I've been making belt out of "Crazy Horse" water buffalo leather (8-9 oz) and thought it was time to try it on a sheath. Vegetable tanned leather that is stuffed with waxes and oils causing the leather to change color where ever it is stressed. Great outdoor gear leather.
Looks great! Where do you buy your leather from? Been doing kydex all this time and what to try a leather one myself.
Parker. Leather will certainly take the presentation of your knives up a notch over plastic sheaths. I'm in New Brunswick so I buy my leather through Atlantic Leather. This water buffalo leather is from a company called Weaver in the US who Atlantic is a dealer for. If only looking to buy pieces to start, then www.tandyleather.ca is likely the place to start. They will sell small pieces and sometimes have really good prices on off cuts. Typically not the best quality, but starting out it will be just fine. There are a number of other suppliers. If you can let me know where you are at, there maybe someone close to you. You will also need some basic tools to get you started. Let me know if you need any info to help you.
Thanks. I'm going to pick up some used stuff this weekend tool wise. And Tandy is actually just a couple hours north of me. I'll have to check it out. I hope they have that water buffalo it's nice.
They won't have the water buffalo but you might score something close. You can check on line and scout the remnants bin in the store. Use a minimum 7 oz leather. I prefer heavier 8-9 oz for most. fixed blades
Ok sounds good. One last thing. Did the leather come heavily waxed finish of did u do that. That's my fav finish of leather
I sure do sell the belts. 1.5" belt with stainless steel roller buckle are $40 plus shipping (about $8, depending on your location). I'm also working on a belt pouch and a key/gear keeper out of the same material. I figure the belt, knife sheath, belt pouch and key/gear keeper will make a really nice looking, very functional and extremely durable set. YOu can see more of my work at the website link in my signature.
I looked everywhere for leather to make sheaths out of. By the time I paid for the leather and shipping everywhere including Tandy was going to be too expensive. I ended up getting some from this ebay seller http://www.ebay.ca/usr/dc_leather , decent looking stuff at a reasonable price for the leather and shipping.
The next time you need leather, contact me. I buy by the full hide. At the prices they are charging for cut pieces, I'll sell you all you want and save you some money. Canadian shipping too.
Thanks Eric, I appreciate your offer and will take you up on it. I'm not exactly cranking out knives and sheaths (in fact haven't tackled my first sheath yet). I have 3 knives and a hatchet to make sheaths for. That Crazy Horse stuff looks awesome, a neat kind of distressed finish. I imagine with it being impregnated with oils and wax it would work well for outdoor applications like sheaths. I really like the "rectangular" pouch sheaths like this one. You don't happen to have a pattern for it?
propane_cooker. The Water Buffalo has quickly become one of my favorite leathers, especially for outdoor gear. I sure do have pattern's for my knife sheaths. Digital format too. I do my own designs on a CAD drawing system, print and then glue them to heavy poster board to make a permanent pattern. Pretty sure I can help you out with a pattern. Really just need blade width and overall length of the knife to ensure the pattern fits. Picture of the knife helps as well.
Man I love this forum. How much would you want for the pattern? I will try to get you some dimensions shortly. What do use for cad drawing? I got using the LayOut Program that comes with SketchUp on a free trial and really like it, quick and easy to learn and I don't really need 3D modelling. But it is pretty expensive, can't just get the LayOut program by itself.
I'm and Engineer by trade so am very use to CAD system. Infinetely more accurate, flexible and easier to use than SketchUp. My patterns are a little overkill with accuracy to the 1000th of an inch but every part of them line up everytime.I actually use a real CAD program that is free. Google "Draftsight". I'll think about pattern cost when I have the opportunity to review your dimensions.
