Leather Sheath = Rusty Knife

[TRiggs]

I make my knives from 5160, 1095 or CruForgeV the problem I'm having is the leather sheaths make them rust and it can happen just over night. What can be done to the sheath to stop this from happening ? I thought of oiling the inside but that will soak through and discolor the leather, any thought, ideas or know how would very welcome.

[Handforged]

I make my knives from 5160, 1095 or CruForgeV the problem I'm having is the leather sheaths make them rust and it can happen just over night. What can be done to the sheath to stop this from happening ? I thought of oiling the inside but that will soak through and discolor the leather, any thought, ideas or know how would very welcome.

here are a couple of things... First, leather retains moisture. In order to control the moisture you'll need to soak the sheath in alcohol (good ol rubbing alcohol) and this will dry it out completely and remove the moisture. I mold my sheaths with alcohol and not water, as the leather will retain the water for a long time... Leading to rust.  Saying that here is what I do, when I make a sheath I take into account that neatsfoot oil will discolor the sheath slightly...soak it and let it dry. If applied correctly this will only add a small amount of color. I actually have dye in my oil to add color to my sheaths.

Second, coat your blades in oil, wax or whatever you'd like to preserve them. I use birchwood casey "Barricade". It is a silicone gun protectant oil. Squirt it on, wipe it off.  The fact of the matter is that high carbon steel is going it rust if exposed to moisture. You do what you can do to prevent it. A forged black, acid etch or high polished finish will repel a certain amount of rust but it will all rust eventually.

 There is a product called "blade wax" that while sort of like cosmoline and sticky goopy, does work in protecting a blade from rust.
I make leather sheaths for every knife I build, I refuse to use kydex. I have no issue with rust. I am assuming you are using water to case the leather for tooling or molding to fit. This is why and where the leather is holding moisture. Case with water, build your sheath and soak in alcohol to mold or shape it. It will be bone dry in minutes.

[TRiggs]

Thank you for the quick response I don't make my sheaths I have been getting them from the big auction site, the last thing I need is another hobby but I like your idea on using alcohol and a silicone based lubricant I'm going to give that a try and see if I can't dry them out with the alcohol then lube the blade as you suggested.

[Mr. Woolery]

A lot of leather still has tannic acid in it, too, I believe. By soaking it for a couple of hours, then changing the water to fresh water (notice the discoloration of the first soak), you get a lot of that out of the leather. A small amount of moisture with tannins is a whole lot worse than just the water alone. And the water is not a good thing to have in the sheath, as Handforged said.

I like to wax the inside of my sheaths, too. Johnson’s Paste Wax does the job, though it takes some time for the smell to dissipate.

If you are buying commercial sheaths, try a soak, then dry it really well. Then wrap a rag on a flat stick like a tongue depressor and get as much wax inside it as you can. Gentle heat with a hair dryer to melt the wax into the leather and about three days of sitting in the open air and you should see an improvement. That said, it is a lot of work, I know. Consider the first a test.

Patrick