Already the first day, the knifemaker's aunt is cutting leather to make sheaths for nail knives. That's the kind of knife she will be making: a knife from a cut nail.
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These are cut nails from
the knifemaker's shop being made into
knives in the days to come. |
Interesting enough, cut nails have quite
a long history, as Paul Fourshees explains, as a fastener and as items of torture. The Bible even makes references to nails. I thought it was particularly intriguing to know "the holding power of common nails drops by half within two days after being driven." Who knew? In addition, did you know in the 1600s, the Virginia legislature had to pass a law
to keep people from burning down their own houses when moving in order to reclaim the nails -- handmade nails, made one at a time, were so valuable. WHO knew?!
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| 1- Suitcase full of leather scraps. |
Back to the sheaths. Why make the sheaths before the knife? It would seem like putting the cart before the horse. However, nail knives are consistently sized so the sheaths can be made beforehand without sizing worries unlike sheaths for custom knives when no two are alike.
Today, the knifemaker has 3 students in the shop participating in a build-a-knife class. While that is going on, the knifemaker's aunt and the knifemaker's lady friend are in the office cutting sheaths from a suitcase of leather scraps purchased online. WHOA! Take a gander at those colors!
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| 2- The sheath shape drawn on leather scrap. |
Initially, the template is traced onto the scraps. Because leather is a natural product, some of the scraps have flaws. Those areas are avoided. As the pile of templates accumulated, it was time to cut. A couple different types of scissors were used. It seemed that although leather feels soft to the touch, it sure seems to ride rough on the edge of the blades on scissors. Two pairs got tight at the hinge and seemed to not cut as cleanly as when begun. Using no-name blue handled scissors from the office supply drawer worked much better.
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| 3- The leather scraps on the floor. |
There were a lot of scraps on the floor as the pile of sheaths got bigger. After counting and grouping, there were a total of 110. The cutting hand thumb of both women had a crimp at the first knuckle, but a feeling of satisfaction permeated the shop.
Job well done!
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| 4- Sheaths piled up after being cut |
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| 5- The sheaths put into piles - 110 sheaths. |
