Henry Rifle Forums

Miss Tina picked up a new Razor Knife for the shop. The old one is hiding. Maybe at the barn, maybe at the coop. Maybe in the tool bag for the kayak trailer, somewhere in the house. She was going to Home Depot anyway, so I asked her to pick up a new one. When she came home with one, it was a fixed blade model, the sharp part, the cutty thing, the one that makes blood, doesn't retract. "Oh," said Miss T, "I didn't notice." "Ah, I'm the one that usually ends up bleeding."

Worse yet, the blade gets quickly dulled if not protected. I told her "No Worries, I'll knock out a quick case at the leather bench." I needed another project to fill my time. I have plenty. This isn't going to be a belt sheath, just a case to toss in the work bag or the tray of tools going to the barn, stick in your pocket, or in the drawer when not in use. If it gets too beat up, I'll make another.

After an hour or so of work, I'll be ready to start the glue ups tomorrow.


Of course, there are still of couple of stages in the process. Welts, sewing, finish. But the bulk is done.

Like I said, just something I threw together. By the way, that basketweave stamp is new. I really like it. 3D.

Really like the variety of borders including the non-stamped plain one. Thumbs up!

That looks so cool!

Back out this morning to work on the knife case. Started out by marking the spacing for the stitches. Used the two forks. I have a two prong and a four prong. I am trying a technique that will work if you are very careful every step. Space them exactly the same down both sides in the stitching groove. I made twenty marks down both sides.


I then used a 1/16 bit, the smallest I have, to drill the holes. Some will use the forks to punch the holes, but I prefer not to damage the forks. I may punch them thru to get the nice diamond shape just before I sew, even if it's lightly thru the opening on the outside. Cheating just a bit?

There, carefully done, twenty per side.


Using the welt itself, I drew the boundries for contact cement, on the off side, I just left off the extra area.


Once the cement was tacky, I applied the welt, and then hammered it with the leather working hammer to insure a good adhesion.



Once that was done, I clamped it to set up and put it aside.

*** Note half the clamps HAVE leather sleeves, the others have a leather buffer under them to avoid marks on the leather.
I need to make a few more "leather booties" for the clamps, I use them enough.


In an hour or so I'll go back out and redrill the holes on the welt side, using the existing holes as a guide.
Then I'll burnish the top edge. That is done BEFORE folding, gluing, and sewing the case as you don't have full access afterward.
I will also stain the inside of the case, and then stain the outside. I think, for a change, I'll use the yellow dye.
Not too much left to do and this will go in the Done file.
There is a trick to insure alignment when you fold this puppy over...


Watch this space for more action.
Watch the HENRY Logo thread for Framing action....

Worked on the case again this afternoon. Got the sewing done by hand. Had to adapt the last three holes, but YOU wouldn't know. Secret. Lesson learned.


Next up I dyed the edges after sanding them flat. Used the new block I made after seeing it in a teaching vid. It keeps you from accidently spilling the dye or paint and ruining a project. Most hobbiest use the little med cups or similar to paint or dye from to keep the larger containers closed. They are notoriously unstable and I have turned one over. NO more.


After the dye dried, I damped the edge, then swiped the edge with burnishing gum and burnished. Protects the edge grain and LOOKS much more professional. Like care on my knife case. (Okay, I do. Caught me.)


Antiqued the tooling, once it dries I can wipe off some or reantique until I'm happy. Then I'll apply a finish and done.

nicely done .... looking forward to seeing the knife with its sheath

Thanks for sharing so much with us, Marine. I'm a huge fan of yours.

I like your forum signature, I like your literacy, I like your relationship to your wife and the land, I like your woodworking and leatherworking hobbies, and I'm very glad you're here.

Really nice work on this sheath. Beautiful.

I will second what CT said Jim. You have a gift of a true craftsman whether its wood, leather or knives. I love the work you do and the case looks awesome

Thanks for all the compliments folks, I really appreciate it. I know I am improving, but the floral carving is still way out of reach and I know I still have a long way to go. BUT, we can call this one case closed! I got back out and wiped down the excess antique, then applied a finish. It dried and I'm satisfied with the look.


I slipped the utility knife in for a pic as I know a couple of you wanted to see how it fit. The THING here is to have a solid grip on the case with your entire fist BELOW the edge. The blade is exposed in this knife and you wouldn't want to have a finger or two above the upper edge as you pull the knife out.


Turned out pretty darn good though. I'm happy. When it gets beat up, I'll knock out another.

Nice looking sheath. You may call it a razor knife, we call them Bloody Marys.

Thank you Sir. I appreciate your comments.

I didn't call this one a sheath as I intentionally didn't add a slot or loop to the back to facilitate wearing it. It's just to protect the blade from damage when not in use, or unsuspecting fingers in the tool box. A simple fold of leather would have done that. The extra details were added mostly because I don't do plain. They are also practice, for my upcoming single action holster, gunbelt, and matching sheath.

The design bounces around in my head like a bucket of ping pong balls dumped into a room full of cheap mouse traps. Like that room, I'll eventually settle on a design about the time my skill levels reach adequate to meet it's needs. I'll likely wear it just to my range, but it'll look good hanging in my office.

Wonderful work and I really like the “booties” you made for the clamps.

Also your little humor bits you put in your reports. I love a good pun.