How to Make a Knife Sheath

In this instructable I am going to go step by step on how to make a pancake style leather sheath with a fold over belt loop! There are three parts of this sheath that stack on top of each other (hence the name pancake sheath) the Back, The Welt and the Front.

Leather

Strong waxed thread (or any preferred option)

stick glue

TOOLS

Razor Knife

Craft knife

Speedy Stitcher

Hammer or mallet (I use a raw hide mallet)

Large washer (or any other round metal piece)

Small strait screwdriver ( or any thing to punch holes in leather)

Ice pick

Heavy pair of scissors

Edger

Deer antler (or any thing to burnish edges)

Sander or dremel

Some type of leather coating- wax,oil,acrylic.

Ok so when making a sheath without a pattern the thing to make first is the welt, I like to make the welt very close to the final shape of the sheath so when cutting the back and front I can follow the the Welt. (The welt is a piece of leather that protects the stitching from the knife blade and in a pancake style it goes all the way around the blade.) So to make the welt I use a small square for the strait lines and a large washer for the round bottom end. And I just play with it till I like the shape. (I trim the shape of the sheath more as a go)

After the welt is close to the right shape I lay it on my leather and cut a strip the same width at the widest point of the welt and long enough to make the size belt loop needed.

Cutting out the front is close to cutting out the back, use the welt for a pattern and cut out the length you need. For this knife I actually cut the front around one quarter of a inch longer than the welt, what that dose is made the knife stay in the sheath a little better after it's done. Also remember this is the front so pick out the best looking leather you have for it.

Next I take a stick of school glue and glue the welt to the flesh side of the back of the sheath. After the glue dries I use my craft knife to shape the back of the sheath to the welt.

To make the belt loop I fold my leather down and see how long I want the belt loop then decide were to sew it on. this sheath had just a little to much leather so I cut some off I folded it were I wanted and using my ice pick punched a line of holes then sewed the belt loop down with my stitching awl and melted the ends with a lighter. The belt loop stuck out were the sheath taperd so I snipped them of using my scissors.

Putting on the front of the sheath is again similar to the back. I make sure I have a good straight edge on the top then I spread the glue on the welt line up the top edge were it goes and put it down, then I let the glue dry completely. (Weighting it down with a book is not a bad idea) And after the glue drys I use my craft knife trim off the edges.

Next we need to punch the holes thru all three layers so we can sew it up. First I use a scribe to make a mark the entire length this is optional I have just punched the holes by sight but it's nice to have a reference. Next we need something to make the holes there are a lot of options a rake is nice a ice pick works a hand press chisel works I've used all these but believe it or not I'm going to use a unmodified small flat head screwdriver it works very well! The slotted hole that it and rakes make are a lot easier and more enjoyable to sew thru than a round hole that a ice pick makes. The slotted hole also look more professional in the end.

Now for this step I'm using a speedy stitcher you can find these at Harbor Freight, flea markets, and many more places, you don't have to have one lots of other people just stitch by hand, there are plenty of videos out there on how. I just have been using one for a long time and have found it fast and have never had any problems with the stuff I make. The thread I'm using is waxed nylon it is very strong stuff. And to end the stitch I use a lighter to melt both sides. If you are interested on how to use a speedy stitcher or a EZ sew awl same thing I have a video on how to use one here- https://youtu.be/-yJlSFipoOs

I don't have any pictures of it unfortunately but I after sewing I used a belt sander to make the edges of the sheath more even. Also a dremel with a abrasive on it works. And no sheath would be complete with out a makers mark! Then I use a edger to cut the corners off for a nicer look. Now we need something to protect the leather I used a coconut oil and beeswax mixture I made but there are a lot of things out there that work great! And to finish it off I use a deer antler to burnish the edges I also use it to form the leather around the knife just a little. And we are done I hope you find this to be useful! A lot of the things I use are optional and/or can be substituted for other things. Thanks for reading my instructable if you have any questions I will be glad to answer them below!