I finally got my first sheath done.

[Kevster]

If there is anything I need to improve on I'm open to criticism.

[metal99]

For a first attempt at a sheath I would say you did a great job! The tooling turned out really crisp. Keep it up!

The only thing I see on the whole package is the handle shape could be smoothed and rounded a little more.

[Kevster]

Originally Posted by metal99

For a first attempt at a sheath I would say you did a great job! The tooling turned out really crisp. Keep it up!

The only thing I see on the whole package is the handle shape could be smoothed and rounded a little more.

Thanks, I'll work on the handle some more.

[Ray Rogers]

I agree, you did a great job for a first sheath. Lots of guys make quite a few sheaths before they get one as nice as that.

Looks to me like to tried to finish your edges and that's something many overlook on their first efforts. But, you need to do a little more of the edges. Looks like you used some edge dye and that's fine but the edges could have been sanded a little flatter first. Once you get the edges flat and dyed then you need to burnish them with Gum Tragacanth. You can get GT from wherever you buy your dye and leather working tools. It's the final touch that creatres a really professional looking edge on the sheath ....

[Doug Lester]

What I do on the edges of my sheaths is to wet them lightly with water and burnish them with my burnishing tool which happens to be a bore's tooth. Then I give them a good coating of Gum Tragacanth and burnish it again. You can also do the to the flesh side of a strap to give it a less sued like appearance. You might also try making the belt loop of a separate piece of leather and sewing it down with the skin side out.

You did a real nice job with the stamping. It's not all that easy to keep that pattern lined up and straight and you didn't even have to use a camouflage tool to hide the usual irregularities at the edge of the stamping. The stamp was also nice and deep. What weight leather did you use?

Doug

[Electrathon]

One thing that really stands out to me is the antique down in the stitching holes. If you are going to antique do it before you sew. The antique gets down into the holes and makes it look dirty.

A belt sander with a brand new 36 grit belt is your best friend when smoothing out edges. For burnishing, dampen the edges with water and rub the edge with glycerin soap. Briskly rub the edge with canvas or denim. Very fast and easy and your edges will look amazing.

Aaron

[Walt-]

Very nice job, it looks better than my first sheath with the stampings. Thanks for posting.

[Kevster]

Originally Posted by Doug Lester

What I do on the edges of my sheaths is to wet them lightly with water and burnish them with my burnishing tool which happens to be a bore's tooth. Then I give them a good coating of Gum Tragacanth and burnish it again. You can also do the to the flesh side of a strap to give it a less sued like appearance. You might also try making the belt loop of a separate piece of leather and sewing it down with the skin side out.

You did a real nice job with the stamping. It's not all that easy to keep that pattern lined up and straight and you didn't even have to use a camouflage tool to hide the usual irregularities at the edge of the stamping. The stamp was also nice and deep. What weight leather did you use?

Doug

The leather is about 7 oz, I used a red waxed thread so it doesn't really stand out.as far as stamping goes, in some spots I would have to stamp over the stitch groove and then I would just smooth the weave off of the leather where I didn't want it to be.

[jank]

Good job Kev; looks great for your first one.

[TexasJack]

Nice job!