Saber Forum

By special request I am doing a tutorial on how I make leather wraps on my sabers. This will cover my method for making and stitching a wrap around the switch. I am not good with videos so bear with me on the pictures.
Step 1:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/001_zps65bcd8ce.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/001_zps65bcd8ce.jpg.html)
I used a piece of goat skin leather from Tandy. I cut it 2 ½” wide and just under 5” long. The width is up to you but the length  should be pretty close to this though you may need to adjust it depending on the thickness of leather you use. Cut long and trim as needed. I then made my tool for cutting a perfect hole. I used a piece of ½” copper pipe and cut it with a tube cutter (pictured left) to get a perfect cut. I then used a pencil reamer (pictured right) to ream the inside of the pipe to a very sharp edge.
Step 2:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/002_zps7cbac005.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/002_zps7cbac005.jpg.html)
I used the tool I just made and my wooden mallet to punch my hole. Measure where you need it, in this case it is centered, and set the edge you just sharpened on the leather. Then hit it with the mallet until it has gone through the leather all around. I use an old piece of counter top to do my cutting and stamping on. DO NOT  do this on your coffee table as it will leave a nice ½” ring in it.
Step 3:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/003_zps54abea8d.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/003_zps54abea8d.jpg.html)
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/004_zpsb1b1f72f.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/004_zpsb1b1f72f.jpg.html)
Next I punched my stitching holes. I used a four hole punch sold by as a hobby shop to do this. Draw lines on the leather where the holes will be , I went 1/8” from the edge, set your tool so the prongs are on the line, and tap it with your mallet. It does not take a lot of force. The tool punches 4 holes at a time. In order to keep your spacing true, put the first prong in the last hole you just punched so after the first time, you will only punch 3 new holes. In the end you must have the same number of holes on each side and they must line up and be spaced correctly.
Step 4:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/005_zpsfffdec12.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/005_zpsfffdec12.jpg.html)
Do whatever dyeing, stamping, or carving you want to at this point. I just made a few lines on the edge and dyed it russet. Now is the stitching. You need thread, a needle or two, and tape (and of course a saber)
Step 5:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/006_zps7b34fb7d.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/006_zps7b34fb7d.jpg.html)
Pop the leather over the switch. The hole we made in step 2 should be a little smaller than the switch body but that is ok, the leather will stretch and mold itself to the switch guard.
Step 6:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/007_zps4aa8b452.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/007_zps4aa8b452.jpg.html)
Make a loop with the thread. A big loop. Tape the looped end near the emitter, past the edge of the leather. On the other end, tape the short end of the thread to the hilt. Leave the long end free and put the needle on it. Keep an eye on these loops as you stitch because it is easy to pull too tight and pull them out of the tape without noticing.
Step 7:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/008_zps459d84ed.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/008_zps459d84ed.jpg.html)
Pull the edges of the leather together and get ready to stitch. Put the needle through one of the end hole from underneath and pull it topside.
Step 8:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/009_zps5a29adcf.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/009_zps5a29adcf.jpg.html)
Then bring the thread straight across and put the need through the matching hole on the other side going from the top down. As the needle goes through the hole, angle it to the next hole on the other side from underneath.  Look at my low tech drawing for a better idea. The blue parts are on top of the leather, the red parts will be underneath and not seen. You may have to play around to get the hang of it.
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/2b1cc0f9-c5b2-495e-a0bf-d80127938940_zpsd3f8e57c.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/2b1cc0f9-c5b2-495e-a0bf-d80127938940_zpsd3f8e57c.jpg.html)
Step 9:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/012_zps4687ed20.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/012_zps4687ed20.jpg.html)
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/013_zpsd2b84407.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/013_zpsd2b84407.jpg.html)
When you get to the emitter end and you have made your last stitch, pull the thread through to the under side and THEN, go through the loop we made in step 6. Now comes the trick to it all.
Step 10:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/014_zps2172fb93.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/014_zps2172fb93.jpg.html)
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/015_zps6d75d526.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/015_zps6d75d526.jpg.html)
Gently pull on the free end towards the pommel end where we started. This will pull the loop on the other end under the wrap and capture the end of the thread that had the needle on it. Here is another low tech drawing of how the loop looks under the leather.
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/38fb2c51-dd0e-4225-8f38-c110920e83d1_zps8aeb6c8e.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/38fb2c51-dd0e-4225-8f38-c110920e83d1_zps8aeb6c8e.jpg.html)
Step 11:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/016_zps2dab8308.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/016_zps2dab8308.jpg.html)
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/017_zps7245a711.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/017_zps7245a711.jpg.html)
Once you have the loop about centered under the leather (you need to guess as you cannot see it), clip the ends of the thread. NOTE, there is no knot that holds all of this together. It is all held together by the interlocking loops pulled under the wrap. I have never had one of these come undone.
Step 12:
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/018_zpsbab564d2.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/018_zpsbab564d2.jpg.html)
(http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q763/tcvcj3106/019_zps9f56ef07.jpg) (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/tcvcj3106/media/019_zps9f56ef07.jpg.html)
Enjoy and show off your saber. If you have further questions, feel free to ask on the forum or PM me. If you can’t figure it out, send your saber to me along with a six pack and I will do it for you. ;)

Thank you!  for the life of me i could not figure out leather wrapping.  This helps a lot!  Have a point!

Great tutorial! Glad to see someone else who works with leather.

nice tutorial I gotta run down to tandy leather in my neck of the woods now lol

Nice. I might do this to my Liberator V3 when I get it. Dark brown will look good because the blade fill be FO. =] I'll make sure to get pictures up.

Awesome tutorial! I prefer the picture tutorial over video anyway, this is very helpful and very well thought out. Thank you! Point(s) from me!

This gets my vote to be stickied.

Amazingly Done!  Thank you.  I agree, the pics and descriptions actually work better than video. Video tends to leave people a bit flustered when having to stop, rewind, pause, etc. AND do the work.  This is a very simple to follow tutorial and well laid out.

Quick question.  Where did you get the tube cutter and pencil reamer and what do they run?  Any suggestions if you don't have these tools?

Glad everyone likes this. Thanks for the kind words.

As far as the tools, the tube cutter can be found at any hardware store. They run about $15-$50 depending on the brand., Ridgid being the best. You really need this as opposed to a hack saw because you need a good straight, square cut. If you have a steady hand, you might be able use a hack saw or Dremel tool and then file the end to be square.

For the pencil reamer, you might need to go to a pipe or plumbing supply place. They are usually on the counter as an impulse buy item and are a few bucks. The pencil style reamer works best because it really shaves the copper well to get a sharp edge. There is usually a reamer on the back of the tube cutter, too, (it looks like a flat, triangle) that is used for burr removing. It will work, but it can chew up the edge as it does it. In stead of this, you could probably use a small round or half round file to sharped the copper. You are only sharpening the inside but the outside is what makes the nice perfect cut, so however you sharpen the inside, should not matter too much.

Ask around if you know someone that is handy with tools (neighbor, friend, grandpa, etc.), they might have these tools. Anyone who does plumbing work should have a tube cutter at least.

When you make your tool, do a few test cuts first on a scrap of leather to make sure it cuts the way you want it to.

Great step-by-step on this!!

Perhaps a stickied thread is in order here? My vote is yea.

Great tutorial!  I may have to give this a try someday.  I agree with Khaalis, I much prefer pics to video.  It's a lot easier to follow and like he said, the pausing/rewinding/etc. can be a hassle not to mention the camera losing focus.   

I am so pleased so many people are getting something out of this. Please, give it a try and tell us how it works out for you.

One note though, keep in mind that the 1/2" copper pipe cuts a hole that is perfect for the guarded switches. This was just dumb luck that it worked out nicely. If you are going over an AV switch, you may need to modify this procedure a little bit. This tutorial is what worked on my saber and should work on most other sabers, but maybe not all other sabers. However, there should be enough information here for you to go off of and make something that will work for you.

Next time I do one of these I think I am going to do some basket weave stamping on the wrap. Give it kind of a rustic look.  Just another idea of what else you could do with this.

Go nuts and have fun with this!!

Patterns on the wrap would be great.  I will definitely be interested in seeing how that goes. 

My vote is yes too! Awesome tutorial. Well earned point! ;D

I have a Tandy Leather right down the street from me. Time for a visit.

I think I need to ask Tandy Leather for a commission!! :D

Thanks for the points!!

Is goat skin your preference for hilts? Also, do you always dye your own or do have you ever used some of the pre-dyed leather?

I bought some goat skin a while ago to make a wallet for someone. I then started using the leftovers for these wraps. The goat skin lends itself well to this because it is thin enough to flex and wrap, but not as thin as something like calf skin which is like paper. The goat skin seems to be just right. I suppose other stuff will work, it is just that I had a big piece of this stuff laying around and it works better than the cow hide pieces I have for making belt pouches, which are a little too thick. Goat skin also has a real nice natural texture to it so it has some character without having to do any stamping or tooling, but it will accept stamping if you want to add more detail.

Someome on another theard suggested taking an old purse or leather vest (like from a thrift store) and cutting it up. That would probably work well, too, since it will be a good thickness to work with. This might be good way to get some exotic leather like gater skin for a resonable price. Reptile skin would probably look nice on a Sith saber. You could say it came from some foul best you have slain.

As far as the dye, I do dye my own pieces. I use Fiedbings leather dye. You can find that at Tandy or any shoe repair place. It comes in just about any color you could want, not just browns and black. I use neutral shoe polish as my final treatment. It will even out the color a little bit and protect the leather. The polish you can find almost anywhere, like Wallmart or Walgreens. I am not fond of the pre dyed stuff. I think it looks kind of fake. The little bit of blotchiness in the hand done dye job looks better, in my opinion. Also, the hand done dying will naturally weather itself in time where as the pre dyed stuff tends to look brand new forever. I like my leather to look wore.

This looks amazing!! very nice job!

Awsom job. I was wondering how to do this and was consitering doing this on well any saber that i get. It realy adds a nice touch

Very nice leather wrap!

I always love leather wrapped sabers like this. I did the same with my Bellicose back two years ago with alligator leather. (The part around the red button has been replaced with a suede wrapped since then though.)

(http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzmif2FFBy1r4avvmo1_1280.jpg)

In all honesty i prefer the pictures because I could go at my own pace and gather the necessary materials without having to constantly pause a video

Now you need to do a tutorial on leather dying  ;)

Nice tutorial, just what you need without a lot of needless chatter.

Point for you

I'm thinking about using (http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5800/gh06ofwb/products/383/images/1636/Gold_Hologram__67691.1409438455.1280.1280.jpg?c=2) on my non windowed SENTINEL LE V4  that I got as a free grab bag with the last deal. I think the gold would go nicely with the gold anodizing of the LE.


(http://cdn3.volusion.com/xhep6.dfu5e/v/vspfiles/photos/Stunt-SentinelLEv4-2.jpg?1416440974)

 I'm curious how well it would form to the saber if i were to wrap from one recess across the button area to the other recess. I'm guessing that it will depend on how flexible the pelt is.

I've never used that stitch. I'm gonna give it a shot. Thanks!

Great thread, the pictures worked so much better than a video (IMHO)
just used this to wrap a dark initiats hilt with Kangaroo leather :)

Thanks for the tutorial. I used it to leather wrap my Manticore and i added some copper banding to finish off the edges. For the leather i picked up a bag of remnants from the craft store.

(http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag38/bmcmahon79/IMAG00030_zpsh8orbyc4.jpg) (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/bmcmahon79/media/IMAG00030_zpsh8orbyc4.jpg.html)

+1 for high tech drawings

I found this very useful and informative, I just want to bump it up in the list for other people who may also find this helpful.

6-Pack of what? lol

Finally! yay!

Awesome tutorial!  I can't wait to try this out!

Point!

Awesome tutorial brother! Thank you so much for sharing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I followed your steps, and the results were perfect!

(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/924/oHmB6F.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pooHmB6Fj)

(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/923/IGdQps.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pnIGdQpsj)

Thanks for the tutorial, I'll definitely do this again!

Nice step by step instructions and detailed directions on how to install a leather rap came out awesome good job