Thread: Playing with leather

Originally Posted by Ftx325

I did think about that but to be honest I didn't think anyone would be willing to pay the amount for the sheath I would have to ask to make it worthwhile. The BK7 sheath for example was over ten hours work. The hand stitching alone was around 4hrs but I went above and beyond and knotted each individual stitch so if one breaks or gets cut it won't unravel or compromise the strength of the rest of the stitching. Even the edge burnishing took forever. It is hard to see in the following photo but that fat edge is three layers of leather but is smooth as glass to the touch , like polished wood , all done using a biro. I do admit I have since bought a burnishing tool though. And all the edges of the leather are burnished. To make another I would have to ask a minimum of $250-300 to even consider selling them and I doubt anyone would be willing to pay that much. Also I basically have to buy half a cows worth of leather at a time so would need to sell at least 4 or 5 just to cover costs of materials , let alone the time...Attachment 146361

Thats some nice work mate.Your right about selling them.I make a few pouches for myself and a few mates. Basically I charge enough to cover the materials only.If I charged for labour I'd have no mates left!.
Heres a couple I've done lately.

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Originally Posted by hunter Al.7mm08

Thats some nice work mate.Your right about selling them.I make a few pouches for myself and a few mates. Basically I charge enough to cover the materials only.If I charged for labour I'd have no mates left!.
Heres a couple I've done lately.

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Mate , those look bloody good too . Make mine look truly amateur !!
I have just checked how much leather I have left , enough for maybe two sheaths , and was going to offer to make a couple for sale but I think they'll want to get them made by you instead ...!
There truly is a huge pool of hidden talent out there in the back sheds of NZ .
Well done mate... awesome work!

Thanks,appreciate that.I like your idea for the changeable belt loop,may have to steal that!Leatherwork is one of those things where you learn something every time you do it.
I havn't dealt with Lapco before but I need to restock my leather and a few other things.How did you find them to deal with?

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They were ok to begin with, just ordered over the phone with credit card but now they insist on ordering through the website which in itself would be okay but for some reason it won't accept my card which has made life difficult but could just be me cocking it up somehow... I'm a bit allergic to computer type stuff . And to be honest they were the only outfit I could find who sold the russet leather I wanted , but again probably down to my lack of computer skills .
I might have to get more leather as the local gun shop guy has seen my ammo butt sleeves and wants me make him one for his new rifle when it arrives . Do you mind if I ask where you get your leather and what thickness you use?

I'm not much of a computer wizz myself.Would prefer to walk into the shop and see what I'm buying, unfortunately I can't find a local supplier.My grandfather was a fantastic leatherworker,unfortunately he passed before I learnt much from him.I inherited his tools and any leather he had in his workshop but am getting low on supplies now.
I prefer the 4mm for knife sheaths but find the 3mm easier to wet mold.I have some really thick stuff but man it's hard work!
These guys might be worth looking at.

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I had thought about using the heavier leather but for the style of sheath I wanted to make I thought it would end up too bulky... By the time you add the sleeve etc to the main sheath it would start getting very thick and bulky and like you said I figured it would be that much harder to work with. It would be nice to have a few more tools to work with but unless I tried selling some of my work it is difficult to justify the expense ... that said I would really like to do some decorative tooling on the sheaths and butt covers as I do have a bit of an artistic side . And by that I mean actual hand crafted one of a kind artwork rather than just a stamped border. The local gun shop has some handgun holsters on display decorated in the cowboy style made by a gentleman who has passed away and they're gorgeous . love to do something like that one day , but again the expense of getting set up without making some back from selling is prohibitive . I have actually spoken to several shops locally and shown them some of my stuff any they were very impressed , to the point I was asked to leave them there on display , but unfortunately there is no market for that kind of thing locally when you can buy the cheap bulk made stuff from the same shop... $50 for off the shelf or$150 for my one of a kind handmade , which also requires me to have their knife to make the sheath around , and 99.9 percent just want the cheapest option even if the quality of finish is far superior on mine and I would expect them to outlive the owner. But I can certainly understand... I would probably be the same....
But I digress...the beauty of making them yourself is the freedom of making whatever design you want , or anyone else wants with no constraints and that is something I enjoy . And like you said you learn something new every time....

You are absolutely right.Most people take cost over quality.Although I have found that people who understand the work that goes into a good product are often willing to pay for it and perhaps more importantly appreciate it.
I think you would be surprised how few tools you need to carve basic designs.A swivel knife and a few bevelers can do a lot.I'm no expert by any means but a bit of practice on scrap leather and a few mistakes you'll be surprised what you can do.

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Those are very cool . You're getting my creative juices flowing now mate ! Perhaps you are right... I should splash out and get a few basics . I have made a few keyrings for friends and family and drawn logos and initials into the wet leather with blunt instruments used like a pen which actually turned out pretty well surprisingly.
It's a shame we are in separate islands as I would have liked to see your gear and some of your work and sit and swap ideas over a bottle of bourbon , mind you I probably wouldn't remember it the next day if bourbon was involved....
You have really got me thinking now though ....

Haha!.Seems we have similar tastes in more than just leather.It is a shame your on the wrong island would be great to compare notes. As you say youtube is full of good stuff,get yourself some gear n have go...you won't regret it

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[QUOTE=hunter Al.7mm08;1044605]Haha!.Seems we have similar tastes in more than just leather.It is a shame your on the wrong island

So you like a drop of the good stuff too eh...that surprises me...being a north islander would have thought a latte would be more your thing 😜

I am getting the itch to create again and hopefully inspire a few more people to have a go so I am prepared to make someone a sheath in the same style as the ones in my photos for $50 to cover materials if they are game enough to send me their knife ... and I will do a some photos to illustrate how I do it so maybe others will have a crack at trying something new. There is only one condition - you can have any colour you want as long as its Black (its the only colour dye I have left).

Any takers..?

Also if anyone out there has any homemade leather creations please post some photos on this thread and share your thoughts and tips....

[QUOTE=Ftx325;1044633]

Originally Posted by hunter Al.7mm08

Haha!.Seems we have similar tastes in more than just leather.It is a shame your on the wrong island

So you like a drop of the good stuff too eh...that surprises me...being a north islander would have thought a latte would be more your thing ��

I am getting the itch to create again and hopefully inspire a few more people to have a go so I am prepared to make someone a sheath in the same style as the ones in my photos for $50 to cover materials if they are game enough to send me their knife ... and I will do a some photos to illustrate how I do it so maybe others will have a crack at trying something new. There is only one condition - you can have any colour you want as long as its Black (its the only colour dye I have left).

Any takers..?

Also if anyone out there has any homemade leather creations please post some photos on this thread and share your thoughts and tips....

I would be very keen, but the knife I am keen to sheath probably isn’t worthy of your work - sentimental value to me but maybe a bit rough around d the edges for work like yours! If no one else is keen, but I think your stuff deserves better than my huckery old knife!

[QUOTE=7x64;1044703]

Originally Posted by Ftx325

I would be very keen, but the knife I am keen to sheath probably isn’t worthy of your work - sentimental value to me but maybe a bit rough around d the edges for work like yours! If no one else is keen, but I think your stuff deserves better than my huckery old knife!

Can you throw up a pic?
The knife I made the antler handle and sheath for was a$30 tard-me knife... hardly anything special by anyone's estimate.

Handle needs oiled, old carbon thing that’s been reshaped.

That's a cool old warhorse that looks like it's seen many a battle.... If I were you I would have a go at making a sheath yourself. A nice small knife like that wouldn't be difficult. You can probably pick up some leather offcuts on trademe big enough for the job. Make the sheath in the style of the pig hunting knives so only an inch or so of the handle is poking out the top to grip the knife and wet mold around the shape of the handle. To add a little character to the sheath you could lace it together rather than sow it. All you would need is a hole punch . You could even use Paracord as lace....just remove the inner threads and just use the outer covering as the lace. Just melt the ends and roll it to create a point to push through your holes . I would make it a sandwich style (as in two pieces of leather stitched together around the outside like ai.7mm08 has done rather than folding the leather like I do). Make the back section twice the size of the desired sheath so you can fold it over like folding a sheet of paper in half an lace it to the sheath when you lace it all together but leave enough of your fold unlaced to create the belt loop. Just make sure you have a leather piece between the inside and outside layers 10mm or so wide that your stitching/ lacing loops through to protect it from the blade cutting through it when knife is taken in and out. If you look closely at the photo you can see the middle layer of leather which is there solely as thread protection...
Does any of that make sense?

Great tips! I’ve actually got leather lace and rivets etc - my father did work at one point and have a few of his bits and pieces. I think I follow most of that except “sandwich” and then wrap around using a piece twice the size? You mean make the sheath from two pieces, but then wrap with an additional piece around that?

I do have some leather but it’s not very thick. I guess doing as described above might solve that issue? But I’ll keep an eye out for something else. Will be fun to give it a go.