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Knife Sheath Sewalong (Pic Heavy)
madcrow:
I know that someone is saying that I did not punch both sides. I know. I did one side for reference, and for the simple fact that my punches are not long enough to go through three layers of this leather.
Now for some basic tooling. It is not necessary, but it does look nice. Some people run tap water over the leather and tool it, but I prefer plain rubbing alcohol. Water can damage the inner fibers of the leather and takes a long time to dry. The rubbing alcohol evaperates quickly and does not damage the fibers. The down side is that the leather will need to be wetted again several times.
Because of the finish that I use, I wet the whole piece to help avoid streaks and splotches. I wet the piece several times over a few minutes to allow it soak down to the center. This helps the tool marks to hold in the leather. When I apply the alcohol, I let it set for a few minutes. When the color of the leather starts to look dry, I know it id ready to tool. When the leather does not want to cooperate and take the tool marks, I apply more alcohol.
I am starting with a row beside the sewing line first, and then move on to the arrowhead. I use the back edge of a razor blade to make small dots around the outline because after a few more wipes of alcohol, it will be near impossible to see the pencil line.
madcrow:
Here is a pic of some of the tools I will use in the project, but for now, I will be using a cheap tool to work the edge of the arrowhead. Yep, a popcycle stick. I am just pushing down and in toward the edge with it.
It needed more alcohol. I pond it up on top and let it soak in.
madcrow:
I used one of my rounded backgrounder tools to give the arrowhead a knapped look. I just pressed down and pulled it across. It worked pretty good.
While nobody was looking, I penciled in an initial for the recipient. Same process as the arrowhead, but I use a different backgrounder to bring out the letter and give some texture around it.
Now for that belt loop. Remember this.
madcrow:
Because of all the curves along the sides, the tooling I want to do will not work right. I would need to set down with the leather and the tools and figure out the distance that the tool marks will cover and the amount of curve that I can use. I would also need to work out the length of the whole piece so that the design will end right. With this precut piece, you can see that the tool in question will not give the desired look.
Here is what I do to be able to tool the loop. I use a ruler and the tracing wheel to make two lines on the leather. These are just guides for the length and width.
Using the lines as guides, I make a row with the tool on each side. Take your time when doing this and keep the marks as even as possible. If not, it will not look right.
madcrow:
Here is another specialized tool that I use alot. A wood screw. I roll it down the line from the tracing wheel on each side to make a deep groove. The groove is where I will cut the leather and the edge will be a little rounded.
Now lets play with some glue. Here is where some people get in a hurry and glue the welt in. Don't do that yet. You need to glue the belt loop on first. Trust me, it is possible, but very hard to sew the loop on after the the welt is glued. I put a little cement on one side of the loop and press it against the sheath where I want it. Then I apply a little more glue, to the sheath, the loop, and the inside of the loop where it will be sewn. Give it about 15 minutes to dry and tack up, then press it all together.
If the leather has dried, you can use a spring clamp to hold the loop on while it dries, but if it is wet, I set a stack of book on top of the sheath. Spring clamps will leave marks on wet leather.
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