[Ian Hutchison]

Going to attempt my first scabbard with by-knives. Does one just glue the by-knife sheath on the scabbard core, mark the mouth of the sheath on the scabbard leather, cut a simple slit, and then wrap the core with sheath in place?

Is there any trick in cutting the slit for the sheath mouth? Does it need to have the edges dressed in some way?

[Sean Flynt]

That's the way I did it, and it seems to be historically appropriate. If you know how to make a two-layer knife sheath, you do that but stop with the inside sheath. The rough surface aids gluing.

[Sean Flynt]

Peter Johnsson posted a photo showing the same process on a work-in-progress dagger set last year.

[Sean Flynt]

i also put a cord riser at the top of the sheaths

[Ian Hutchison]

Excellent, thanks. Good idea with the riser, I will try that.

[Sean Flynt]

Here are better views of the finished piece. You can see here how I tapered the cord risers to end flush with the side of the scabbard. Having the riser only on the front top of those internal sheaths seems to be all this suspension knot requires.

[Sean Flynt]

Also note that I didn't remove any of the leather wrap that covered the mouths of the scabbards. I just slit it strategically and folded the resulting flaps down into the scabbards and glued them.

[Ian Hutchison]

Sean, did you make the cut a little high (i.e. give a bit extra), to fold it over the riser and tuck it up into the sheath or is it just lying over it?

[Sean Flynt]

Try cutting it like this. That should give you ample coverage over the mouth of the sheaths. Remember to adjust the sizing of the sheaths to accommodate the thickness of the flaps inside the tops of the sheaths. Make that bit a little loose. The chamois I use for scabbard covers is so thin that it doesn't have a huge impact on fit.

[Ian Hutchison]

Thanks Sean, that makes it very clear. Where do you get your chamois by the way? It doesn't appear to be suede as most are, or maybe that is a result of treatment?

[Sean Flynt]

I get the largest chamois I can find in the automotive section at Wal-Mart. I think it's about $13. I can typically get a scabbard or two and lots of grips out of it. It is not quite a suede surface on both sides--matte, but not textured. One side is typically a bit smoother. I dye it as-is, glue to scabbard smooth side out, and then wax (hard waterproofing beeswax) and burnish it with a smooth tool (Sharpie pen barrel is good) after it's thoroughly dry. Same for grips. It's as cheap as you can do it, I think.