Making a knife sheath

[basketcasejeep]

I have a couple of knives I'm making. I need to make some sheaths for them, because carrying them in my back pocket I'm eventually going to stab myself in the butt.

I know a few guys on here have made knives, and saw a fellow in the recent knife thread made some sheaths. So, what is your preferred material and method? Leather, Nylon(Cordura?), fiberglass? What do you use for attaching the case? Rivits, sew it? How do you keep the knife secured?

Cheap and free methods/materials would be best- these are beater knives I can throw around in the woods, beat on rocks, etc and not worry about too much. :D They're all full tang, with no handles scabbed on. I might wrap one in parachute cord, but so far they're comfortable to use as just a blade.

[usmcdoc14]

you tell us what you want the sheath to do and then we will work from there :flipoff2:

I would start simple and get some scraps from your local saddle making place, get a hand needle and go to work. ballistic nylon is also not hard at all to work with.

[basketcasejeep]

Well first off, I'd like to keep it concealable- either horizontally along my back, clipped in my back pocket, or on my right side- outside my belt for quick access(though unconcealed unless mounted inside the pants).

I need quick access because I use a knive a lot for work- I clear brush for a living. A knive is handy for getting vines/grass off the end of the weedeater, or whacking briars out of the way when mowing. The quicker I can get it in and out of the sheath the better.

Needs to be fairly durable. And flat. Lightweight.

I'm having a hard time coming up with something to retain the knife in the sheath. Many commercial ones have a loop with a button that encircles the top end of the knife when the point is downward. I'm thinking a really deep sheath would work- that comes up about 1.5-2" from the end of the handle. Instead of a loop, a tab comes over the butt of the knife, downward to the sheath and buttons. Any other ideas?

How do you attach buttons? I know I've hacked on ya for sewing before. :D But I gotta admit it has its uses. ;)

Hmm... gotta see if I can get a few pics of these things- though they're still rough. (Did I say they throw well?) I'm tired of losing nice knives while I'm working. I'll probably paint these things safety orange(ever baked that?) and I'll never lose them. :D

[DavidVanVorous]

Well first off, I'd like to keep it concealable- either horizontally along my back, clipped in my back pocket, or on my right side- outside my belt for quick access(though unconcealed unless mounted inside the pants).

I need quick access because I use a knive a lot for work- I clear brush for a living. A knive is handy for getting vines/grass off the end of the weedeater, or whacking briars out of the way when mowing. The quicker I can get it in and out of the sheath the better.

Needs to be fairly durable. And flat. Lightweight.

I'm having a hard time coming up with something to retain the knife in the sheath. Many commercial ones have a loop with a button that encircles the top end of the knife when the point is downward. I'm thinking a really deep sheath would work- that comes up about 1.5-2" from the end of the handle. Instead of a loop, a tab comes over the butt of the knife, downward to the sheath and buttons. Any other ideas?

How do you attach buttons? I know I've hacked on ya for sewing before. :D But I gotta admit it has its uses. ;)

Hmm... gotta see if I can get a few pics of these things- though they're still rough. (Did I say they throw well?) I'm tired of losing nice knives while I'm working. I'll probably paint these things safety orange(ever baked that?) and I'll never lose them. :D


1. Iffen yer thinking leather, go for a couple few rivets in strategic areas Top corners and 3 near the blade. No biggie to do most outfits like Tandy leather and other places sell the rivets and the punches.

2. .09" minimum leather thickness as iffen you have a good edge it'll cut things up. Work wet(ish) its easier to punch, sew properly than doing dry.

3. Check with a cobblers on getting it stitched properly, its easy enough to do but one need an awl, what amounts to waxed carpet thread (doubled up) a leatherworkers palm for doing the awl work (hard on hands on thick stuff). Cobbler can make short work out of a simple seam like the way most sheaths are built.


Beyond that, piece o cake- walk in the park... :D

Now iffen you want ballistic nylon made from nylonberry bush berries dont ask this ole curmudgeon he just has his wife do the seamstress thing...:D :D

D.

[Toyota_Jim]

kydex is some bad shit. its used for making sheaths and holsters. tuff and real easy to work with.. ive got several sheets, use it for all sorts of stuff...

Kydex supplies (http://www.knifekits.com/store/s-pages/kk_store_1mainframe.htm?kk_products_sheath_main.ht m~smain)

[Spawn_X]

kydex is some bad shit. its used for making sheaths and holsters. tuff and real easy to work with.. ive got several sheets, use it for all sorts of stuff...

Kydex supplies (http://www.knifekits.com/store/s-pages/kk_store_1mainframe.htm?kk_products_sheath_main.ht m~smain)

that is fucking cool.

[basketcasejeep]

kydex is some bad shit. its used for making sheaths and holsters. tuff and real easy to work with.. ive got several sheets, use it for all sorts of stuff...

Kydex supplies (http://www.knifekits.com/store/s-pages/kk_store_1mainframe.htm?kk_products_sheath_main.ht m~smain)

That is some cool stuf.. Thanks!

A few tutorials I've run across:

http://www.ckdforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4237

http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_kydexsheath.htm

[Toyota_Jim]

yep its strong but real work able with some heat. only heat it 3 maybe 4 times and it gets brittle. I was amazed the first time I used it, i figured it would still be tuff to bend after warm but once its warm its like piece of rubber.

[Johann]

yep its strong but real work able with some heat. only heat it 3 maybe 4 times and it gets brittle. I was amazed the first time I used it, i figured it would still be tuff to bend after warm but once its warm its like piece of rubber.

250 deg is the usual working temp for 1/4" You are right about repeated heatings making it brittle. So will moving it when it is not quite in it's working temp.