Altair's Throwing Knife Sheath

A Basic Leather Working Tutorial

 

Ok, here's what we'll be making today:

 

Altair's throwing knife sheath from Assassin's Creed.

What you need to get started:

                                                   small piece of tooling leather

                                                   ink pen

                                                   hobby knife

                                                   overstitch tool

                                                   seeder tool

                                                   mallet

                                                   awl 

                                                   sinew or wax coated thread

                                                   sponge

 

1.  Choose your leather. For this project it doesn't have to be high quality.  Hide scraps from shoulders or bellies will work well. Thickness depends on your preferences. I like using thicker leather (7-9 oz) as it holds form better when wet molding. The thinner the leather the more 'flimsy' your piece will be.

 

2.  Trace your pattern shapes on the rough side of the leather (don't forget to mirror your original patterns) labeling the front and back pieces. Cut out with sharp scissors or a hobby knife. I use a hobby knife with removable box-cutter type blades as the leather quickly dulls them.

 

 

 

3.  Dampen the leather with the sponge dipped in warm water. Not too hot as it could cook the leather and cause it to become brittle. Now using the over stitch tool transfer all markings.

 

 

 

4.  On this sheath I decided to tool the center line details rather than just using a simple stitching line. I used the seeder tool and a mallet to "tool" the leather. Keep the leather damp but not soaked as you work. This makes tooling easier as you do not have to strike the leather hard to leave an impression.

 



 



 

5.  Using the over stitch tool add the stitching lines and start sewing!

 

 

 

6.  Sewing is not hard at all (even tho most seem to think it is lol). On this project we will be making a basic running stitch using a leather awl. You already have your guide-lines from the over stitch tool, soo push the needle thru both layers of leather. Grab the sinew or wax coated thread and pull the loose end thru both layers. Holding the loose thread, pull the needle back thru the hole. Now you should have two pieces of leather with a single thread running thru them.

 

 

 

Moving on to the next hole, push the needle thru both layers of leather. Then pull the needle back slightly to leave a small "loop" in the thread.

 

 

 

Slip the loose end of the thread thru the loop. Pull the needle back thru the leather and pull both ends of the thread tight.

 

 

 

Congrats! You've made your first stitch  Now repeat down both sides of the leather sheath, following your over stitch guide. If the leather becomes too tough to push the needle thru, dampen it again with the warm water.  What you end up with should look like this...

 

 

 

I hope this helps anyone wanting to start working with leather. Any questions? Please feel free to ask

 

Kat xx