Wet Forming Advice

[Blundstoned Love]

Good Morning

May I have some advice please.

I am planning to make and wet-form a knife sheath.

Do I stitch before of after? (I have seen both on the net)

If the latter, what do I do about the welt?

Help appreciated,

Thanks

 

[mark stotesbury]

Post a pic of knife .If you want a scandi type sheath - over a wood scabbard form and stich leather while wet , else you can preform then stich and just cut off the welt later but you will have a raised welt on the sheath .Remember to allow for shrinkage

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Here it is

 

[grey-array]

Hey there Blundstoned,

What type of sheath are you wanting to make, a western style sheath, or a scandinavian style puukko sheath.
in case you were planning on a western style sheath, Which I will presume for now, Both indeed can be done, but there is a reason for each one.

Most diy makers or people that need a sheath for them selves that is not Super Duper critical on the tension of the stitching being the same alround the sheath, I would advice to wetform after stitching.
This for the very reason that wetforming after the stitching has been done takes out all the guess work and will ensure a sheath with a proper fit around the knife making sure it wil not slip out of the sheath.

However

The reason most professional makers do the stitching after is because all the stitching will look neat, and the tension on the stitching will be the same all around the sheath, this is mostly an aesthetical thing than a functional one.
But as a professional maker you want a product that is as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and doing the wetforming before the stitching takes a bit of experience to get the tolerances just right so it will be tight enough to fit the knife, but not to tight so it will not fit or even stretch the leather out of its wetformed position as this looks a bit shabby.

Aka stitched is easier to do, expect that the stitches you made near the part that will get the most amount of stretching, will get pulled into the leather more, nothing wrong with that, but for some people it is an aesthetical nono, personally I dont mind it for the sheathes I personally use, however
If I am making a sheath for someone else, I do the wetforming first and stitch them after to ensure the quality look of the piece with as even stitching as possible.

as far as the welt there isnt really a big change, make it over size on the end where it will stick out of the sheath and then trim smooth to the rest of the sheath,
I personally run a stitch groove on the inside to have certain length of the welt running inside the sheath,
Usually about 6 to 8 mm depending on the sheath, as I think it is tidy, however no-one will ever see this, but I find it is easier that way to make all you stitching holes line up as well.

Hope that helps/clarifies some of the choices ^^

Cheers and goodluck!
yours sincerely

Ruud

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Great, thanks.

So stitch before wet-forming, best for the newbie, but the stitching may go wonky.

Wet-forming, then stitching will give a neater job, but is for the more experienced hand.

As for the welt - go large and trim it.

Is that about the gist of it?

PS - what do you think of the knife folks? My first proper rehandling? (blade and bolster need a polish)

 

[John Fenna]

That is pretty good advice
Although the style of the handle is not to my taste it looks a pretty nice job and if it is comfortable for you then it is a cracking job
Enjoy the leatherwork - but beware ... it is addictive!

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Thanks John.

The handle is a bit of a weird evolution that happened as I tried to make something that gave me a really good purchase for carving/whittling and tempered that with not going too thin - I know ash is strong, but I didn't want the thing splitting. It's a bit tubbier than I'd envisioned (aren't we all), but does feel nice in my hand.

 

[roger-uk]

Now I was going to say I love the handle and I still do - such is life and varying tastes

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Thanks Roger, you've made my day.

 

[Blundstoned Love]

More questions.

Once the sheath is wet formed, what is the best way to dry it out?

I'm guessing sitting it on a radiator is a no-no and that putting it somewhere cold runs the risk of mildew, but what about an airing cupboard?