split leg bone scabbard

[M. De Land]

Was wondering if any one has used a leg bone sawed in half length wise, lined with a leather welt and glued back together for a knife scabbard?

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

It sounds ugly.

 

[M. De Land]

Yeah, it does, doesn't it! :rotf:

 

[bubba.50]

used to be a livin' history park in Roanoke and the "Native American" had a knife made from the leg bone of a deer but, the sheath was leather.

 

[M. De Land]

Yes, I've seen leg bone knife handles but got to thinking they could also be made into scabbards pretty easily as well.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

Leg bone handles are very attractive in my opinion, but using bone for a sheath sounds both ugly and possibly highly breakage prone.

 

[bubba.50]

no. I'm talkin' about the knife itself was a deer leg bone split or sawed on one end then filed or whittled somehow to make the blade.

 

[M. De Land]

Oh, I see. Yes, the plains Indians used buffalo brisket bones to make very effective knife blades and arrow points with. And they did so until they were decimated which carried on all through the muzzle loading and well into the cartridge rifle era.
They did prefer steel blades, quick to seize on the advantage of technology just as they used guns when they could get them but they still continued many of their ancient tool and weapon crafting practices and usages.
Ishi, as I mentioned before in another post made and used chert and obsidian points and blades until he died in the late 1800's if I remember correctly on the dates. He was the last of his tribe and was studied extensively by anthropology until his death. You can bring it up on google and read his story.
The false notion that native Americans stopped making and using flint and bone tools hundreds of years ago can be dispelled by reading his story alone.
I guess that could be considered logitiment documentation.
I have watched a video of a deer being butchered with both bone and a flint blade knives and they didn't give up much to a steel blade as far as effectiveness. I was very surprised and impressed.
I don't know why a bone sheath would be any more ugly than would be a bone knife handle though come to think of it.
I'm sure it could be crafted into quite pleasing lines amenable to the knife it carries.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

I don't know why a bone sheath would be any more ugly than would be a bone knife handle though come to think of it.
I'm sure it could be crafted into quite pleasing lines amenable to the knife it carries.

An idea I've been ascribed to for some time, and I believe it qualifies here as well, is that much of an item's beauty is derived from its' functionality, and much of its' functionality is derived from the medium used to create it. Stone, for example, allows for some awe inspiring gothic architecture, it is an incredibly functional medium for that application, and is therefor very beautiful; but a stone rifle stock, no matter how elaborately carved, would be heavy and prone to shattering, making it an ugly medium for that application.

Leather has been used for sheaths as long as it has been around, and bone has been used for handle material for probably as long as knives have been around up until now. Case knives, for example, are almost exclusively bone; high end knives today frequently use bone, horn, antler, tooth, and documented ivory for handle material, and almost exclusively leather for sheaths. This is because both materials function exceptionally well in there respective tasks, and therefor it is possible to craft them into items that enhance there natural beauty.

I'm not saying it would be impossible to make an attractive bone sheath, just very unlikely. Here are some reasons that come to mind that support my original theory:

A bone sheath would make more noise walking through the woods than leather.

A bone sheath would be less comfortable on the body than leather.

A bone sheath would be prone to cracking and breakage.

A glue seam is less reliable than a skillfully stitched leather seam.

There are more reasons why bone is a functionally inferior product to leather for sheath production, and therefor making it an ugly alternative...

Everyone, please let me know what you think?

Also, I do not want to rain on your parade, so I am sincerely hoping that you make a beautiful leg bone sheath and am able to prove me wrong! :hatsoff:

Thank you.

 

[M. De Land]

It's the discussion and exchange of idea's I'm interested in as there is no right or wrong way really in any of these means and methods.
Your reasoning is sound and I appreciate you taking the time to share it.

 

[AUGUSTUS]

Was wondering if any one has used a leg bone sawed in half length wise, lined with a leather welt and glued back together for a knife scabbard?

It depends, I guess on whether you have a leg bone to spare for craft purposes.

Augustus McCrae was considering creative options such as this before the gangrene killed him.

:wink:

 

[M. De Land]

I would think anything that preserves a knife handle from cracking would be equally effective on the sheath,no?

 

[M. De Land]

Ah yes, Lonesome Dove, I have the DVD.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

I would think anything that preserves a knife handle from cracking would be equally effective on the sheath,no?

Different application. A bone handle, generically speaking, is a solid piece or pieces of bone which usually has a solid piece of steel permanently fixed in the center. A bone sheath would be hollowed out in the center to store the blade, this would be one inherent weakness in the medium for this application, particularly when the blade is unsheathed. Imagine slipping and landing flat on the sheath, you would now have a bone jigsaw puzzle with hopefully none of the shards on the wrong side of your skin. Additionally, the use of bone would prohibit traditional sheath aesthetic improvements such as points and chamfered edges because it would create areas susceptible to breakage and stabbing hazards.

Even if somebody made an ok looking bone sheath, you still need to ask yourself how it is in any way superior to a leather sheath they could have made. Originality is not a virtue when all of the factors that makes something original are also those that make it inferior.

 

[satx78247]

I've NEVER made a sheath of any sort of bone BUT I've certainly seen any number of quite attractive bone handled knives OCONUS that had attractively made bone sheaths.
I once saw a NICE Damascus-bladed "short sword" in Asia that looked from a distance like a walking cane. - It was made, I was told, from a giraffe's leg-bone.

I see NO good reason that a bone sheath would be "ugly" IF the maker knows how to stabilize/finish bone properly.

just my OPINION, satx

 

[necchi]

Yes, I've seen leg bone knife handles but got to thinking they could also be made into scabbards pretty easily as well.

Only with a lath,, a common item in the hinterland of yesteryear,, That's why we've seen so many that are nicely done in historical archives.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Bone sheath, wooden pins.

Traditional Saami puukko hunting knife, handle made of bone, sheath made of antler.

Museum item: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do;jsessionid=197F5975CBC4E56C5AD45ADDE30D5084?method=preview&lang=EN&id=8644

 

[bubba.50]

lookin' at those it just hit me. a rib bone is about the right shape for a sheath, wonder how it would hold up?

 

[Claude Mathis]

Antler sheath how to: https://nordiskaknivar.wordpress.com/tag/sami-knife/

 

[Black Hand]

Claude,
Thanks for the link. Excellent craftsmanship!