So....if you handle knives a lot, especially sharp ones....you're going
to cut yourself sooner or later. It turns out that my Victorinox Camper
really is razor sharp.........and this is a friendly reminder to my
bushcraft friends....Make triple-sure you are being safe with ALL of
your blades at all times...especially if you choose to be out in the
bush alone.
This morning I worked up a simple dangler sheath for the beautiful custom blade I just received from Aaron at Gray Wolf Knives. It is a customized M3 model, with the 5/32 thick, 01 Steel, Scandinavian-ground blade extended to a full five-inches. It came with Ironwood scales and natural canvas micarta liners, held on with stainless pins and lanyard tube. It's a beautiful blade!
I have begun to learn about leather craft...especially to make custom sheaths for my knives, and maybe for some other people's knives, if they so desire. I have also begun modifying some of the knives that I have obtained, to make them more unique, and to better suit my personal use in bushcraft. Below is a recent project that has really worked out:
What you see here are the makings of a horizontal crossdraw sheath for the Ontario ASEK Pilot's Survival Knife, that I have modified to be better suited for bushcraft.....that's coffee in the cup, not leather dye!
Here is the finished sheath, with a fire steel in the loop I added:
...and in case you are wondering, here is a picture of the intended carry configuration for this set-up:
The sheath is completely hand-made by me from vegetable tanned 9-ounce tooling leather. I'm not sure of how many sheaths I have made by now in the short period that I have been working on the skill, but each project is an improvement over the one before. I am pretty proud of this one!
Because of how the knife is built, I had to make the welt of the sheath tapered so it would leave a large-enough opening for the knife to go into the sheath easily.
As far as the knife itself goes, I basically cut off the longer-than-necessary pieces of the bolster, then repainted it. I convexed the 1095 steel cutting edge with a belt sander, then put it through a regiment of wet-or-dry sand paper, and the knife is razor sharp now. For the handle, which came as basically raw, unfinished leather, I dyed it dark brown with Fiebing's Prosessional oil dye, then warmed it up a bit and sealed it with a liberal coat of Johnson's Paste Wax. I am extremely happy with the knife, and I will be using it in the field for some of my bushcrafting adventures for sure!
Below is one of my Youtube videos about unusual knives for bushcraft, including this Ontario blade.
