Not my best work but...

[JAB]

...it will work.  I like my Ontario RAT 5 pretty well.  I don't like the oversized, behemoth of a tacticool nylon sheath that came with it all that much.  I think that maybe Ontario makes one sheath to go with several, different knives of different lengths.  Along those lines, I decided to try making a leather sheath for it.  Leather work is just one of my hobbies and I just make things for myself or to give to family/friends.  Having not made that many knife sheaths and having not made a sheath or gun holster for a couple of years I realized during this process how many previously learned things I had forgotten.  Also, this is the first time I have really tried adding a welt.  I don't usually need them for the type of pistol holsters I have made and have even made a knife sheath or two that didn't need them (until the last one I made that, as it turns out, did need one - meaning that I sliced the sheath with the knife.)  This is also the first time I have tried adding a ferro rod holder to a leather sheath (I have done them with a couple of kydex sheaths - one that I made for my Mora and one to fit the factory sheath for a Gerber - Bear Grylls paracord handled knife.)  The result of doing these new things for the first time as well as forgetting some of the things I should have known to do (until it was too late) is that this isn't as cosmetically nice as it could have been.  Still, it works great and I like it a whole lot better than the factory sheath.  I do kind of like the pouch on the factory sheath but didn't want the added bulk on this, particular one.  The ferro rod is just a Coughland's rod from Academy.  I put a fatwood handle on it after the factory handle came off.

It has a little retention without the snap strap.  Not a lot - it will fall out if I shake the sheath but will stay in if I just hold it upside down (I use a combination of shoe polish and regular leather dyes on many of mine and that is what is still on my hands in the picture - I had just finished the sheath):

Here it is with the original sheath:

And this one kind of shows how much too big the original is and how much closer in size the one I made is:

 

The funny thing is that, because of the mistakes I made, I think the sheath kind of looks like I have been carrying it for years even though it was still part of a big piece of raw leather a little more than twelve hours before these pictures were taken.  I wish I had not made the mistakes but must admit that I am kind of a fan of the 'worn in' look.  Also, I decided to rivet the snap strap to the sheath instead of sewing it down so that the strap could move around a little and so I can reverse the snap position in case I decide I want to do so.

Edited October 10, 2016 by JAB

[Grand Torino]

Good deal.....so many folks of trying anything new or perhaps a tad out of their comfort zone. You have nice, functional sheath for little money.....and you learned from it. Congratulations.

[res308]

Nice job brother. I would rather have something turn out with the worn in look than have it all sparkly and commercial looking. It looks old school and I like it. But what I'm really digging is that fatwood handle on the ferro rod. Serves as a handle and tinder as well. That just kind of seals the deal there and brings it all together. I'm glad to see more folks reviving the old crafts and keeping the old ways alive.

By the way, can I steal that fatwood idea?

[res308]

Fine knife there too!

[res308]

I meant to ask you about the ferro rod holder. Did you do the fold over and splice into the welt. It looks like you were able to get the dimensions closer than I did. I wound up thinning the leather loop strip out too much and there's a dip in the leather where the loop is. From what I can see, you had a better result. 

[JAB]

23 hours ago, res308 said:

I meant to ask you about the ferro rod holder. Did you do the fold over and splice into the welt. It looks like you were able to get the dimensions closer than I did. I wound up thinning the leather loop strip out too much and there's a dip in the leather where the loop is. From what I can see, you had a better result. 

Permission to steal the fatwood idea?  Well, I did!  It wasn't my original idea.  Lots of folks on YouTube, etc. do that.  Some folks even go so far as to have a pretty nicely carved/sculpted look to theirs but I figure being there is a chance I might take scrapings or slivers off for tinder I didn't see bothering with all that.  Many folks leave them rough, too.  I have also seen some really nice handles made of bone, antler and so on.  I have a large ferro rod/magnesium rod combo with an (elk?) antler handle that someone got me as a gift a few years back.  It looks great and even without using the magnesium that rod throws some super hot sparks that will ignite tinder the Coghlan's one wouldn't dream of lighting but it is too big and bulky to put on a sheath.  The coolest looking ones are when the grips on the knife and the handle on the ferro rod are made from the same material (sometimes even pieces of the same antler, etc.)

For the rod loop I did fold over and splice into the welt but I came up with a different way of doing it.  This actually was an original idea in that I haven't seen it done elsewhere although I would be surprised if someone else hasn't done it.  I was concerned, as I was using the same leather (i.e. same thickness) for the sheath, welt and loop that where the loop went into the welt would be way too thick.  To remedy that I cut a 'tab' out of the center of one edge and cut two 'tabs' off of the outsides of the other edge so that when folded over the tabs lined up leaving enough material to splice into the welt while leaving only one thickness of leather to be spliced in.  It is a little hard to explain so I scribbled out a quick illustration for you:

Edited October 12, 2016 by JAB

[JAB]

Thanks, gentlemen, for the kind words.

[res308]

3 hours ago, JAB said:

Permission to steal the fatwood idea?  Well, I did!  It wasn't my original idea.  Lots of folks on YouTube, etc. do that.  Some folks even go so far as to have a pretty nicely carved/sculpted look to theirs but I figure being there is a chance I might take scrapings or slivers off for tinder I didn't see bothering with all that.  Many folks leave them rough, too.  I have also seen some really nice handles made of bone, antler and so on.  I have a large ferro rod/magnesium rod combo with an (elk?) antler handle that someone got me as a gift a few years back.  It looks great and even without using the magnesium that rod throws some super hot sparks that will ignite tinder the Coghlan's one wouldn't dream of lighting but it is too big and bulky to put on a sheath.  The coolest looking ones are when the grips on the knife and the handle on the ferro rod are made from the same material (sometimes even pieces of the same antler, etc.)

For the rod loop I did fold over and splice into the welt but I came up with a different way of doing it.  This actually was an original idea in that I haven't seen it done elsewhere although I would be surprised if someone else hasn't done it.  I was concerned, as I was using the same leather (i.e. same thickness) for the sheath, welt and loop that where the loop went into the welt would be way too thick.  To remedy that I cut a 'tab' out of the center of one edge and cut two 'tabs' off of the outsides of the other edge so that when folded over the tabs lined up leaving enough material to splice into the welt while leaving only one thickness of leather to be spliced in.  It is a little hard to explain so I scribbled out a quick illustration for you:

Now THAT is some remarkable ingenuity right there. Good thinking. I don't believe that would have ever occurred to me.

[JAB]

20 hours ago, res308 said:

Now THAT is some remarkable ingenuity right there. Good thinking. I don't believe that would have ever occurred to me.

Thanks.  I have another idea for doing a ferro rod holder on a leather sheath that I think might be even easier and look better but I want to try it to see if it works before I talk about it too much.

[gjohnsoniv]

I like your approach to the ferro rod holder, never seen anyone do it like that before.

[sybo]

Very cool , keep us posted!!

[JAB]

Thanks, fellas.