...are harder to make than holsters.

then why do you make it look so easy? great job the alligator skin was a great touch

Hey Wyatt, those look good.
Can I ask you, what weight leather do you use for your holsters? Do you line your holsters? I'm going to a Tandy store this weekend.

It's usually written somewhere on the back of the hide but it's not on this hide I just got recently. I just eyeball it anyway and can't tell you exactly. I get mine at Tandy's also and should know this but it's always pretty consistant whatever it is. I do have some really nice stuff that's really thin that I will use for the double thickness Buscadero rig I'm going to make for myself after i catch up here on other people's holsters. I don't line the holsters I've been making lately.

Nice work! It seems you are certainly up to the challenge.

What model is that Buck knife on the left? And don't you think a retaining strap around the handle might be a good idea on a sheath? Or, are these just for display?

Thanks,

T-Star

The Buck knife belonged to my FIL. It's just display. So is the bone handled dagger. I just wanted to see how complicates and multi-layered I could make one so that's where this one came from. The Bowie does have that option and the one on the right is super tight. Pressure from the thick handle area forces the tighter fit. Safety straps could be made now for those if I wanted to.
I don't know what model Buck that is.

I agree that they are harder to make. I was into custom knives for awhile and when you buy them cheap they never, ever come with a sheath. So, I made my own.

Here's a few of them:





Never had anywhere to show them off before, not trying to hi jack your thread, just wanted to share ideas.

Dan R

No, hijack away! That's great. The best part about your stuff beside a ton of skill, is your imagination.
It's hard to explain but I think you'll get this. There's a "catch 22" when making sheaths sometimes. Except for the simple belt loop style, if you get fancy, sometimes you have attach the sheath to the backskirt, but it can only be done if the front layer of the sheath isn't sewed on yet, But you have to have that part done first before you attach the body to the backskirt. Just for certain types. Whether I explained that right or not, that's one of the challenges about making these. And thanks for all the ideas to steal!
PS. I just looked at yours again and love the curving pieces that protect the handles. Not only is that so practical, you did it symetrically to the shape of the sheaths. I hate holsters where the backskirt is cut in a shape unrelated to the lines of the holster itself. With your sheaths you do that beautifully.

My hat's off to the both of you. Wow!!!

Mr. Burp, the one on the far right is the exact sheath design that's part of my "if I were king for a day" dream rig.

It would be a holster of the same design for my 6.5" 629 Classic DX and interchangeable sheaths for my Becker BK9 and BK10, along with a matching drop belt with a matching pouch for two speedloaders. Ah....

Thanks to both of you guys for the leather porn.

Thanks. From both of us, I'm sure. That one on the right WAS meant to resemble a plain double loop holster.

I love leather, thanks for the eye candy.
I've noticed a trend in newer knifes where the sheaths are plastic, maybe it's to compliment the newer pistols.

Thank you for the kind words, made my day. I know exactly what you mean about needing to attach the backskirt before the front layer but needing the front layer in place before attaching the back. It makes for some elaborate folding and cutting sometimes.
I started because I wanted a double sheath to carry two knives (field knife and bird and trout knife) in one sheath. Then that carried over to making something to put custom knives in. I got a couple of shoulder hides from Tandy's a few years ago, 14-16 oz I think and am still using off them. That's another challenge, laying out the sheath to maximize the leather and minimize the waste. I don't line mine (hey, they're knives going in them, not jewelry !) and change the method of putting them on the belt to suit the individual scabbard.

One of the "Skeleton" sheaths was cut that way because that's the way the piece of leather was shaped and it had a bad blemish that had to be cut out !

Wyatt, I like your stitching and the worked designs, really nice. I stitch by hand using a harness stitching awl and it leaves a bit of an amateurish touch, yours look professionally done. I also tend to freehand the designs since I'm not that good at leather carving and stamps are expensive! May not be perfect but they suit me and they are all completely unique.


Dan R

Dan. I went and checked your stitching and I don't see a problem. Do you use a stiching groover first? It looks like it. And I think I see double stitching in places. I use an awl, too. I don't bother rolling the thread up in the handle.
Not wasting leather is an art in itself. Especially with holsters.

Wyatt-

Thanx for the reply.

To learn which Buck it is, look at the blade near the guard. There should be a model number there. If you give me that or a photo, I'll tell you about that knife.

I'm just guessing with the blade hidden, but it may be a No. 105 Pathfinder. There are other possibilities, though.

T-Star

I was too lazy to go check earlier. But itis a #119.

Thanks. It must be larger than it looks in the photo.

I have one, and like it. It's one of the best all-round outdoor knives for the price. Good battle blade, too.

I think the Canadian guy who was Survivorman on the Discovery Channel used one. The ex-SAS man on Man vs. Wild has a custom knife with a shorter drop-point blade and saw teeth on the current model.

Buck used to make the same basic design, but with a 7.5 inch blade in lieu of the 6.0-inch one on the No. 119. It was called the No. 120 General. Both are good knives!

Nice sheaths. I especially like the silver hearts on the left one, with the Buck.

T-Star

That one looks like early production, at least from the pic. If it is and there's no pommel pin, which I don't see, it's very early. Valuable both as a heirloom and for pure marketability.

Thanks to both of you for showing that great workmanship! Fun to look at for sure.

Bob

No, I haven't got a stitching groover, I usually just punch holes with the smallest hole punch on a rotating punch, usually by eye and then stitch it in with heavy waxed thread. I do sometimes double stitch or sometimes double stitch on the ends just to use up the thread, too thrifty for my onw good.

I sometimes just use a double needle stitch with a needle on either end of the thread and just weave them back and forth against each other through the same hole. Sometimes I have to get a pair of needlenose to pull them through doing that but the stitching has never come loose on one of those !

Dan R