Making a knife sheath at home is a great way to create a personalized and unique product. Handcrafted sheaths offer you control over pattern, materials and quality.
Using deer hide is an excellent choice for this project. It can be tanned into leather or rawhide, which is ideal for making sheaths and other custom items.
Trace the Pattern
A sheath is designed to protect the blade of a knife while it’s in storage or on a belt. Sheaths often feature decorative details, such as a belt loop or closure strap. They also serve a practical function, helping to reduce the amount of back and forth motion that can occur when a knife is hung on a belt.
A knife sheath is usually made of leather, which typically ages well and will resist wear and tear over time. Top-grain leather is the highest quality, but full-grain and bonded leather are less expensive alternatives that still offer a sturdy, durable sheath.
Once you have your pattern, it’s important to trace it so that you can make a sheath that will fit your knife properly. If you don’t, the knife will likely end up slipping out of the sheath while it’s in use or even breaking.
Cut the Leather
Deer hide can be used in a variety of leathercraft projects. But few are as versatile and beautiful as a knife sheath.
Typically, the first step in creating a sheath is cutting the leather. This requires a number of tools to ensure that the job is done correctly.
Once you have a piece of leather cut to your desired size, it is time to put it together. You will need to use a variety of tools to do this, including a leather cutting knife, a groover, and a stitching awl.
You can also use a mallet to help you with the slicing process. These tools are necessary to ensure that the stitches are made properly, and they will also aid you in stamping or marking the leather. You will want to use a leather thread that has been waxed to ensure that it will not damage or fray the leather. You can also choose a harness needle that does not pierce the leather, which will make your stitching more secure and easier to work with.
Make the Welt
Deer are by far the most common type of hide in North America and can make some of the best leather you will ever touch. Elk are also good but are a bit more work to tan and tend to wear out quicker than deer.
Most big towns have a guy or gal that sells hides to hunters for a nominal fee. Ask them to put aside the best of the bunch for you, and pick them out yourself if possible.
The aforementioned salt water and lime solution is a pretty neat trick that will soften the hair and skin making it easier to remove. The aforementioned is not a new technique, but it really shines when applied to the aforementioned deer hides.
Sew the Sheath
Most hunters leave their deer hides behind after butchering, but they don’t realize that they can make a beautiful knife sheath from the leather. The process is surprisingly simple, and a few ingenuity and elbow grease can yield a high-quality, one-of-a-kind sheath for almost any knife.
First, you’ll need to tan the hides. The most traditional method is brain tanning. You can use animal brains from your own kill or cow or pig brains that you may find in a butcher’s shop. Mix the brains with a gallon of water and heat it slowly until the brains have dissolved.
Once the hides are tanned, you can start to make them into sheaths. There are a number of different styles of sheaths, from the pouch style to the two-seam style.