Updating my knife sheath

Modern Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Modern Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

exMember

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
15,449
Reaction score
581
I originally used steel rivits and over the years and kept coming off. I found these brass tacks on crazy crow site and ordered a few hundred. A pain in the butt to do, but in the end, I really am happy with the brass tacks on the dark leather. Excuse the poor pic.
20190413.jpg
 
Are your tacks with the steel shank?  The steel shank will prevent damage to the leather stitching just like what the Native Americans did. Before tack brass wire was used to thread the sheathes. 

A little history on this type of (nail) tack.
The original brass tacks had brass shank nails all formed as a single unit, these appeared in North America as early as the colonies found on trucks, harness leather and considered prized items.
Then the steel shank appeared as the name implies, wire nails are formed from wire. Usually coils of wire are drawn through a series of dies to reach a specific diameter, then cut into short rods that are then formed into nails. The nail tip is usually cut by a blade; the head is formed by reshaping the other end of the rod under high pressure. Other dies are used to cut grooves and ridges. Wire nails with copper or brass caps were also known as "French nails" for their country of origin.  Belgian capped wire nails began to compete in England in 1863.  Joseph Henry Nettleford was making wire nails at Smethwick by 1875. Over the following decades, the nail-making process with different caps were almost completely automated. Eventually the industry had machines capable of quickly producing huge numbers of inexpensive nails with little or no human intervention.
 
Nope, these have 2 narrow brass shanks that you bend afterward to hold them in place. Love them, but man they are a pain in the butt.
 
FrontierGander said:
I originally used steel rivits and over the years and kept coming off. I found these brass tacks on crazy crow site and ordered a few hundred. A pain in the butt to do, but in the end, I really am happy with the brass tacks on the dark leather. Excuse the poor pic.
20190413.jpg
Frontier Gander
Yup.... they're called "Split Rivets" Been using them since the 70's. I buy the 7/16" and 3/8" long rivets. I get them by the hundreds too. I used to buy them from Hawkes Leather out of Alaska but they went out of business. You can find a bunch of listings for them on eBay. You can get them in Chrome from Tru Value Hardware. I see that someone on eBay has a bunch of solid Copper ones for sale. Just trying to help?
Stoney
 
I'm not sure, Stoney would have to confirm, but I may have the type rivets you're displaying on my "Two Feathers" sheath.


bwPvvi.jpg

CvDlqS.jpg
 
Smokin' Joe said:
I'm not sure, Stoney would have to confirm, but I may have the type rivets you're displaying on my "Two Feathers" sheath.


bwPvvi.jpg

CvDlqS.jpg
Hi Joe
Actually those aren't rivets, They look just like them but  they're metal "spots" I buy hundreds of them from a friend who owns steckstore.com out of Indianapolis Indiana. https://www.stecksstore.com/round-spots-antique-nickel-3-8-100-1330-08/
These have 2 prongs on the back that you drive through the leather, then bend over. Frontier Gander and I have discussed this before. These are MUCH easier to use based on what Frontier Gander has said about his.
I hope I haven't disappointed you?
God bless:
Stoney
 
I originally used steel rivits and over the years and kept coming off. I found these brass tacks on crazy crow site and ordered a few hundred. A pain in the butt to do, but in the end, I really am happy with the brass tacks on the dark leather. Excuse the poor pic.
20190413.jpg
Chicago screws work great
 
.
Had a good weekend searching the junk and antique shops in the area. I'm usally looking for small antique bottles (used for cleaning solvents for the "kits" we sell), old harness leather and antiques brass hardware (brass tacks). We use these items on knife sheaths, belts, and other things for our primitive equipage sales.

brass tacks.jpg
Example of what I'm looking for.




time.moves.jpg
 
I use chicago screws. Nothing to bend over and get in the way. Smooth front and back. Many styles to choose from.
 
yup those are "spots" there is an anvil to make putting them easy, it is a steel dish use a punch with a dome divot in the end and set the leather over the anvil tap in with the punch and the prongs on the back are bent into place
 
.
Had a good weekend searching the junk and antique shops in the area. I'm usally looking for small antique bottles (used for cleaning solvents for the "kits" we sell), old harness leather and antiques brass hardware (brass tacks). We use these items on knife sheaths, belts, and other things for our primitive equipage sales.

View attachment 1854
Example of what I'm looking for.




View attachment 1855
Yes, me and my boys love swap meets and auctions. One of the best auctions is J&J auctions out of Roy NM. Those old rural towns have some real treasures.
 
.
I hear you Stan, when still in business those farm sales would always have neat stuff we could get cheap for resale.



time.moves.jpg
 
Back
Top