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Offline Sarge

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50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« on: March 31, 2014, 09:21:08 PM »
I did a re-grind on a Old Hickory butcher knife from an estate sale. I did a short cut to modify the butcher blade to more of a drop point - about 6 inches in length. The scales were loose so I drilled out the rivets and added oak scales.


The knife cost fifty cents and the oak was from a free hardwood floor sample. The blade had turned quite dark and I only lightly sanded and buffed so it would remain mostly dark.


I thought this would be a good knife for my first attempt at a leather sheath. I learned my first lesson with leather. You have to have a clean work area. I started one but ended up with a black smear (about the size and shape of a fingerprint) and could not clean it off the leather. I cut another piece and finished this basic pouch sheath. I rubbed the leather with olive oil; it is not dyed. The knife fits well. It fits snugly around the handle but could have been a little tighter / smaller on the blade end.


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Offline wolfy

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2014, 09:30:54 PM »
Well, that sure turned out nice, Sarge! :).    A lot of tool for VERY little expenditure of frogskins! :thumbsup:    Maybe you could wet-form the sheath to get a better fit? :shrug:
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Offline kanukkarhu

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2014, 09:38:30 PM »
Well done as usual! :thumbsup:
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Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2014, 10:28:57 PM »
Quote from: wolfy on March 31, 2014, 09:30:54 PM
Well, that sure turned out nice, Sarge! :).    A lot of tool for VERY little expenditure of frogskins! :thumbsup:    Maybe you could wet-form the sheath to get a better fit? :shrug:

I'll give it a try. Thanks!
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Offline madmax

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2014, 11:37:50 PM »
I love Old Hicks and their mods.  Great fun and a great user!
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Offline xune

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2014, 12:55:43 AM »
Looks good sarge. Great find for 50 cents!
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Offline rlh2

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2014, 04:38:38 AM »
Sweet!!! Nice mod.
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Offline Yeoman

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2014, 05:40:53 AM »
Nice work on the knife.
That's your first sheath!?
Wow. Nicely done.
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Offline Dano

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2014, 05:55:22 AM »
I really like how your knife mods worked out- they look great!  Your sheath is super looking as well.  Depending on the weight of your leather, if you want a little tighter fit around the blade, you can cut a small groove on the inside of the sheath right down the center of the fold, then skive (thin) the leather about a half inch on either side, which gives it a bit tighter "bend" or fold.  I think it looks great as is though!

Or wet forming it like Wolfy said will help too.
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Offline imnukensc

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #9 on: April 01, 2014, 06:42:12 AM »
Both knife and sheath look great.   :thumbsup:
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Offline xj35s

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2014, 07:59:27 AM »
That is great. I have a question. I have a few similar knives. What do you think about cedar for handle material?
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Offline crashdive123

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2014, 10:08:59 AM »
Well done and great job on your first sheath.
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Offline hunter63

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #12 on: April 01, 2014, 11:33:59 AM »
Nice job....I like it.
Yard sales are a good source of old knives, and you have proved how nice they can be when done.
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Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2014, 02:13:30 PM »

Quote from: Dano on April 01, 2014, 05:55:22 AM
I really like how your knife mods worked out- they look great!  Your sheath is super looking as well.  Depending on the weight of your leather, if you want a little tighter fit around the blade, you can cut a small groove on the inside of the sheath right down the center of the fold, then skive (thin) the leather about a half inch on either side, which gives it a bit tighter "bend" or fold.  I think it looks great as is though!

Or wet forming it like Wolfy said will help too.
I bought a skiving tool so I'll try that next time. Thanks for the tips.


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Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #14 on: April 01, 2014, 02:16:24 PM »

Quote from: xj35s on April 01, 2014, 07:59:27 AM
That is great. I have a question. I have a few similar knives. What do you think about cedar for handle material?

I really like the looks of cedar and it would be water / rot resistant. I don't know how durable it would be. I'm not saying it wouldn't be durable...just not sure.


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Offline BigHat

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #15 on: April 01, 2014, 03:53:50 PM »
awesome talent and nice clean lines. i can't do leather to save my life, i'm jealous.



thanks for sharing
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Offline Yellowyak

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2014, 06:03:32 PM »
That's a great looking knife and sheath. I know what you mean about handling the leather gently. I've been working with leather recently and have placed many battle scars on the leather with my fingernails and random bits of grit on my working surface. I now have much more appreciation for leather crafting and those that master it.

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Offline diogenes

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #17 on: April 01, 2014, 07:07:04 PM »
Yeah, seriously. You've got some serious talent for working with your hands. Surprisingly clean work, especially for your first try. Very impressive! :thumbsup:
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Offline Heater

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #18 on: April 06, 2014, 11:17:00 AM »
Beautiful results with both knife and sheath.  :thumbsup:

I've got two Old Hickory 7" butcher knives, one that got passed to me by my mother when I moved into my bachelor existence after college some 40 years back, and another that I came across a few weeks back in a small town antique shop. I credit sites such as this for encouraging me to look at the OH differently; I rescued my first from a kitchen drawer where it languished all these years in the shadows of the fancier carving knives on the rack next to the stove.

Having two, I now am more comfortable thinking about mods to one of them, and your blade mods are nice -- not a complete reshaping of the point, but significant enough in altering the lines nicely.
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Offline Wilderbeast

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #19 on: April 06, 2014, 11:48:45 AM »
That just turned out great, both knife and sheath.
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Offline PetrifiedWood

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #20 on: April 06, 2014, 12:54:34 PM »
Well done! Ready for a few more decades of service.
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Offline Grizzly

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #21 on: August 17, 2014, 04:32:03 PM »
Man that turned out NICE!  Was that oak from that 5 free sample thing from Build Direct?  If so...which oak?  I've never seen curls like that in oak before except in some very expensive pieces.  This thing is gorgeous.
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Offline ncnurseryman

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #22 on: August 17, 2014, 06:48:30 PM »
You guys are kicking ass on the knife mods lately and really showing some great ideas.
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Offline Grizzly

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #23 on: August 18, 2014, 11:31:28 AM »
Waitaminute.....upo n a closer look, that's NOT a curl in the Oak...thats from your little bleach soaked twine wrap isn't it? :)
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Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #24 on: August 18, 2014, 01:31:31 PM »
Yep, it's poor man's curly oak. It was an oak floor sample (don't remember the specific type) but I dipped jute in stain and wrapped it around the scales. I left the string in place and re-wet it with stain a few times using a dropper. I then put another couple light coats on after removing the string. I didn't use bleach on this one but I've used it on an Old Hickory handle before to lighten the original stain.

Thanks!


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Offline Boreas

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #25 on: August 18, 2014, 05:27:47 PM »
That looks great Sarge. Coincidentally, last week I made my first sheath for an OH 7in butcher. I'll spare everyone a photo because yours makes my masterpiece look like scrap. Mine is similarly designed and wet forming did give a good positive fit to the knife. I have another butcher without scales I'm saving for a rainy day, the possibilities for mods are endless it seems
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Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #26 on: August 18, 2014, 09:54:04 PM »
Thanks, Boreas. I'd like to see your project. Trust me...I've posted some rough stuff here and this crew offers plenty of encouragement and constructive advice. I'm an Old Hickory fan. I have a new 7" butcher...trying to decide how to mod it.
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Offline Boreas

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #27 on: August 22, 2014, 03:33:04 PM »
Well here it is then.  Still haven't decided how to finish it.  I thought about hot waxing it, but maybe I'd better try on something else first.  I'd like to keep the rigidity of the leather as is, not sure if oil would be the way to go.

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Offline wolfy

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #28 on: August 22, 2014, 03:55:58 PM »
Oil will definitely soften it, but hot-waxing will help stiffen it. :thumbsup:  I wax all my sheaths & I think it's the best way to go, but others may have their own ideas and reasons for doing something else, too. :shrug:
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Offline hiwa

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #29 on: August 22, 2014, 08:01:38 PM »
I wet form and beeswax all my sheaths . I started with pure beeswax ; now use 50/50 belnd with pure neats foot oil I made up. Here's a tip ; when wet forming , try to avoid the belt loop as much as you can. It will stay more flexible and not as hard as the rest of the sheath.

Really great first sheath Sarge!

Hope you don't mind me showing a couple I did for some Sogs in my earlier leather days. They have the beeswax treatment. I don't oil leather with straight oil unless it's really cracked or old , but use saddle soap to keep them supple and clean. Works better than oil , Imo.



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Offline Grizzly

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #30 on: August 22, 2014, 08:59:42 PM »
Sarge-  Poor man's curly oak huh?  I am definitely going to have to try that!!

Hiwa- A 50/50 blend of beeswax and neats foot oil is almost too much oil.  I have found that doing a 1/3s mixture using paraffin, beeswax and NFO yields a better mixture with less oil that can cause softening issues down the road.
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Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #31 on: August 23, 2014, 06:06:22 AM »
Hey Boreas, glad you posted it. I like your wet form. I should have worked more on forming mine. The knife is still too loose in the sheath.

I haven't tried any of the wax treatment but I might after reading some of these suggestions.

Hiwa,
Thanks and heck no I don't mind you showing your sheaths here. Nice work. Is that a Seal Pup and a NW Ranger? How do you like them?

Grizzly, I've seen some of your wood treatments. Good stuff. Let us know if you try try any string wraps.


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Offline hiwa

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #32 on: August 23, 2014, 11:24:36 AM »
Yes , Seal Pup Elite and Northwest ranger ( newer models.) The seal pup is a lot beefier knife than the ranger ( the ranger is still alright though) I prefer the seal pup for bush work. They went up a lot in price recently.

I have a few in black tini and satin finish. Btw , Sog's black finish is the best out there ,imo  if you like that look. The Sog force is my favorite Sog knife by far , but the Seal pup is a close second for sure. It is a very tough knife , light to carry , and a great slicer/overall small woods knife even though it doesn't fit the typical bushcraft knife criteria.

Thanks for the tip on the wax mix , Grizzly. When I can get some more beeswax I'll try to up the wax content ( I have it melted/solidified in a #10 can)  When first mixing it up  , I though I didn't have enough oil, lol.
 I was trying to get a creamy texture ( like Sno-seal) but even at 50/50 when it cools off it fully solidifies. I think I will do what you suggest though. I used to just use pure beesway in the beginning of my leatherwork hobby.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2014, 11:31:25 AM by hiwa »
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Offline wolfy

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #33 on: August 23, 2014, 12:12:23 PM »
You might consider just buying a can of SnoSeal, too.  I've used a lot of that stuff on sheaths & boots.....very handy pre-mixed neatsfoot oil/beeswax.  I just melt it right in the pint can, brush it on and hit it with a hair dryer to help it penetrate faster.....works real well! :thumbsup:
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Offline Grizzly

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #34 on: August 23, 2014, 03:21:02 PM »
50/50 oil and beeswax hardens fully?  Hmmm.  With a 1/3s mixture using paraffin, beeswax and pure NFO, I have a texture that's not fully solid, yet not really soft either.  I can smudge it around in the jar on my finger, but its not goopy, say like Mink Oil paste is.

Sno-Seal and Montana Pitch Blend are also great sheath treatments. 
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Craig R. Collier

Offline Sarge

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #35 on: August 23, 2014, 04:43:25 PM »

Quote from: hiwa on August 23, 2014, 11:24:36 AM
Yes , Seal Pup Elite and Northwest ranger ( newer models.) The seal pup is a lot beefier knife than the ranger ( the ranger is still alright though) I prefer the seal pup for bush work. They went up a lot in price recently.

I have a few in black tini and satin finish. Btw , Sog's black finish is the best out there ,imo  if you like that look. The Sog force is my favorite Sog knife by far , but the Seal pup is a close second for sure. It is a very tough knife , light to carry , and a great slicer/overall small woods knife even though it doesn't fit the typical bushcraft knife criteria.

Cool. Thanks for the info. I like the looks of the Ranger but that Seal Pup gets crazy good reviews. I think I've read more reviews on it than any other knife. I like the Force, too.


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Offline Sundance Creek

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Re: 50 cent knife and first leather sheath
« Reply #36 on: November 18, 2018, 07:10:22 AM »
Quote from: Dano on April 01, 2014, 05:55:22 AM
I really like how your knife mods worked out- they look great!  Your sheath is super looking as well.  Depending on the weight of your leather, if you want a little tighter fit around the blade, you can cut a small groove on the inside of the sheath right down the center of the fold, then skive (thin) the leather about a half inch on either side, which gives it a bit tighter "bend" or fold.  I think it looks great as is though!

Or wet forming it like Wolfy said will help too.

this is the kind of tip I search for

never could get the bend as tight as I wanted

until now with this tip

ty
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