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Leather workers


rimfire4969
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I am hoping someone with some knowledge of leather can help me. 

One of my favourite little knifes is only held in the sheath with fiction, after lots of use it has become a bit lose. I fear that one day when I’m beating, going over a fence or ducking under a tree the knife will fall from the sheath and I will lose it. 

Is there a way of retightening the sheath? Sort of shrinking it at the neck end?

any help would be much appreciated.

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2 minutes ago, rimfire4969 said:

I am hoping someone with some knowledge of leather can help me. 

One of my favourite little knifes is only held in the sheath with fiction, after lots of use it has become a bit lose. I fear that one day when I’m beating, going over a fence or ducking under a tree the knife will fall from the sheath and I will lose it. 

Is there a way of retightening the sheath? Sort of shrinking it at the neck end?

any help would be much appreciated.

hello, give mel b a PM his wife Lin makes very good and well made leather and canvas shooting items, 

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5 minutes ago, humperdingle said:

Depends what kind of leather it is, mate. If it is moulded to a shape, it is more than likely veg tan.

 

(Assuming it is) You can wet the sheath and put the knife into it (wrap in cling film to stop it rusting), re-mould it to the correct shape and leave to dry.

+1    But just 1 thickness of film - too much defeats the object.

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I have had dealings with Mel b and his good lady and I can’t speak highly enough of the goods and service I received but in this case I don’t want a new sheath unless nothing can be done.

1 hour ago, humperdingle said:

Depends what kind of leather it is, mate. If it is moulded to a shape, it is more than likely veg tan.

 

(Assuming it is) You can wet the sheath and put the knife into it (wrap in cling film to stop it rusting), re-mould it to the correct shape and leave to dry.

Thanks for this info I will give it a go as it is moulded, do I use hot water?

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Cold water is fine. If you have any ability to carve a replica of the knife but ever so slightly smaller than the original, then do this and use that as the model to mold on. The knife will then fit tighter with a but of luck. I have moulded a lot of things including pistols and revolvers and found that the result will often not be as tight as you would wish.  Now if I make a knife, I also make a wooden replica.  The blade is not a problem so no need to get the wood that thin but just the handle.  Hope this helps.

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If you use warmer water to re-mould the sheath (hand-washing temperature), you can shrink the leather slightly, so your layer of cling film means you can still get the knife in and out.

Don't use hot water, or you will harden the leather as well (this is a whole different game!).

Probably not a technique to try for the first time on something irreplaceable, but with practice you can refit a sheath that has worn loose.

Grease the blade with Vaseline before you put the cling film on - for extra protection and also to make sure you can get the knife out.

Wet the sheath with the knife in, and don't remove the knife again until almost dry.

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31 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

Plenty of very good advice above. If you have no joy with it , just pop it into the post , and her good self will take care of it for you 👍

Fingers crossed I can get it sorted. If not you will be the first to know.

Thank you everyone for your input. PW at its best always someone to help out. 

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  • 4 months later...

dampen leather with hot water until supple  place knife in sheath in cling film or heavily oiled surfaces  place in vacuum bag or any plastic bag connected to a vacuum cleaner and leave it running over night the leather should set up then leave to dry        or use a long lanyard on the knife so you don't loos it 

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