leather sheath for small serrated saw, how to protect stitches from teeth

[TheUnicorn]

veg tanned leather is normally fine so long as kept dry. Chrome tanned leather isn’t recommended for sheaths as it can cause corrosion. Hence why recycled leathers aren’t always suitable.

As has been said, a welt is the typical approach to stop the edge slicing the stitching.

Is there a way to test for chrome tanning?

when you say welt do you mean the additional layer of leather?

Also if I were to cut out the centre of the sheath so that the metal has airflow would that be enough to prevent rust? as per my 10 second photoshop below

 

[Rorschach]

A welt is used on knife sheaths but they are rarely double edge blades.

Personally I would either make a wooden case (heavy but hard wearing) or for a light weight version I would make one from Kydex.

 

[TheUnicorn]

A welt is used on knife sheaths but they are rarely double edge blades.

Personally I would either make a wooden case (heavy but hard wearing) or for a light weight version I would make one from Kydex.

It isn't a double edge blade, that is just an image I found to show (badly it turns out) what I was talking about, it is just a simple panel saw, just a smaller size for a toolbox

A quick google search on testing for chrome tanning gave me these two methods, I'll try these on some offcuts

"Test 1: Put a small narrow strip of leather in boiling water. If the leather instantly curls up, it is vegetable-tanned. A chrome-tanned leather will just float around in water.

Test 2: Burn a piece of leather with a lighter. If you have a vegetable-tanned leather, it will not burn in flames and the ashes will be grey or black. A chrome-tanned leather will burn more easily and its ashes are green."

 

[Rorschach]

It isn't a double edge blade, that is just an image I found to show (badly it turns out) what I was talking about, it is just a simple panel saw, just a smaller size for a toolbox
View attachment 103059

Ah ok, in which case just use a bit of plastic pipe to cover the teeth and a couple of rubber bands,

 

[William2020]

I’ve used oval plastic conduit for protecting the teeth on saws. It’s cheap (£2-3 - the longer strips in B&Q are cheaper than the shorter ones). I just cut down one side with a stanley knife and then you can slide it on from the handle end. It only takes about 5mins, is cheap and will stay in place.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I’ve used oval plastic conduit for protecting the teeth on saws. It’s cheap (£2-3 - the longer strips in B&Q are cheaper than the shorter ones). I just cut down one side with a stanley knife and then you can slide it on from the handle end. It only takes about 5mins, is cheap and will stay in place.View attachment 103061View attachment 103062

thank you for using your first message to reply to my thread.

I like the lookof the oval conduit

I have used conduit, stationary binders, hose etc for this sort of job before, however I have a load of leather scraps and I thought this would be a good way to use some of them up. I think I'll test for the chromium tanning / veggie tannine then I'll go from there

 

[Rorschach]

thank you for using your first message to reply to my thread.

I like the lookof the oval conduit

I have used conduit, stationary binders, hose etc for this sort of job before, however I have a load of leather scraps and I thought this would be a good way to use some of them up. I think I'll test for the chromium tanning / veggie tannine then I'll go from there

Something to be aware of with leather, it is prone to holding damp so could cause rust issues.

 

[picsnbits]

Can you use a single folded piece of leather with the seam on the edge away from the teeth and the fold towards the teeth?

 

[JohnPW]

Glue the oval plastic conduit to the inside of the leather sheath?

 

[Ttrees]

What about just getting some camphor or silica packets for the tool box, like what engineers used/still do?

 

[D_W]

I don't know if my comment earlier was grasped - make your sheath. Slide a piece of cardboard over the teeth and then slide that into the sheath.

The idea that such a thing won't work (especially given that the cardboard could be replaced easily any time) isn't realistic. teeth cut the leather sliding around. Teeth with a cardboard sheath (think the length of the teeth and only one or two inches long) stick into the cardboard, but in hard card won't go through - especially with handling softened by the leather). The sheath slides into the leather. Done.

I got a knife set last week because I wanted the block, and then sold the knives off. Each of them had a simple single cardboard layer sheath and the whole group was in a flat box - no other guard. The knives were shipped sharp, even though they were relatively cheap - a tiny little polished edge all the way along to wow a new customer.

None of the cardboard was damaged by any of the knives, even though they could move around in the box a bit and had no significant protection.

I sold the knives on ebay, same small box in another box, same sheaths - buyer said they all arrived in great shape.

You can make this difficult if you want, but I wouldn't use leather for a saw. If I was going to use leather for a saw, I would put a card sheath on the teeth so that the saw could slide around in the leather without cutting it or the stitches.

(as far as rust goes, line the sheath with anti rust paper if it's a concern - some leathers and other older plastics can do bad things in combination with high humidity (celluloid rot comes to mind - not sure about the various types of tanned leather - but at the very least, it can accidentally get wet, dry and trap some moisture against a blade for a few days out of sight and you'll h pitting then that never goes away).

 

[TheUnicorn]

thank you everyone for the replies, I'm going to knock the idea of leather on the head, at least for this project, now I'm looking into a leather holster for a tape measure.

 

[Ttrees]

A rag in a can type deal made out of leather if you've got thick stuff is nice.
I made one from a Weider power lifting belt before.
I had originally made it as a holster for a bottle of booze, but it made it's way into the workshop and I really like it.
Couldn't find the rest of it to make a buffer attachment from.

One could make some wrist bands like some folk in colder countries do, although I think they use cotton or some other fabric.

I'd be interested to hear other uses for leather in the workshop.
Thanks
Tom

 

[Gant]

Another idea fir leatherwork: I’m renovating my late father-in-law’s 1950s tool chest, and saw a suggestion for a small tool/pencil/pen holder in a Schwartz’s Anarchist Toolchest thread. There was a gap in the lid where there had been some particularly useless chisel holders that I wouldn’t have used. The back here is from an old suede jacket, the pockets are from old swatches from a sofa shop (hence the different colours). It’s then glued onto an old table mat and screwed onto the lid.
It’s the first time I’ve done any leatherwork; it went OK. I was going to do a sheath for the marking knife, but after reading this it may not be such a great idea.

 

[Gant]

Apologies, the attachment posting included loads of irrelevant photos even though I had cancelled. It glitched when I was posting telling me I could only attach 10, even though I was only adding 2, and they didn’t show on the preview!

Here’s the photo of the finished article.

 

[carpenteire2009]

I made a few tool/ chisel rolls from a heavy canvas years ago- took me a long time to figure out how to use my wife's sewing machine but the end result was very satisfying. Unfortunately I don't use them any more as I found the tools would rust over the winter if stored in the rolls, regardless of what oil they were covered in! Similarly I have a very old leather tool roll that was used to hold various auger bits- it's like the Turin Shroud will all the rust ghost images left on it form times past! I think my carving knife will be fine in contact with leather as it has a high polish to begin with and the leather is thin- I don't know how it was tanned.

 

[rafezetter]

Just in case it's not been said - fold a thin strip of brass instead of plastic - it'll be thinner and much longer lasting, no real issue with cross corrosion as back saws have had brass spines on them for well over 100 years.