How to measure your knife for the perfect handmade leather sheath

ALT

So you have a great knife but the sheath has seen better days. How can you order a new sheath from Oakside Saddlery?

Field Sports

Whether your knife is a small hunting knife, a reasonable bushcraft knife, or you are about to fend off the zombie horde I can make a sheath that will fit it perfectly. I will need a few measurements from you though so go and find a piece of paper big enough to fit your whole knife on and a pen or pencil.

ALT

Safety first either blunt up your knife edge or cover it up with some tape. Don’t go and cut yourself! There you have been warned!

Now lay your knife on the paper and draw around the entire thing. You need to be fairly accurate as I will use this to work out the overal size of your sheath.

You should have something that looks like this.

ALT

The next thing that I will need is the blade.

This time you will need to lay your knife down so that the blade is flat on the paper. You can hang the handle over the edge of a table or board to make this easier. Push the guard up against the edge of the paper and carefully draw around the edge of the blade. The few millimetres gap between the blade and the line is perfect for a little bit of play that you will need.

If you have saw teeth or any other cut-outs you can just draw a straight line past them as II don’t need to allow for anything like that.

Hopefully you now have something like this.

ALT

I will also need the thickness of our blade.

Lay your knife down with the thickest part on the paper. Now just simply draw a line either side.

The easiest one yet.

To be honest with the blade thickness. Unless it is really thick, over 4mm or so, then nothing really changes.

Handle

If you are wanting a retainer safety strap then I will need the measurement of the handle. This will be where you want the strap to be.

Simply measure around the handle. Don’t make it too tight. I can then make any overlap as required.

You can mark this measurement on the drawing or just write it down. Make a mark as well where you actually want the strap.

Design

This is where you can make your own personal touches.

I will need where you plan on carrying your knife. May be you are left-handed and carry your knife on your left hip with the blade facing backwards. May be you like the blade facing forwards. You choose.

You can also have your carry ideas;

• Belt loop
• Scout carry (left and right handed)
• Drop carry

If your sheath is big enough maybe you want some pouches fitted or a cut-out. It is up to you.

Once you have this all marked up you can send the order to me so that I can make a pattern

So go ahead and place your order

Field Sports

And if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Have a good day

Si