Texas Boot Knife

[Chuck Burrows]

Well they say that everything is bigger in Texas.....
Customer wanted this 10" Dan Gray (www.grayknives.com) as a boot knife!
So this is what I came up with. The little flap has a hole in it which fits down over a stud sticking out of the boot top (see the closeup) to keep it in place. I used a Chicago screw with a washer on the outside as the stud so it wouldn't be permanent fixture. This way there is only an 1/8" hole in the boot when he takes the screw out. But I figured he just might want to pack this on his belt as well so I worked up a frog so he could carry it that way (image #2).



This was one of those real fun projects that took some planning and actually worked the first time! Also it's the first sheath I've got to do in a while as I had a bunch of old west gunleather orders to fill, so it made it that much more enjoyable.
Chuck

[Sandy Morrissey]

There is no limit to what one can do with an active imagination and knowledge of the media in which he labors! I have done (a long time ago) a similiar arrangement to carry a big knife as a boot hugger. It was not such a neat and practical unit as displayed here. In stead of the 1/8" hole in the boot there was a 3/4" strap hole through which a strap from the knife sheath penetrated the boot top and was fastened with a buckle. The best that could be said for it was that it worked. In my opinion, the arrangement presented by Chuck is vastly superior to a boot clip in every way. No boot clip I have ever seen worked as claimed. Too often the sheath is drawn along with the knife and this does not give you "an edge"---Pun intended. The sheath is functionally impressive and an art work depicting the incised carving of a bye gone era that seems to be making a comeback due to the craftsmanship of people like Chuck. A lot of research has gone into this outstanding sheath! And as for the knife from the hands of Dan Gray, Those are some pair of hands and the end result is a knife that any one could treasure. It deserved a sheath from Wild Rose and the combo is a marriage or merger of great blood lines! -- Sandy

[Chuck Burrows]

Sandy-

Thanks! Praise from you means a lot even if my head is already big enough.

The other option I thought about when making this was using a line 24 snap instead of the stud. That wouldn't be suitable for this period of knife, but it would work for a modern rig and if you used a black snap then it would be very unobtrusive . And I too have never found a clip that holds perfectly in this situation anyway.

Like always I try to follow the K.I.S.S principle.

The best part, as always, was working with a great knife and Dan'l makes 'em extra nice. I've worked with several of his Bowies now (got two more sheaths to finish up ASAP) and they have every one been real gems.

[PrattBard]

WOW Chuck I bow the the master.

One question. Not being a cowgirl. How did you attach it to the boot. I got the sheath hugger has the stud, the sheath and the flap for the stud. Did you poke a hole in the boot to stick the stud through? or is there a normal hole in the boot that you used?

Inquiring minds wanna know..

Lara

[Chuck Burrows]

The stud (a chicago screw) is attached to the boot not the sheath. That way if the owner wants to he can take off the stud and have just a small 1/8" hole in the boot. I had to punch the hole.

[Chris Daigle]

Chuck, that is just TOO awesome. You mentioned this one to me on the phone, but it wasn't what I was thinking. Very sweet decorative work as well!

Chris

[paul harm]

truely a beautiful piece of work- don't get no better. paul

[Lawrence Kemp]

Chuck, that is awsome. I keep the sheath you made for me where I can see it, and take it down now to look it over before I make my sheaths. Not to copy it, but to remind me just how good a sheath can look and feel, and how well the knife can be dressed.
Thanks Buddy