I did get a kind message from Dave from Woodwosecarving . He offered assistance and I think I’m going to need it!

Over the last few weeks I’ve been collecting a few leather working bits and bobs. My first attempt at leather working was to try and make a sheath for the EKA Nordic W11.

I generally copied the design of the sheath that came with the knife, but I wanted to add a firesteel holder and dangler belt loop. So I duly cut out the bits. I nearly forgot the welt  but luckily remembered before I started sewing it all together.

I used the edge beveller to er… bevel the edges. Perhaps I should have done this later.

I then made a groove with this adjustable groove making thingy. This enabled me to use a smart-looking wheel whatsit. This makes an indent in the leather to assist in making holes for the stitching.

After wetting the leather, I used some embossing stamps and tools to make a pattern.

I then folded over the sheath, added the welt and the firesteel holder. It was difficult to hold it all together and perhaps I should have made the holes first or used glue to hold it together. In the end I used a couple of bulldog clips to clamp the edges while I made the holes.

I then stitched it together using pre-waxed thread and two needles. Apparently this is called double-stitch or saddle stitch. I’m not showing you the back of the sheath because I made a mistake and missed a hole. It looks crap but it’s doing it’s job.

I trimmed up the edges (perhaps now was the time to use the edge beveller) and after wetting the edges again, I used a metal spoon to smooth them out.

I made a dangler belt loop and fixed it to the sheath with leather thong. I used a cool but expensive multi-punch hole maker to punch out the holes.

I’ve decided that the stuff I will wear myself (if it’s good enough of course) will be dyed a tan colour to keep it all consistent. I thought it would be an idea to bring out the embossing with antique finish paste. I read this in a book. The idea is to give the leatherwork an old, distressed look (like its owner).

I re-wet the leather and shaped the sheath around the knife . This is called wet-forming and should make the knife fit snugly in the sheath. This should perhaps be done before the dyeing. I’m going to have to get a list from someone to tell me what order is best to do things.

After leaving it over night to dry naturally, I rubbed it gently with some sandpaper and polished and waxed the sheath to give it a little waterproofing . I will buy some natural polish later to shine it up a touch.

I’m quite pleased with the result and had great fun doing it. I made lots of mistakes and certainly I could have done a few things differently but not bad for a first attempt. Better than the wood spirits anyway!

I am forbidden to put any weight on this last cast under any circumstances. The last time when my foot was manoeuvred into the “neutral” or flat position I was given a shoe and I was allowed to wander around. Not this time.

Well, the good news is that there’s only one more week to go. Next Friday I will have the final cast removed. The consultant warned me that I will be going back into the Aircast for a while, but at least it will be weight-bearing and I will be mobile again. I suspect I will be able to take it off every now and again to build up the muscles around the injury. I agree that this time I’ve got to be ultra cautious and for a month or so the Aircast will be staying on when I go on any trip to the woods.

Of course I’m glad that this is coming to an end. So is my bank manager. I’ve spent a small fortune on leather-making stuff! Mind you if it wasn’t for the injury I wouldn’t have discovered it or had the opportunity to practice.

So far I’ve made a sheath for my EKA W11, a laplander saw holder, a large possible pouch (in a sporran style) an axe holder and a notebook cover. They could all be improved especially the stitching.

I’ve called this series “Antique Oak”. I’ll now move on and produce something in a different style. Not sure what yet. The Badger print embossing tool was kindly manufactured by Jim (Kerne) over at BCUK.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.