The Knife Sheath Kninja

I spent yesterday in the shop of Kristian Moore, who owns a leather store here in Taos called Letherwerks. The knife needed a sheath, and Kristian was the man for the job.

I took a lot of progress shots and listed some of the steps below. Now, what is important to note is that his workshop is at the far end of his store, and while working on the sheath, he was also working on a wholesale order AND waiting on the hundred plus customers that wandered in and out of the place. All this with me hovering over him with the camera and asking a million stupid questions. I thought this was pretty amazing, considering I have to work very hard at not going ballistic if someone breaks MY concentration.

OK, sheath making......
(click on the images to enlarge)
First he outlined the knife on paper and made a template.

The template was placed on the leather and cut out.

After the belt loop was trimmed, sewing holes were punched and the inside of the sheath was carved out so the knife would rub against the stitches. The end of the loop was tacked, then sewn into place.

A leather spacer was cut and tacked into the inside edge of the sheath. This is to accommodate the knife's thickness. Then, sewing holes were punched around the perimeter.

Sewing with a lock stitch. Fancy.

Finishing off the rough edges, forming and dying.


Look, a knife sheath! How 'bout them apples?!
Now, plenty of steps were left out, but you get the idea. By the way, for those of you who have never been into a leather shop, I have to tell you the smell is intoxicating and will absolutely leave you swooning. Oh, and yet again, I say to you, Art School... shame on you for not teaching me any of the cool stuff like this. Thank you, Kristian!!