A bit of an update: The waki sheath fit way too tight, because I formed it to the bare blade without anything wrapped around it, and I did a really tight fit with the foam press.

So, to loosen it up, last night I wrapped the blade in tape and then heated the sheath with a hair dryer and forced the tape-wrapped blade in. After a lot of grunting and swearing this morning, I was able to extract the waki, and remove the tape. The fit now is MUCH better. I will probably have to tighten up the guard area for a little bit better retention, but overall I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

don't be too rough on the waki, it could break.

I've already managed to roll the edge of the waki in a few place <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />

Well, it didn't break! Think of all the impact force you get with a blade that long. Looks like you have found the way to save money on sheaths, MM. Those look good to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Looks good my friend,

maybe take a little sand paper to the edges & use the blue painters tape on the blades when forming.

Also be really careful to not get it too hot, that is what made the shiney area on the waki sheath.

for the eyelet flare you can go to the leather factory on line or in ATL & get a single eyelet flare for under 10.00, I used one for years.

Or you could just send me some dough & I will save you a bunch of time, frustration & pain <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks a lot David - I appreciate the comments.

I haven't really worried about cleaning up the edges, as these are "working class" sheaths and I am not very concerned about the looks. The painter's tape idea would have saved me some serious hassle with the waki sheath being too tight, though. Live and learn.

I definitely knew the waki kydex got too hot - I got distracted with important real life stuff for a minute and knew before I even got back to the oven that it had been in too long. When I got back there, my suspicions were confirmed - the kydex had shrunk by over an inch in length, and was barely long enough to cover the blade. I figured the sheath was a complete loss at that point, but I slapped it into the press anyway, just in case. It ended up looking pretty good considering how badly I screwed it up <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


Thanks for the tip on the eyelet flare - I picked one up at ace hardware and it wasn't quite the right size, so I decided to wing it, since Knifekits.com is out of stock on them. I'll check out the leather factory. I've actually been wanting to get an arbor press for a bunch of unrelated projects, so I might pick up the fancy bits to do it without the hammer.


Thanks again for all the comments everyone - this has been a fun learning experience.

Yours looks muck nicer than my cardboard, packing tape, and then electrical tape knockoffs. Its nice creating them for yourself, a good sense of accomplishment no matter if they do not looks professionally done.

Good job, looks like you have the knack for some bending.

Those look really good. I bought the supplies recently and built a press, but haven't gotten around to playing much yet.

How is the retention for your S5?

People say to use C clamps (screw clamps) instead of those quick clamps for better definition and then some thicker foam. I have both .08 and .06 kydex. The thinner stock seems kind of flimsy and I would probably only use it for a thin knife that needs really good retention.

Did you split any of those rivets by accident? They look really good, was worried that you could split them by mistake.

Yeah I thought about doing C clamps, but I didn't have any big enough, and since I already had the quick clamps they worked well enough.

I didn't split any rivets, although some of them folded over kind of weird and look pretty ugly. Considering the primitive flaring device (a screw head) I was using, I'm actually surprised they look as good as they do.


I found out that there's a Tandy Leather close by, so I picked up some proper setting tools today, and we'll see if my eyelets get better on the next attempt.


The retention on all three is pretty good now. The S5 and Dogfather I'd be comfortable lashing to a pack upside-down and not worry about the knives falling out. I removed a bit too much material on the waki sheath so it doesn't have that reassuring heavy click when I insert it. I could tighten it up a bit, but I don't need quite as good retention on that one, so I think I'll leave it be for now.

Nice job, I think they look great! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Does Tandy Leather have all the leather and kydex sheath making supplies? Where is it located at? In Atlana?