|
Sandy,
I am deeply honored by your comments on my observations of the sheath & holster, given your expertise and well-deserved stature in the sheathmaking world.
I am not a leatherworker or sheathmaker. Rather I am an inveterately curious & avocational student of how things either are designed & made to fulfill a function or how their internal processes operate. Consequently, I spend a lot of my time "looking critically and minutely" at the art and craftsmanship of blademakers & sheathmakers, housewares/clothes/outdoor gear designers, artists & sculptors, woodworkers & furniture designers, construction & remodeling contractors, and various engineers (architectural, industrial, mechanical, civil).
After studying the online tutorials on sheathmaking and watching a friend do a bit of other leatherwork, I appreciate how much attention to detail and sequencing together discrete steps & processes it takes to make a leather sheath. Closely scrutinizing the sheaths that have appealed to me over the years, to see what are the common elements in the design and execution of the sheaths that keep attracting me, leaves me somewhat awestruck at the talent that can be developed when a person has practiced their craft either for a long time or with intense focus & concentration. Then there is the level of mastery that says the most by speaking with a very subtle and quiet voice.
Shane,
Here's my best guess on the rivets placed in a stitch line. As noted, I'm not a sheath maker, so this sequence could be off. Nonetheless, as near I can tell a person would:
- fold & mold the leather to shape around the knife after sewing on any external add-ons (belt loop, pouch, etc) that requires access to sew both sides of the sheath body material
- pencil in the stitch line and groove it
- mark the stitch spacing in the groove with a marker wheel
- drill the rivet holes where you want the rivets to be
- stitch between rivet holes to where the rivet heads & washers will cover the ends of the stitch lines (but don't stitch across the rivet holes)
- place and peen the rivets
- trim the outer edge of the leather to its final dimensions
- finish the sheath (dye, finish edge, wax, etc)
I trust one of the leather guru's will correct me if that's off the mark.
|