A leather sheath for my new Leatherman PST II

[SirVicaLot]

Hi all,
I received my Leatherman PST II in the mail today and want to make a leather sheath for it.
As i stated in another threat i just recently started to create my own sheaths, but if some of you are interested i would post my progress here.

I do not have a lot of the professional tools, so i make do with what i have on hand. I am pretty sure people with more experience would give my methods a  but maybe this could prove helpful to some folks.

Let me know what you think 

[SteveC]

Can't wait to see what you come up with   

[Sparky415]

    

[RF52]

We awlways want to se pics

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[Max Stone]

I think this is a great idea Sir 

The smallest current leather LM sheath is way too big for the PST, but you could take the design as it’s quite simple, and make your own that is slimmer.

Let’s see pics of your project. 

[Poncho65]

Another vote for pics  can't wait too see what you come up with 

[Aloha]

Making something your own is great.  Sure you can get a sheath but a handmade item is just that much more special.   

[cody6268]

If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, at mine at least, there is a kit to make a PST sheath in the leathercraft section. Everything is precut; and it has everything you'll need to make it, but I'd suggest getting some rivets to reinforce the stitching.

[SirVicaLot]

Thank folks for the feedback! I hope i can upload the first pictures this evening.

@cody6268: Thx for the info, i had no idea they offer such a kit. I still prefer to do it from scratch. That way i can learn more and i also have more fun 

[SirVicaLot]

Ok, let's get started.

The leather i used is from Tandy Leather, called Craftsman Oak. It is about the cheapest they have and you have to be careful not buy a piece with too many scratches and blemishes.
It is slightly thicker than I would normally use for a sheath, but it came at a good price for a large piece, so it was my choice.

I also picked up a book while i was at the store to learn about leather-working and making knife sheaths in particular. It is called "Making Leather Knife Sheaths, Volume 1" by David Hoelter and Peter Fronteddu.

First step was to wrap the PST in cling wrap. I want my sheath to be snug, so i only added a few layers:

The cling wrap prevents the tool from getting rust spots while we wet-form the leather onto its shape.

Second step was to cut a piece of leather from the large hide that would fit my needs. When cutting make sure you take into account the thickness of the tool. I use a crafting knife with a thin blade to cut my leather.
I had a leftover piece from a different item i made, so i used that one. It is way larger than needed, but i can cut off the rest and reuse it later.

After I had the working piece i submerged it in a water basin with warm water for about 20 minutes. This makes the leather smooth, allowing me to shape it.

In the meantime i put the tool on a piece of scrap wood. 

After 20min i removed the leather from its water bath and draped it over the tool. Then i started to press it and form it around the tools' shape. You have to be careful not to dig your fingernails into the leather as this will leave scratches!
If it still happens (which always does to me even though i keep my fingernails short  ) you can wet your fingers and smooth out the area with gentle swipes and a little pressure.

Now it is time to secure the leather so it cannot move while it is drying. I staple the leather onto the aforementioned scrap wood, while still pressing it against the tool. The result looks like this:

Do not place the staples too close to the final form of your sheath to allow for the sewing later on!

Now we need to wait 24hours so the leather can dry in its current shape.

To be continued...

[Gareth]

I do like a good making thread.

[Max Stone]

Thanks Sir V for this, going to be a great tutorial 

[SirVicaLot]

Thank you Gareth and Max Stone 

[Poncho65]

Nice I have never wet formed with leather and it is great to see how someone goes through the process of making something

[RF52]

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[SirVicaLot]

Went to our Hobby Lobby today, but they did not have a lot of stuff for leatherworking. The only sheath set they had was for a lot bigger tool. Probably Wave or Surge i would assume.

I still found something i liked. I got a Basket Weave Stamp set to add embellishments. Have to experiment with it, but i think i will add some of those to the sheath.

Guess i just made the project a lot harder 

[Max Stone]

Can’t wait to see more progress Sir V 

[SteveC]

 

[LoopCutter]

Very interested in the method and results.  Thanks for sharing!  (Subscribe d)


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[SirVicaLot]

Very busy weekend, but will continue tomorrow! 

[SirVicaLot]

Ok, here we go with the next part!

First i remove the tool from the sheath. Then i remove the staples. Of course with a multi tool: A Gerber Suspension 


Since the leather piece i used was a bit too large, i cut it to size. This is just a rough cut, so i need to allow some space to shape it later:
 

Since i wet-formed the leather onto the tool, the top of the sheath will not be straight any more. The larger the tool, the worse this will look like:


There is an easy way to fix that. Remember when i told you i did not have a lot of professional tools? Well, here we go:

I use my belt sander (with an 80 grit belt) mounted on my stand to straighten out the top part of the sheath. I would recommend to wear safety glasses and a N95 mask, since there will be lot of small, light leather debris in the air and on your workplace.
You don't want that stuff in your eyes or in your lunges.

The result looks like this:




Pretty rough, so we need to fix that. Using my crafting knife, the scissors of the mighty SAK, and 400grit sandpaper, i smooth the edge:





 



 

I use a skiving tool and the sandpaper to give the visible (outside) edge a slight bevel





Once that is done it is time to burnish the top edge of the sheath. I use a wet sponge to moisten the edge and then rub a wooden pencil back and forth until the edge is "sealed".
Hard to take a photo of that, since i was holding the sheath in one hand and was rubbing the pencil with the other hand. The result looks like this:



After that i stain the inside of the sheath using water based stain. I do that now, because parts of the inside won't be accessible anymore later on.
I use rubber gloves while staining, because once it penetrates your skin it is hard to get off. A friend told me that...

 

And this concludes today's progress. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Max Stone]

Great progress Sir V. This is becoming a great tutorial, and inspiring.   

[SirVicaLot]

Thx Max! 

[SirVicaLot]

Ok, here we go with the next part. I was working most day on it today. I have a lot of work coming in the next weeks, so decided to get close to a finish today. That way i do not have to let you wait 

I started with the second part of the sheath. This will be back side and flap:

I cut a piece to size and then traced the outline and the stitching line.

Then i folded the flap and marked the area where i wanted to start the thinner part for the closing. You will see more of that later:


Then i designed the flap. This picture is actually not how it will look later, because i changed the design on the fly while cutting it:


After the cutting i made sure both parts would fit the way i wanted it:

I was happy about the fit and so i glued both parts with contact cement. (Don't forget to stain the inside of the back part prior!) You do not need much of that stuff. It is not the primary means of combining the two pieces.

While the glue was drying i started on the belt loop. I wanted to wear it vertically and horizontally, so this is the solution i found searching online:


I had already tried this once with an earlier sheath, but it turned out too tight. I left more material this time. Spoiler: It works, but it still a little bit too tight. So next time , even more material 
Using the sponge it moistened part of the loop to create space for the belt:


After that i aligned the belt loop with the backside part, and glued it together using the contact cement once again.
While that was trying i created the small piece that will act as the flap closure (or whatever the right word for that is  )


I then added the embellishments and affixed it to its designated position using large paper clips:

[SirVicaLot]

Next step was to make the holes to stitch the pieces. I used a combination of hole punch and the awl of a SAK (for the curves):


Since the holes have to go through three and four layers of leather (front part, back part, belt loop and closure) i used a drill to make sure the wholes were punched through.
Since there is a lot of stress on some parts of the sheath (like the closure for example) i need to double stitch these areas. I used a 1/16 drill bit for the regular stitch parts and a 5/64 for the double stitch parts.

I use waxed thread and a a special way to thread the needle i learned in the book i posted. The length of the needed thread is calculated: Measure the length of your punch-hole line and multiply that by 8 to 10. If you do double stitches you want to multiply by 10.

Here is how to thread the needles:

1) Pierce the thread with the harness needle and leave about 6 centimeters left over at the end:

2) Make a half loop and stitch the yarn again:

3) Thread the yarn through the eye:

4) Pulled the short end of the yarn through the eye until it stops. Do not pull too hard!

5) Now pull the long end of the yarn over the eye:

Now repeat the steps on the other end of the yarn.

With this technique there is less chance to break the yarn, even though it still happens sometimes.

No push the needle through your starting hole, then pull the yarn until both sides are of equal length:

Start threading by going through every hole with both needles:



Normally one would start at the top of one side and just thread down and back up to the other top side. Since i wanted to double stitch a lot of parts i had to do multiple starts:

The red arrows show the double stitching areas. Double stitching means i start a hole 7 and work my way up to 1. Then i go back through the same holes again until i reach 7.

As i said before, the belt loop was still a bit too tight, so i did not stitch the two holes at the bottom. Otherwise the belt would not fit 


Next was cutting to size and shaping the final form using the belt sander stand once again:


Then detail work. Burnishing all edges, trimming some areas...

Almost done! This is what i do right now:

Staining!

About three rounds of staining should give me the desired color.

Finale will be tomorrow! 

[Max Stone]

Sir V, excellent instructions and pics, thank you. Your sheath is looking very professional. 

[Sparky415]

Looks very nice, 
Great photos and tutorial 

[kottskrapa]

Really nice work!

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[SirVicaLot]

Thank you guys 

Only 2 more things to do. I cut off all the threads on the backside and sealed the ends with a small drop of superglue. Then i applied some leather conditioner. This improves the color, makes the leather smooth and protects it from moisture.
Here is the final result:



It has some flaws since i had to rush it yesterday to finish it, but it will still do its job 

Thank you everyone that commented and followed along!   

[Max Stone]

Sir V, you are a Master! Enjoy your creation and thank you for sharing your journey with us.