Lets cover one more tool you will need. A swivel knife.

This specialty leather tool allows you to make very controlled cuts into the leather that allows the depth that you see in carvings.

It is held between thumb and middle finger with pointer finger riding in the saddle.

The cut is started by tilting the knife away from you and pull towards you, rotating the barrel (part between your fingers) to follow the line.

The heel of your hand is used to adjust the depth of the cut.

Ok,Back to your leather. So now that you have a properly cased piece of leather, lets have some fun. First, lets take the edger and lets take off the sharp corner that was caused by the knife cut.

Now you are going to use the wind divider and make a line about as wide as the welt around the edge of the sheath. Refer back to the picture of how to use the swivel knife.

Now use the swivel knife to cut the line you just made. The swivel knife should cut about 1/3 of the leather in depth.

Note the deep line cut around the pattern.

Next you will take a beveler and push down one side of the line you cut.

If you look closely at the beveler, you will notice that one side is taller than the other. The taller side goes against the line that was cut and depresses the leather when hit with the mallet. This will cause a noticeable ridge around the perimeter of the sheath. The challenge here is to get used to walking the beveler along the cut, striking it with the mallet and getting a smooth depression along the entire edge. Somethings just take time and practice.

Next step it to take whatever punches you want to use, or have on hand to do a border pattern with.

The key to this step is even spacing.

The next two tools were highlighted in the hand stitching tutorial.Now take the stitching groover and put the groove down the middle of your welt line.

Now you use your overstitcher to get your stitch line layed out.

To make the pattern that you saw thru out this tutorial, I used these punched for the pattern

and these for the border

Now set the sheath aside and let it dry completely. Depending on climate that might take up to 48 hours.

Once these are dry, I will continue till you see finished sheaths.

Take care,

This is a fabulous tutorial and I want to personally thank you for the time you put in. I know what it's like.

It gives me some encouragement to expand my sheath making.

Great tutorial ! Thank you for posting.

Tomas Great Wip!! Thanks for sharing!!

This a great tutorial, thanks for doing it. One solid bit of advice to any new maker is that the sheath is what sells the knife. If you can't make good ones you really need to find somebody who can, but definitely develop the ability to craft a decent sheath if you want to have better sales.

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Next step it to take whatever punches you want to use, or have on hand to do a border pattern with.

The key to this step is even spacing.

The next two tools were highlighted in the hand stitching tutorial.Now take the stitching groover and put the groove down the middle of your welt line.

I especially like how you used these tools in a way that resulting in shading an highlighting of the pattern in a 3-D way and not just aligned to form a basic flat pattern. In many of images it is obvious that you are "drawing' with the tools and not just stamping patterns due to the 3-d effects you are getting. Well done.

100% agree with Kevin about the impact that learning to build a decent sheath on sales.

Nothing against those who specialize in sheath making, because they are some of the finest craftsmen around, but over the years I have seen far too many fantastic knives, that had sheaths made by someone other then the knifemaker.....and the only way I know how to say it is....the sheath(s) just do not go with the knife/knives. The quality of both were outstanding....but visually they just didn't go together.

Personally, I'd rather have my toes smashed with a hammer then do leather work, BUT, also having tried using outside sources, and finding what I mentioned above about the sheath just not matching/going with the knife, I suck it up, and build my own sheaths.

I never realized it until just a couple of years ago..... but and after having a number of clients comment on how much they like my sheaths, and then my Mrs telling me that my sheaths often sell my knives.... I guess I don't hate it as much as all that.....but I still am not a huge fan of working "Dead Cow's hides". <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

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...Personally, I'd rather have my toes smashed with a hammer then do leather work,

... I still am not a huge fan of working "Dead Cow's hides". <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

These were my feelings exactly, and then one year I had a very good Blade show and was walking around looking for equipment and tools to buy. And as I shopped forging stuff and grinder gadgets, I said to myself "Why am I throwing money at things that I like doing so much that I would still have fun with the worst of tools, instead of investing in tools to make the miserable jobs better?"

The next step was a no brainer, I started looking at leatherworking equipment!

I hated working leather and it was reflected in my sheaths. When I moved my leather working out of a dark, dingy corner of my basement and devoted a bright and well lit area of my shop to nice leather tools, my attitude began to change and it immediately showed in my work. The positive feedback about the leather caused me to enjoy doing it all the more and soon the leatherwork was as fun as the other tasks.

But back to the importance of the sheath. When I had an attitude about sheaths I used to keep them under the table and let my knives do the selling. But I quickly noticed that they only time I had a definite sale was when they asked to see the sheath. While I was getting the sheath out, I would always grab the receipt book, because I was going to need it if they were serious enough to ask to see the sheath. When I started displaying my sheaths right next to the knives everything changed and sales where a lot easier.

You can make the most stunning damascus blade you ever crafted, but what the public sees when the owner wears it is that sheath, and it is every bit as much of that package as the blade. Sheaths are the one area where tough outdoorsman type guys will "accessorize" like a group of house wives in a Gucci store! They will wring their hands over whether all the leather tones fully match or compliment the handle material, while holding them, side by side, like they are getting ready to strut the catwalk with it. You are missing a huge part of selling knives if you are not keyed in on that. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//wink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

Thank you for all of positive feedback on this write up. I have a strong desire to "pay it forward" for all of the effort you guys put into helping us new guys learning the ropes that you are so used to handling. If it ever stops raining, I'll get the dye applied and keep the ball rolling. If this helps one person work up the courage to attempt a sheath, then the effort was well worth it.

I have to tell you, I have burned out on leather work compared to what I used to do with it. I got involved in following the Cowboy Action Shooting Society and sold a bunch of dolled up gun-rigs, and tons of instrument straps to bluegrass types, when I was into running around with that crowd. Having the knife hobby has kept me going at it for the same reason that Ed and Kevin mentioned. Having so much experience with the leather, I can make a sheath that fits the knife, both in style and color. In all honesty, If I could find someone who was able to make the sheath I can picture in my head, I would give them my leather tools.

The kick in the pants that beginners need to realize is that the stuff is extremely unforgiving. One mistake 6 hours in, for me, means it gets thrown in the garbage and you start over. My best advise to someone just starting out with sheath making, would to learn to make a sheath that fits. There is no bigger kick in the teeth than to spend an entire weekend designing a sheath and tooling it to your own personal level of perfection, then to assemble and the knife will not fit. Keep is simple until you are competent with the basics, then progress. Its no different than any other learned craft. Master the basics, then embellish. Personally, knives I keep get plain sheaths because I would rather see the lines of the knife.

With that said, I do get satisfaction out of creating a completed "finished" good. A matching knife and sheath is a joy to look at, carry, use, maintain, ect.

Thanks again for all of the support Fellas.

Somehow I missed this, and it is brilliant. Thanks.