New to sheaths

[Adriaan G 0]

What do i need to know and have tool wise to start making sheaths. What are useful resources for beginners. 

[Gerhard Gerber 469]

We've gone through that learning curve the past two months, good news is you can make a lot of it yourself.

You need a fork punch to mark the holes, some form of drill for the holes, crocodile clamps, needles and thread.

We made several punches to do patterns with, rebar works. Only trick with the fork punch is figuring out the spacing of the holes.

The biggest problem we had was the leather, there are partially tanned hides available that are thick enough and affordable, but good, thick, quality leather was the most expensive part.

Between BladeSmithsForum and Youtube you have all the resources you need 

 

[Adriaan G 0]

10 hours ago, Gerhard said:

We've gone through that learning curve the past two months, good news is you can make a lot of it yourself.

You need a fork punch to mark the holes, some form of drill for the holes, crocodile clamps, needles and thread.

We made several punches to do patterns with, rebar works. Only trick with the fork punch is figuring out the spacing of the holes.

The biggest problem we had was the leather, there are partially tanned hides available that are thick enough and affordable, but good, thick, quality leather was the most expensive part.

Between BladeSmithsForum and Youtube you have all the resources you need 

 

Where do you suggest getting leather? 

[Alex Middleton 831]

Tandy leather sells everything you could possibly need for sheath making.

[Alan Longmire 3,773]

27 minutes ago, Alex Middleton said:

Tandy leather sells everything you could possibly need for sheath making.

But they don't have an outlet in Namibia, unfortunately. 

[P Jones 7]

The tools you need depends on how deep you want to get with it. You can technically get away with a drill for holes, some glue or other adhesive, leather sewing thread and needles, and a sharp blade to cut the leather. However, tools such as pricking irons, burnishing tools, dyes, and leather punches/carving tools will go towards making the end result more refined. Tandy's does have an online store you can buy from and I have found their leather to be a better deal than most online retailers. I don't know where you live so I can't say what shipping is like unfortunately. If you're near a Hobby Lobby, they do sell some simple leather crafting tools, enough to get you started. I'd stay away from their actual leather though, it always seemed a bit overpriced to me.

[Will Wilcox 263]

You dont *need* a drill for sheaths. I dont use one. I use a leather punch and a nail. Nail marks the hole, punch makes the hole. 

Tandy leather is a fantastic source, if you have access to them. 

[Gerhard Gerber 469]

@Adriaan G to the best of my knowledge Leather Connection is the only place that sells dyes, thread, needles etc etc, that's also where we got the good leather....very expensive.

Next is the Nakara factory shop in northern industrial, there you can get the less refined leather (thick) and properly tanned hides of just about everything (thin).

We made a nice enough sheath from the less refined leather, but forget about cutting it with a utility knife, we used a meat saw.  You also need to wet it to shape it at all, brilliant tip I got was to use acetone instead of water.

 

[Adriaan G 0]

2 hours ago, Gerhard said:

@Adriaan G to the best of my knowledge Leather Connection is the only place that sells dyes, thread, needles etc etc, that's also where we got the good leather....very expensive.

Next is the Nakara factory shop in northern industrial, there you can get the less refined leather (thick) and properly tanned hides of just about everything (thin).

We made a nice enough sheath from the less refined leather, but forget about cutting it with a utility knife, we used a meat saw.  You also need to wet it to shape it at all, brilliant tip I got was to use acetone instead of water.

 

How expensive is leather connection vs nakara on average

[Gerhard Gerber 469]

260 vs 1800 for roughly the same size.

[Vern Wimmer 487]

You can also use rubbing alcohol if that's cheaper. 

[Joshua States 2,501]

If leather is difficult, or insanely expensive to come by, consider making wooden sheaths.

[Adriaan G 0]

4 hours ago, Joshua States said:

If leather is difficult, or insanely expensive to come by, consider making wooden sheaths.

I didn't think off that. Will look into it not sure how good it wil worl for a mini cleaver though.

[Gerhard Gerber 469]

You can order a ABS kydex-alternative from the local shop as well.

[Joshua States 2,501]

One of the best and shortest videos on simple sheath making that I have seen.

 

[Adriaan G 0]

19 hours ago, Gerhard said:

You can order a ABS kydex-alternative from the local shop as well.

Cool which shop and by what does it go

[Gerhard Gerber 469]

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