Spyderco Forums

After months of intermittent working...I'm done! Mostly. There's a couple things I want to touch up. Now I need to figure out how to make a leather sheath...

But here are the scales I made!



It started life as a couple sheets of Carbon Fiber 1x1 and Aluminized Fiberglass 2x2


It was layered 4CF-4FG-4CF-4FG-4CF-4FG


I didn't take any pictures of the layup and cure, but here's an end cut. Lots of void, since I don't have an autoclave...


Cut out and roughed in the outline


Close to tang grind, and then a couple hours contouring and giving it some shape.


And finally several layers of CA and sanding, and then polishing.


Full album here with glamour shots
https://imgur.com/a/8tgonRF

Wow. Inspiring work!

I'd love to try that out. I've done some rough mycarta and quite a lot of wood stabilizing, but that CF looks amazing.

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 17, 2022 7:34 am

Wow. Inspiring work!

I'd love to try that out. I've done some rough mycarta and quite a lot of wood stabilizing, but that CF looks amazing.

Thanks!! I forgot to take a picture (since it's not new to me) but I use a cheap vacuum pump for compressing and curing. What do you use for wood stabilizing?
Here's a couple videos from a year ago
https://youtu.be/7ISNE9WrMAQ
https://youtu.be/N28nr65M4a4

Looking good! Love the color.

-burly

The satisfaction of doing this yourself…priceless

Great job and thanks for showing.

Very nice

Amazing stuff!

Very cool. That purple is great.

I like it!

Hi LoPan,

Welcome to our forum.

Nice work!

sal

Impressive work! Welcome aboard.

I dig it.

Very nice.
You got me thinking about scales for the Mule that's sitting in my desk.

Love it! Great work. You've inspired me. I've made my own micarta and I stabilize my own wood but now you've inspired me to start making my own CF materials. My wife will not be happy with you...just sayin'

Xplorer wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 17, 2022 12:33 pm

Love it! Great work. You've inspired me. I've made my own micarta and I stabilize my own wood but now you've inspired me to start making my own CF materials. My wife will not be happy with you...just sayin'

Lmao! Do you need to get a whole bunch more stuff, or just CF fabrics? I started with cheaper fabrics from ebay (some shipped from china). It wasn't the best, but it worked for getting the hang of things! Now I buy CF from eBay still, but there's a manufacturer in my state who has an ebay store. It works great to get smaller sheets since I'm not making huge blocks or plates!

Fantastic work LoPan!

Nice. Impressive.

Thanks very much for sharing and showing what is possible.

Thanks for the compliments everyone! Now I just gotta figure out the sheath situation. Thinking leather...so I need to do some research on that aspect now!

LoPan12 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 18, 2022 11:42 am

Thanks for the compliments everyone! Now I just gotta figure out the sheath situation. Thinking leather...so I need to do some research on that aspect now!

I'll help you get started on that research. I started making leather sheaths a couple years ago. While Kydex sheaths certainly have their strengths, I really like the look and feel of leather sheaths. If you have questions about the process or the sourcing of tools and materials, let me know. One warning though...you might find it enjoyable and end up with a whole workstation full of leather-specific tools.

My leather sheath making station..nearly everything in the picture is for leather work, including the 2 little drill presses.


You'll need leather, good quality thread, some sharp knives at a minimum. I suggest you decide on a style you want to make first. Decide if you want the handle to rest inside the sheath and if so, how far. Decide whether it will be carried on the hip, horizontal or on a dangler. Then get your first bunch of materials. Tandy Leather is an easy source for a lot of things you may need. Buckleguy.com is a good source for high quality thread. I suggest Tiger Thread.

Here's some different sheath ideas I've done that you might use as food for thought as you decide what style you want to do.







leather is also a very versatile material for attaching kydex sheaths to a belt.




I find leather working to be relaxing, similar to watering the garden or something. It's a slow, quiet and careful process and the results can be quite rewarding. Have fun with it!

CK

LoPan12 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:02 pm

Xplorer wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 17, 2022 12:33 pm

Love it! Great work. You've inspired me. I've made my own micarta and I stabilize my own wood but now you've inspired me to start making my own CF materials. My wife will not be happy with you...just sayin'

Lmao! Do you need to get a whole bunch more stuff, or just CF fabrics? I started with cheaper fabrics from ebay (some shipped from china). It wasn't the best, but it worked for getting the hang of things! Now I buy CF from eBay still, but there's a manufacturer in my state who has an ebay store. It works great to get smaller sheets since I'm not making huge blocks or plates!

Who is the ebay seller you're getting your CF fabric from? I want to order some.