sheath advice?

[Fishaholic]

I need to make a sheath for this knife. Any advice on what kind of leather to use? Also what's the best kind of needle to sew leather



Thanks

dj

[JimmyHoffa]

I find that better than just a needle is to use a dremel tool or small drill with a bit about the same size as the needle.  Then just use whatever size needle to pull the thread through.
For leather, rawhide can work alright and is usually cheapest.

[HawkCreek]

I hope it's ok to link to another forum but this is a great tutorial on making a sheath. It's not the only way but it's easy to understand and follow.

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php/51893-Leather-sheath-tutorial

You dont need every single tool if you're just starting but they make it easier if you plan on continuing in leather work. An old fork will work for a stitch spacer then you can follow up with either a square awl or drill the holes if you prefer that method. Leather needles are generally rounded (not so sharp) but it's cheaper these days to get on ebay and find some glovers or sail makers needles.

Artifical sinew as well as waxed thread is great for stitching leather. I like waxed thread because if you do a saddle stitch with the waxed thread each individual stitch is quite sturdy so an abrasion that cuts a stitch won't render a sheath useless.

[762Armo]

5-6 oz leather should work fine for this. I glued the leather together, then used a stitching awl to sew it together.

[Wazukie]

I use 8-9oz leather for all my sheaths.  Needles can be bought at Walmart.  An awl is a good tool to use to punch your holes.  If you use a drill bit, you remove material and can not recover from a miss punched hole.  An awl will allow you to move the hole a bit as it does not remove material.  The link that Hawk posted is a very good one.

[Fl0und3rz]

Tagging.