Victorinox Pruning Knife sheath

   I have been promising myself to practise wet forming leather and a sheath for my pruning knife. The two promises came together as made a sheath for my knife. Wet forming sounds simple and a suppose it is however a number of things have to be just right. The leather has to be wet enough to succumb to the tight shaping it is to undergo. The manipulating of the leather must not but so rough as to damage the leather's surface. Most folk mold the leather directly onto the item that is to be encased in leather. In some cases, where the item is fragile or not waterproof for instance, it might necessary to make a timber of plastic pattern of the item that you are going to encase. In my case the pruning knife is a robust item.

    The first job is always to design the finished item. It is at this point the order of build is decided. If the sheath was to be lined  or have pockets, loops or straps accommodated this would be the time to decide how the sheath is built. In this case the belt loop needed to be made and fitted to the sheath's back first.   Next the leather is selected. Sometimes the leather dictates the design and not at other times. It is important to give allowance for the flap which is made from the same piece of leather as the back. The front need plenty of allowance because the leather is going to forced around a pattern. Insufficient allowance on the wet formed leather and you make not have enough margin for some or all of the stitching.

  One can use hot or cold water to soak the leather. Hot water penetrates quicker but it tempers the finished leather like a very stiff cardboard. This can be an advantage in certain circumstances. Leave the leather in the water [hot or cold] for too long and you may have a jelly like substance that will take and age to dry before it can worked further. Very wet leather will take an impression of anything that comes into contact with the leathers surface with the slightest of pressure e.g finger prints, the weave of cloth or tools used it shaping the leather. To short a soaking and the leather will not be sufficiently supple. Forcing the leather when it is too dry is where damages to surface finish occur. When the leather is just so drape the leather over object or pattern and start to work the leather into take the shape. Be careful not to rub or press so hard as to rub off the surface layer of the leather. The time it takes to form the leather depends on the leather's characteristics. A re-soaking might be needed however patience will be needed at all times. When the leather is formed to the desired shape it has to be held in position whilst it dries. When dry the leather will hold the shape. Some folks make A and B patterns. The A pattern may be the inner shape if the piece to be contained in the pouch. The B element is often the outer shape. The B element holds the piece in shape whilst it dries. I usually leave mine overnight however a couple of hours is usually enough to fix the shape.   

 

The back section remains dry. I marked up where the belt loop was to fit. The decided what width the belt loop billet would be remembering that the had to be rolled over at the top. The trouser belt would ride against to inside of the rollover rather than against the stitching if the belt loop was sewn on flat. I made the belt loop wide enough to fit over my work belts which are 2inches [50mm] width. The edges of the belt loop needed the usual prep, bevel, dry and burnish. I stitched the belt loop to the sheath back. I also put a rivet in the top anchor of the loop just as an insurance policy. The bottom of the belt loop is to have a snap so the belt loop can be undone allowing the sheath to be detached from the trouser belt without unlooping the trouser belt.

   Back prepared and front piece molded it is a case of joining the two elements together. Cleverer folks than me cut the pieces to size then do the sewing. I leave the excess of both the back and front pieces, sew the elements together, making sure there is no distortion, then oh so carefully trim of the excess to reveal the piece. My pruning knife is curved so I left the flap over size. The last cutting job was to bring the flap down to the desired size. All the edges need the usual finishing of bevelling, dying and burnishing. The final job was to mark up and fit the Sam Brown that secures the flap. The sheath is a friction fit so the knife will not drop out, even when the sheath is shaken up side down. The flap is just for other folks sensibilities. It might be the law too!

   I can make a sheath for your knife. Please use the contact page to drop me a line.