Machete is a handy and essential tool for people interested in gardening and adventurous/camping kind of lives because it can be used for many reasons.
Machete is a handy traditional tool, and it is a hazardous tool for the user and its surroundings. That is why it is best to take safety measures and precautions while using it and keeping it safe in a sheath.
Why is a sheath important for the machete owners?
First of all, a machete has a long sharp blade which is pretty dangerous if it is not handled correctly.
Second of all, it is pretty impossible to carry around such a big sharp blade in your bare hands. These are the core reasons as to why you should have a sheath? Whether you buy one or create one with your creative skills, it entirely depends on your approach, whichever you follow.
Other reasons for owning a sheath could be:
- It protects the machete from rust or damage and helps maintain its durability and quality.
- A machete is kept safe in a sheath, and it keeps the machete sharp for a long time.
- Carrying around a machete over long distances is easy with it.
- Not only will it keep a machete safe, but its owner safe as well from the sharp edges of a machete.
As the saying goes, ‘It is always better to be safe than sorry. Keeping a machete in the sheath is an excellent idea, especially when you are not using it and have some cute little dwarfs running around in the house.
Questions you might have in mind about: how to make a sheath?
Now that you know the importance of keeping a machete safe in a sheath, it is time to answer the following questions like
- Where could you buy a good quality sheath?
- How can you make a sheath with a few simple steps?
- What is the DIY way to make a sheath quickly?
- What materials are ideal for making a sheath?
- How to make a sheath for a beginner?
- What supplies are needed to make a machete sheath?
1). Where could you buy a good quality sheath?
Chances are when you buy a machete, and you get a sheath along with it. Sometimes the sheaths are of good quality, and sometimes they are plain wrong. It could either be bad quality or bad design.
You can create your sheath for your machete if you have some crafting skills. There are also situations where you have a customized machete and sheath.
2). How can you Make a Leather Sheath with a few simple steps?
Leather is used widely among the other materials for crafting a sheath. The reason is that it is easy to craft, even for beginners and rookies as well.
Usually, machetes come with a sheath (leather or nylon), but you might not get one if you buy a second-hand or cheap one. Before you work your crafting magic, these are the supplies you will be needing.
For crafting a leather sheath, you will need the following supplies:
- Pencil
- Paper
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Leather (8- to 9-oz thickness)
- Cutter
- 1/8-inch hole punch
- Rivets
- Contact cement (recommended/or your choice of glue)
- Rivet set tool
- Hammer
Step 01
You need a pencil, paper, and ruler first for this very step. Before you start designing, you need to keep in mind that your sheath should be able to hold the whole blade of the machete securely.
Lay down your machete on the piece of paper and trace all parts of the machete, including its blade and handle, very precisely with a quarter-inch of space in between. It would help if you gave reasonable spaces all around the blade. Later on, this will help you put in and take out a machete from a sheath with ease.
Step 02
Implement your paper drawing on the piece of leather with 8 to 9 oz thickness as accurately as possible. Trace your drawing on leather will be easy with the help of any pointy thing; even a pencil works best on it.
The only thing you need to be extra careful with is not displacing the paper on the leather. Otherwise, your accuracy will be compromised, and the results will not be satisfactory.
Step 03
For this step, you need to be extra cautious because you will cut the outlines marked on the leather with the help of a cutter. We recommend you wear thick gloves before you get on with the cutting procedure for extra protection.
You have to make a sheath front and back panel using the same drawing. Suppose you decide to have a belt sheath. Then you can cut out a slim long rectangular piece of leather.
Step 04
It is time to assemble your leather cuttings into a machete sheath. You will need contact cement or any other glue of your preference to glue them together, but we recommend this one because it’s perfect.
Glue the two ends of the rectangular piece of sheath belt together. Leave the pieces alone for at least 13 to 15 minutes for the glue to work its magic.
But if you are more into a traditional look and want your sheath to look real, you can also go for sewing. You can put your sheath together with the help of a needle and thread as an alternative method as well.
Step 05
After the glue is dried up, you can make holes for adding the belt. Make two holes with the help of a puncher on the corner of the sheath where the machete handle will be.
Then place rivets through the whole and position your rivet set tool. Set the rivet with the help of hammering. Then add in your belt of the sheath.
Step 06
This step is the finishing touches. You can trim down the edges and some paint according to your liking. Rub some good-quality wax to finalize your finishing touches.
“You will have a brand new, good quality sheath for your machete to carry around easily.”
If you are a master at crafting and leather is not your kind of material, you can look out for other materials. These steps can be used for those materials, but obviously, your tools and some steps will be improvised due to the changing nature of the material.
3). What is the DIY way of making a sheath quickly?
It is the quickest and shortest DIY way of making a machete sheath, not to mention the cheapest way as well. But initially, it won’t have as much durability as the other materials.
All you need is:
- A duct tape
- A cardboard piece
- Pencil
- A ruler
- A cutter
Step 01:
Place your machete on the piece of cardboard. Trace it with the help of a pencil and add a 1/2 inch spacing after tracing the machete.
Step 02:
Cut the cardboard piece according to your drawing. You will have to make a front and back panel.
Step 03:
Now use duct tape to assemble the pieces. Cover the whole front and back with the help of duct tape.
There you have a new sheath for your machete. But frankly, this DIY way of making a sheath is more of an emergency where you don’t have supplies, and you have to protect yourself and carry around a machete with you.
4). What materials are ideal for making a machete sheath?
There are many ways you can create your customized sheath by playing with different materials you find yourself comfortable with. You can create a machete sheath with:
- Leather
- PVC
- Wood
- Kydex
The most famous and easy to use material among these is leather. But you can try other materials based on your knowledge and experience of crafting.
Conclusion
We have tried our best to provide you with the most straightforward instructions on making a machete sheath. These steps are easy to understand, even for a beginner who doesn’t have any experience in crafting whatsoever.
As mentioned above, there are other materials besides leather-like wood, PVC, and Kydex that you can use to make a sheath. You can utilize these steps as well, but there will be a few changes because of the medium of the materials, so we suggest you explore more if you are willing to go for other materials.
Making a sheath or buying one will ensure the safety of you and your machete. Not only that but carrying around a machete will be more accessible, and a sheath will help keep it rust-free and increase its durability life.
Let us know how your crafted sheath turned out with the help of these simple steps. Or any other tip which we could add in this article for more effective results.
Hi,
I’m Scarlett!
And I’m the editor here at TheMacheteGuide.com
I’m passionate about getting the most from your machetes and empowering you with the knowledge you need to clean machetes most efficiently and safely possible.
I will review all types of machetes which you can use for different purposes.