a bottle.

Part of the reason I decided on sheaths, was that I have started kayak sea fishing and I wasn't too sure how long a leather sheath would last if it was constantly soaked with sea water.

A sheath totally impregnated with beeswax seemed the ideal solution so I had a go.

I made a couple of test sheaths in my normal way, allowed them to dry completely,then a few days later, I set to and heated up the wax. It took almost an hour to melt the 2kgs or so but once it was all melted, I carefully placed one of the sheaths in the wax and waited for the small, gentle bubbles to stop, then hooked it out, turned it over and popped it back into the wax.

I had expected the wax to boil and bubble, a bit like deep fat frying but thankfully, it was very much gentler than that.

I ended up with these:

Unfortunately, the wax makes them so grippy, its almost impossible to fit a knife in them safely, the only exception being the bottom one in the photo, which was a "remainder" from a batch I did for sale, though in spite of being able to fit a clipper into it,I still couldnt get a clipper or similar knife out safely.

The wax does also make the leather absolutely solid and totally waterproof and it buffs up very nicely too. If it gets dirty or scuffed, you just brush off the dirt and buff the leather with a boot brush.

I think I can almost certainly heat the sheaths and reshape them a bit to take knives safely, or I might have to have another go at making a knife or two! but regardless, I've still ended up with one that takes a Karesuando Boar ( might be a "wild" boar?) I traded a while back, very nicely indeed.

I don't think I'll be making any more of these but it was certainly interesting to do and I definitely learned a great deal from the experience.

I'll have to have a go at a bottle or two next I think

sorry there aren't any photo's of the process itself, I just got stuck in and never gave pictures a thought till I was pretty much done!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share the experience a bit

kind regards

Steve

 

[gypsy slings]

they look sound pal well made .

 

[Deaner666]

Nice looking sheaths mate. I started beekeeping this year so am starting to accrue an amount of wax. Was curious to read of your experiences using it!

 

[Ex-member PaganBushcraft]

Very nice good stiching

 

[pwb]

Very interesting stuff thanks for sharing , wouldn't mind trying this out some time too.

I think I can almost certainly heat the sheaths and reshape them a bit to take knives safely

Did the leather actually shrink at all Steve , to make the sheath too grippy .
Do you think adding a little extra to a standard pattern would be necessary at all ?

Cheers,
Pete.

 

[rancid badger]

Thanks for the kind compliments,

on the question of shrinkage?; Well I'm not 100% sure to be honest I think its mainly the wax gripping the knife handles but I reckon there may well have been some shrinkage. I guess adding 5 or 6 mm to the template outline would certainly help with this issue.

I have to say they look, feel and smell fantastic mind you I can certainly see the attraction of waxed leather drinks flasks, now that I've tried the basic technique.

thanks again

Steve