As simple as it gets

[tg]

Here is a knife sheath that is just about as simple and fast to make as you can find, a plain piece of Elk rawhide thick enough so you can't see thru it laced and fitted to the knife, it can be tucked into a belt or sash and held with a thin wang wrapped around the sash or belt, I don't know if this belongs here if it needs moved I am sure someone will move it.

 

[StevePrice2]

tg- lookin good! :thumbsup: what is the blade length? I picked up one similar to that shape at an antique show a couple of weeks ago and it appears to be very similar to your cutlery's manufacture. 5 pins. Do you know the brand of yours? Here's mine. 12 inch edge, 17 OAL. Someone ground a false edge into it at some point. Haven't made a sheath yet but now have an idea! :hatsoff:
Steve

 

[tg]

Mine is an import I got thru Crazy crow it is supposed to be a replica of the Snake brand, I like rawhide I usually make a rawhide liner for a knife even if I put something else on also you don't need a welt if you make the sheath wider than the knife and clamp the sheath on the knife as it dries so the blade edge never gets close to the rawhide lacing, both sides of the sheath are friction fit and hold the blade so it does not hit the laces. That is a good looking knife you have there it would be a good one to carry.I make a template out of paper by folding a sheet of paper over the knife, allowing room at the top for the handle, then transfer this to stiffer cardboard and use that to transfer the shape to the wet rawhide.

 

[StevePrice2]

tg - thanks for the tip. Mine has a water damaged scale on one side that made the wood very soft and crumbly. Do you think elk slab scales would look decent as a replacement or some other wood? I would pretty much keep the lines the same. The original won't hold up much longer it wears like rotted wood.

PS- oh, and did you measure yours?

 

[tg]

i think horn scales would work fine there are pics of such things more than likely they were replacements. my blade is 8" long, handle 4 1/2" the blade is 1 1/4" at the base, I carried a larger one for quite a while and decided to try one a bit smaller, I am to damned old to fight bears anymore.

 

[necchi]

I've used rawhide alot as liners like TG describes.
Helpfull tip: instead of a cardboard template, oil the blade and wrap it with kitchen Glad Clingwrap or Sahran Wrap. Then the wet rawhide can be placed around the knife itself to dry. I like to place the wrapped blade between a couple of slabs of wood and clamp, with another a clamp near the handle. This creates a nice "friction" fit. The dry rawhide usually opens up enough to slip in a welting to protect the stiching.
If it's too tight (and that happens often), just start over wetting the rawhide again, and wrap MORE clingwrap around the blade to build up bulk
Ya gotta drill holes in that rawhide for stiching.
Sometimes I like to cover the rawhide with Elk or Buckskin for beading work. If that's the case I wrap the rawhide over itself lapping on the back of the blade, then use a Dremil rotary cutoff tool to cut the edges flush, then contact cement the hide to the rawhide. The Rubber cement helps seal at least one side of the rawhide from picking up ambiant moisture in the future.

 

[tg]

I do put the knife in the rawhide to let it shrink fit,and clamp with pieces of wood the template is just to cut the rawhide to size, it is often a good idea to wrap a thin piece of leather around the knife handle for some slack or things might be to tight.A leather punch works for making the holes in the rawhide when wet.

 

[tg]

Or if it is raining outside and you are trying to dodge the honey do list you can cover the sheath with wool and add some lazy stitch beads on it.

 

[necchi]

Oh! I get it with the template.

I learned about using the cling wrap the hard way. One of the first ones I did was a GreenRiver blade from one of the many catalog supplers. I wrapped that thing in wet rawhide, clamped it and waited till the next day. When I pulled that blade out it was coverd with rust :shocked2: . It never did clean up well. Those things look good in a catalog but,,well I guess if you buy an inexpensive blade that's what you get.

 

[paulvallandigham]

A good steel for these knives is carbon steel. Not Stainless, unless its specifically designed to be used for knives,and can be hardened to hold an edge.

Carbon steel will rust, and must be cleaned, and oiled, and given an occasional buffing to polish the blade to keep it looking "new ", if that is the look you desire. Discoloration is rarely more than .001" deep, so they clean up rather quickly when the correct fine abrasive is used.

Your mistake was in not coating the blade in plastic, or tape, or some compound that would dry and protect the blade from the moisture in the leather, and the air around it. Put that blade to a buffing wheel with some polishing rouge, and it will look like knew in short order. :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

"Oh! I get it with the template."

I did not explain very clearly and also left out the covering of the blade with plastic wrap, I usually oil the blade also and size up the knife with the coverings as mentioned so it is not to tight,I usually punch a few holes then lace then punch some more then lace, things seem to come out better for me than punching all the holes first. Give the stainless steel to the Goodwill stores. :barf:

 

[fatboy]

TG nice knife and sheath ! Steve I would put a set of walnut scales or hickory and stain dk and oil just my 2 cents.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Very nice TG. :thumbsup: