Help: need a sheath

Ratdog68

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Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was/is in charge of operations for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline after it was built. "Alyeska" is not a town/location within Alaska. If he was there in the early-mid 70s, he was probably involved with the construction of the pipeline. Do you know what his work skills/trade was? The pipeline construction was based (mostly) out of Fairbanks, and runs north/south from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. There are numerous "pump stations" along the length of the pipeline between the two. Pressure of the flowing oil is maintained/monitored at these pump stations. The oil is then transferred to the tanker ships in Valdez, and is where the Exxon Valdez was leaving from when it ran aground in '87 at Bligh Reef. If he wasn't involved with the construction, he may've been working after oil production began. Of course... there is a lot of horse trading of stuff, and appreciation stuff given, so the hat may've been something he was given/traded for.

Brown (light/dark), or black for the dye preferences? Since the scales are brown wood, brown might go well with the knife scales. A light brown will be darker than the Oil Tanned.
 

theblakester

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I will let u make that call. I appreciate you beings so precise, it's just that I'm horrible at imagining what's going to look good or great.

Hopefully my aunt can answer some or all of those questions. I think my dad will at least be able to answer whether or not he was there before during or after the early 70s. But you're right the hat could be something he got in a trade or as a gift regardless of what he was doing while in Alaska.
 

Ratdog68

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Fear not Blake... been kicking around how I want to do this before I lay a knife to leather. You're not forgotten/ignored. Spent some time today up at Tandy Leather to yabber about it with my friend Andy (manages the store). I want all "finished side" of leather to show, the fewest pieces of leather possible (stitch lines). Definitely decided upon a full welt all the way around (opposed to folding a piece of leather over and adding a welt to only one side). The reason for this decision is... I don't want the clip point of the blade ending up poking through the leather, like what happened with the existing sheath. I'm also wanting to incorporate the keeper into one of the layers of leather (inner/welt/outer), but, don't want a chance of it getting cut when deploying the knife from the sheath. Also been working through the means of attaching the knife sheath to your belt w/o having to undo your belt, and style of fastener for the keeper. And, lastly, working on a decorative theme/design for the outer (face) layer of leather. I think I have a plan to tie together the knife's origination in Alaska, and your home being Texas too.

I've got a pretty good plan put together in my mind and am taking copies of my tracings and modifying shapes for cut lines to the leather. As soon as I'm happy with my template design/layout, I'll begin laying blade to leather and take some pix of the process for this thread.
 

theblakester

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Everything sounds great. Thank you for keeping me updated, and I'm in no hurry to get it back really fast other than looking forward to seeing the end result!
 

Ratdog68

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Just got in the door a little while ago. Got some pix to upload tomorrow. Finalized templates, and hacked on some leather today/this evening. Still rough fitting, need to make another "wedge" of leather to get the fit a little "more gooder". But, the pieces are beginning to resemble a sheath. Helped up at Tandy this evening to coach some folks new to leather (that's always inktristink). Tonight's adventure was a gal who brought in her machete and is gonna make a sheath for it. Nope, never worked with leather before. I don't need no stinkin' template, I'm just gonna make it... (no matter how much good leather she ruins in the process). LOL She found a piece of leather she really liked and was getting ready to cut on it.... Hmmm... that roll of leather looks a little familiar. Uhhh... (lady)... I'd like my leather back please. The free "scraps" are over there. And... the night just sort of progressed from there like that. I spent most of the evening dodging the head knife she was struggling to use. (A sharp head knife will cut you to the bone in nothing flat). I'm glad I went in EARLY (around lunch time) and got most of my work done before others starting showing up at 1700 hrs. I knew I was gonna need the elbow room. I had a big ol' sheet of poster board to cut my templates from, and then a roll of leather to cut with my new templates.
 

FrankT

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too funny RD. good luck
 

Ratdog68

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So, to avoid some of last night's fiasco, I do some rough drafts of templates on copier paper to help get a visual of the build/components. Once I was happy with that, time to make my templates from Poster Board.
Layout001_zpsdzanwlw8.jpg

Bottom left outline is the outer most layer of leather for this sheath. I label the template "Finish Side" or "Rough Side" so I won't mess up and put the template down incorrectly. The rectangular protrusion will be a loop (sewn to itself, around the welt/back layer) to hold a ferro rod.

Middle right outline is the inner most layer of leather (closest to the hip, or the back of the sheath). The strap coming out from this piece will be the retention strap, coming around the handle and fastening to a "Sam Browne" button on the face (outer layer) of the sheath. This will be trimmed to fit later.
Upper left outline is the middle layer, which includes the "welt". The welt will define the internal space thickness for the sheath, to fit the blade. The blade profile is traced out, and will be removed. Since this is a clip point blade, the size of the opening for the blade to enter/exit the sheath must accommodate the largest width point of the blade, this is verified while tracing the outline of the blade on the welt layer.

Normally, you will see the belt loop portion of the sheath to be a part of the back layer of leather, and, as a result, after being folded over, you see the flesh side (suede) of the leather from the front, rather than seeing the finish side (smooth) of the leather. Here, I'm making the belt loop flap as part of the welt layer, allowing me to keep the finished side of leather visible from both sides of the knife, as well as the folded over belt loop.

Layout002_zpsineoga5n.jpg


The center portion of the welt layer will be cut out. Roughly 1/4" of size is added all the way around the blade for this style of knife, to allow for the welt to be glued/sandwiched between the two halves. It will then be stitched. If this were a drop point blade, one piece of leather folded over would work, and a simple strip of welt sandwiched between the two edges. But, the upward sweep of a clip point blade can (as Blake well knows) cut through the leather. So, a full perimeter welt protects the sheath from damage when inserting the knife.

Template001_zps4kjmbr6m.jpg


With the templates cut out, I make a reference where I will "Skive" the leather on the welt layer. Skiving, is to shave the surface from a starting point (full thickness) to an edge... creating a wedge shape. Between the welt edges, this middle layer gets skived, and will be cemented to the inside face of the back layer of the sheath.

You can also see that the Outer layer of leather isn't as tall as the sheath's body for the welt layer and back side layer. This is because the scales (handle) will rest on the flat of the outer layer of the sheath. And, since the welt layer will have finished side of leather facing outward, and will be cemented to the inner face of the back side of the leather, only the smooth/finished face of leather will be visible when the knife is out of the sheath. Also, having leather sitting above the point of the scales resting point, allows for protection of the wearer from getting poked with a tip when sheathing the knife.

For orientation purposes, the far right piece gets stacked on top of the middle piece. The two then get stacked on top of the far left piece. Since Blake has chosen it to be "blade forward" while worn on the right hip, the belt loop flap gets folded back to create the loop. It'll get secured to the back side of the sheath with a pair of "Line 24 Snaps" since Blake wants to don/remove the sheath without having to undo his belt.

Leather001_zpsmpwmya5w.jpg


With the pattern for each component traced onto the leather, it's time to lay blade to leather. Having labeled the templates, it helps to ensure they're correctly laid onto the leather, so you end up with finish side and rough side oriented correctly.
 
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Ratdog68

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More pix to follow. Now, fitment work begins. Visualize the knife resting in the sheath. The scales sit proud of the blade (side to side). To facilitate the side to side width of the scales, additional layers of leather need to be added to the welt layer, building up leather to fill the gap of the blade/welt layer caused by the wooden scales. I started with one skived wedge, it'll need a second skived wedge to adequately fill that gap. If this were not done, you'd have to "bend" the outer face of leather to marry up to the welt. It'll make more sense later on, with additional pix.

Each of the three major components will need work done to them prior to assembly. Fitment, building material thickness, hardware being fitted/attached, decorative work to the leather. Once the major components are done, then dye, and gluing them together. After that, dressing the edges of the leather to even them up, and then the stitch line laid out, grooves cut, holes made and stitching done.

I'll try to include pix of the tools used and describe their use as I go. In the second to last pic above, you see a "trim knife" . This is a larger version of an Exacto Knife. Just one of a few means of cutting the leather. I also use a "Head Knife". This knife is shaped like an Ulu blade. I also have/use a Roller knife... think of a pizza cutting rolling blade.

Things got a little hectic last night when the other class members showed up, so that's all the pix I have thus far.
 

Ratdog68

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Below, laid out are the major components thus far. Far left is the outer layer, Filler Wedge (Skived), Middle/Welt layer (skived), and the Inner layer of leather.

Components001_zpszvi2ntki.jpg


Below is the placement location for the first filler wedge of leather which will be adhered to the welt layer.

Components002_zpsynxyft9j.jpg


Below, you see the orientation of the filler wedge to how the knife lays in the sheath. It fills the void between blade/leather created by the thickness of the scales. You also see the placement of the ferro rod which will reside in the loop. The ferro rod is the "Light My Fire" brand (very commonly found on Amazon, etc.). This is how it comes out of the package, with a long lanyard to hold the ferro rod and striker. Disregard the cluttered look of it, that'll get refined later.

Fitment001_zps7v36hj3u.jpg


Below, you see the side profile view of the filler wedge. It too will provide a resting place for the other scale. But, as you can see, one filler wedge is not enough, so additional layers need to be made.

Fitment002_zpsofgwzbxq.jpg


Below, you see the basic lay of the sheath as it'll house the knife/ferro rod. The flap of leather sticking out at an angle, that is the retention strap which will wrap around the scales, cross over the face of the sheath, and marry to the Sam Browne button over near the ferro rod.

Fitment003_zpsy3dhrici.jpg


This is all just rough shape, fitment/trimming will come later on. But, this allows you a perspective of how the layout/design keeps the flesh side of the leather out of immediate view from the front/back side of the sheath. The strap sticking up above the handle will get folded back to become the belt loop.
 

Ratdog68

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Left to right (tools) are the roller cutter. This tool works nicely to follow a straight edge for long straight cuts.

Next is the Head Knife. I made the sheath for it when I was learning some of my skills (cutting/gluing, lacing, tooling, setting rivets/snaps. The small star is a rivet, the large star is a "Line 24 Snap" (large sized snap). The head knife is more for free hand cutting. Straight cuts, curves, etc. You can lay the tip on your line and roll the blade along the line for smooth/straight cutting. Pressing the tip down and pushing will allow you to change directions as needed. You can also skive with the head knife.

On the far right is a Skiving Tool. A razor blade type cutting edge is held in place by clamping two halves of the tool together, and screwed snug. The cutting edge is pulled as you angle it downward to shave the leather.

FitmentTools001_zpssi8pf2p2.jpg


The filler wedge gets used as a template to make another one from some cutting scraps. Trace its outline and cut to shape with one of your knives. The skiving tool is then used to create the wedge shape. The reason for a wedge is to allow the layers of leather to lay down when glued and no voids on the edges between layers of the leather.

Fitment004_zpsfhhz9hti.jpg


Two layers will suffice on the "edge" side of the blade, but the spine side of the blade is thicker, so one more piece is cut to build up the welt on that side. This third layer strip is also skived. The three layers of filler are then coated with contact cement and allowed to tack up before being laid together and pressed.

Fitment005_zps5e4ae2su.jpg

Fitment006_zpstcz7zfn9.jpg

Fitment07_zpserlob23j.jpg
 

Ratdog68

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Now, with the leather layers stacked/glued and just held in place, you can see how much more tidy the held knife appears. This is the spine side of the blade.

Fitment008_zpstjcsnegq.jpg


And, the edge side of the blade (one less layer of leather here)

Fitment009_zpssgrb0ouj.jpg


Again... trimming/fitment will follow. Lots of work left to do.
 

Ratdog68

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bldsmith

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Looking good!
 

Ratdog68

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theblakester

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As long as that old saying, "if u cant duct it, .........." Doesnt apply!
 

Ratdog68

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Sometimes, things go as planned. When they don't... adapt, improvise, and overcome. The original plan of attack has turned into a bust. There's not enough contour in the handle scales to facilitate the retention strap I'd originally planned on using. As you can see in the photo below, the Sam Browne button installed, and I was stopped in my tracks when I was able to draw the knife from the sheath when the retention strap was wrapped/secured on the button. Time to reroute to plan B. A new face piece of leather cut and ready for fitment. It's cut a little oversized, once glued on, I can then trim it to fit the contour of the rest of the sheath's shape. Off to the upper/right corner, you can see a metal toothed scratcher, a gentler version of the type of brush used to clean a file. This tool is used to rough the surface of smooth grain leather. The glue adheres "more gooder" when there's some tooth abraded into the surface of the leather.

Fitment010_zpsr2ri0fzm.jpg


Below, you can see the surface of the welt has been roughed up in prep for the contact cement. You can also see a filler strip which has been added inside of the loop to hold the ferro rod. It's adhered to the loop and butts up against the sheath. This filler will adjust for the space (side to side) difference between the rod and the yellow handle. The loose end of the loop has already been cemented in place at the back side of the sheath. Also pictured is a palette knife (for mixing art paints on a palette). I use this to butter the contact cement onto each side of the leather where it will be glued. I find I have better control of where the glue ends up. It's easy to wipe clean during use as well.

Fitment011_zps7y3ujprn.jpg
 

Ratdog68

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With the new piece of leather for the face of the sheath glued, I take the head knife (ulu shaped tool) and stand it on its tip (blade forward) and ride the edge of the sheath to trim the leather flush with the rest of the sheath. You can also see my Edge Beveller tool. This is set on the edge of cut leather and pushed along. It cuts a convex bevel onto the edge of the leather to remove the sharp feel left by cutting. The fit of the knife in the sheath is firm enough that I can hold the knife upside-down (in the sheath) and the knife stays in place without a retention strap. However, the strap seen, will be cut off and I'll cut a strap to be sewn onto the belt loop (perpendicular to the run of the belt loop). The new strap will simply wrap around the handle scales and have a snap to hold it in place. And, the ferro rod sits nicely in its loop. Retention of the rod will be addressed later. It's beginning to resemble a knife sheath. The bottle is my contact cement.

Fitment012_zpshkkgdjiy.jpg


On the back side of the sheath, you can see where I fitted the loose tail of the loop into a let-in cut out which allows the loose tail of the loop to lay flush with the back face of the sheath leather... rather then simply laying on top of the leather. The stitching (to come later) will also anchor the tail of the loop to the sheath. Also seen below, I've taken advantage of the two layers of leather (welt/back piece) and created a pocket for the striker (ferro rod) to reside. The big lanyard will go away later, and a more tidy means of pulling the striker from its pocket will be fashioned. With a good 90 degree spine on the knife, the spine can be used to strike spark from the ferro rod. Or, if preferred, pull the striker from its pocket and use it, instead of the knife spine. The pair of snaps secures the belt loop to the back of the sheath to allow donning/removal of the sheath without undoing the belt. Again, the retention strap seen will be going away, the leather trimmed accordingly.

Fitment013_zpsggxjvrwv.jpg
 

theblakester

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Ratdog68

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Otay... more progress here. The old retention strap is gone, I fabbed a new one. The new strap will be fastened, positioned as shown. Where no stitching will be done along edges, a decorative crease was pressed into the leather. It was spaced at the same distance as the stitching will be laid in. Where there will be stitching, I cut a trough into the leather. You can see the creasing tool just above the sheath. The sheath was then oiled with Neetsfoot Oil, and the leather has been dyed with "Saddle Tan" dye (from Tandy Leather). Once dried, it'll be time to apply finish to the leather and begin the finishing of the edges (burnish) too. The retention strap will be secured to the belt loop, and a snap applied (same snap as used on the back). The snap face is silver, with a brass colored five pointed star in the middle (trying to tie in the Texas Lone Star to the sheath).

Dye001_zps1jsnhyun.jpg


Below, you can see the creasing applied to the edges of the belt loop, and to the retention strap. The pocket, holding the ferro rod striker will be concealed from view with the belt loop folded over and snapped. The dye will be allowed to dry overnight before anything more is done.

Dye002_zps5qwei0yy.jpg
 
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