Do It Yourself DIR Knife and Sheath

[GearHead]

I finally finished my DIY DIR knife and sheath and wanted to share the results. Thanks go out to Dave Dalton for his great instructions. Subsequent to reading those, I also PM'd him, and he recommended making the front of the sheath a bit shorter, which I did.

The toughest part was finding the right Cobbler to do the stitching for me. I ended up talking to an assistant at one shop and giving him detailed instructions and pictures on how to do it. Little did I know, he relayed the instructions to the actual stitcher, and as you can guess, things went a bit pear-shaped. :bonk: He stitched the whole thing together, not leaving any kind of opening for the knife.
Well, I was able to talk to him directly and show him exactly what I was looking for, and he took care of it for me, but it cost me a couple of extra bucks because he apparently broke two needles on the job.

Regarding the knife, I went with a Victorinox stainless serrated that I bought from Seattle Marine. I had no trouble snapping the tip off and grinding it smooth.

All told, the project came in at under $20 which is about what I planned on spending.

Thanks again Dave.

Here are a couple of pics:

 

[GearHead]

Picture #2

 

[dmdalton]

Nice Job. Glad you found the instructions helpful. I just had another sheath sewn up again myself this last weekend. These are the best deal in diving!

Dave D

 

[GearHead]

For the record, my current knife doesn't have the "Betty Crocker DIR" seal of approval, but it does cut through harness-webbing (and probably most other stuff) like butter!

 

[dmdalton]

No "Betty Crocker DIR" seal? Oh My Gosh, he's a STROKE!

Just kidding. The Victorinox stainless is no doubt a much better knife. Only problem in this area is that on some of the molded handle knives, the blade only goes back into the handle about 1/2" and can become loose. I'd be willing to bet yours goes all the way back.

Dave D

 

[GearHead]

:lol: Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt, Dave. :lol: Yeah, the blade does go all the way back on the Victorinox. And it better, because the thick handled steak knives (i.e. most of 'em) fit so tight in the sheath that they would be too tough to get out. But this molded-handle one is juuust right. When I replace this sheath in like 8 years, I think I might find a new cobbler.

 

[dmdalton]

I'll have to look for one of those knives. Definately better than the grocery store model I used!

Dave D

 

[Uncle Pug]

dmdalton once bubbled...
just had another sheath sewn up again myself this last weekend.

Ima gettin' a little disappointed here Dave.... I figgered you would sew the thing by hand yourself... like I did... with a stitching awl

 

[dmdalton]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

Ima gettin' a little disappointed here Dave.... I figgered you would sew the thing by hand yourself... like I did... with a stitching awl

UP, yep, I've got a "Sewing Awl Kit #121600" which I used to use to make my own holsters "back in the day" when I was packing heat for a living. Still use it now but only for the prototype. Once I know what I want then I "do-it right" with the appropriate tool! Just can't justify that industrial sewing machine!

Dave D

PS - I'll try not to disapoint you so badly in the future.

 

[Uncle Pug]

dmdalton once bubbled...
I'll try not to disapoint you so badly in the future.

You didn't really disappoint me Dave... I was just too cheap to have it stitched for me.

BTW.... Gearhead... when we going diving?