New Product Survey - Leather Saya

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Marko Tsourkan

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The idea is not new - Devin has produced a few of these when he started his ITK line.

The cost of it will be considerably less than of a wooden saya, as the production process is a bit simpler, plus, a knife will not be required for fitting (an outline will suffice).

A leather saya could fit nicely in a line of leather products I am considering to produce, particularly leather knife rolls.

Is there an interest?

Thanks,

M
 
I have a couple of leather sheaths/sayas that Pierre made, and they are a very good alternative to a wooden saya for transportation. Sounds like a good addition to your other offerings, Marko.
 
I've had some good ones and some crummy ones. Still prefer a wooden saya, but I haven't had any great leather ones. I know there are better ones out there, or better designs, I just haven't used one yet that I prefer to wood.
 
Wood sayas are labor intensive if you make the way I make them - you have to cut/resaw/flatten the wood, carve the cavity, glue it, shape it to the knife's profile and geometry (my sayas have distal tapers and are convex shaped), finish it to a high grit and coat with finishing oil, TruOil or lacquer. These are my personal preference, and there is no way to simplify the process by much. Also, each knife has to be fitted individually for an exact fit, so that adds to the total cost.

A well designed leather saya with a tight fit and a lock system to keep a knife in place could be a good alternative to a wooden saya for folks who transport their knives occasionally.

I will be aiming to produce them at about 30% less than the cost of a poplar saya (before shipping the knife in), and those for factory-made probably even cheaper as those could be made in batches.

M
 
if it gently protects the knife, I'd be interested in a few nice leather sayas.
 
I'm stubborn & old school! I'm still thinking wooden saya fit best with wa gyuto & Leather Sheath fit better with western chef knife! my:2cents: I'm much prefer wooden saya/wa- handle!!
 
I certainly enjoy leather sayas. But, initially I was attracted to your woodworking handles and sayas. So, it was your amazing sayas that initially got me interested in your work, in all honesty any orders coming from you, I would imagine I would be pairing with a nice wooden saya.

But, as I really like leather sheaths, I would have to see what you make before I have an opinion. I enjoy my leather sheaths, I would be curious to see how you make them, I kind of just threw mine together. They are saddle stitched and the funayuki has a welt, but the other two don't really need it. I made a sheath for a 210 gengetsu for a friend, first time we tried without a welt, it didn't go so well, cut the stitching right out, second shot went better, but the fit was a bit worse.

Pierre makes a really nice sheath, I have one on a filet that fits really well. I think it depends on the knife. Here are some shots of the ones I made for my Carters if you don't mind me posting some shots on your forum. I would say they keep the knives safer than a saya, there is absolutely no movement. As long as you dry them really well before putting them away, I can see the moisture getting locked in there and giving carbons a tough time. Yours will look much nicer I'm assuming, I'm not much of a craftsmen.

carters 001.jpgcarters 010.jpgcarters 018.jpgcarters 027.jpg
 
It's not one or the other, it's Both! :D
Wooden sayas are here to stay, but I recognize that for some folks they might be too expensive, so leather sayas is a less expensive alternative. There will be something for everybody.

I don't make things that aesthetically are not pleasing and functionally not sound (well designed), regardless how practical purpose they serve, so am pretty sure that once you see it, you guys might like it. :).

M

PS: Adam, good timing. I am working on your wooden saya right now.
 
I was hinting at totally ripping off your ideas once you have done all your usual research on the forum :rofl2:. In all honesty though, I have enjoyed making the leather ones in my spare time. I needed something for a few knives, it certainly does the job better than edge guards, and they look a lot better as well. Even my amateur ones, they are very sturdy.
 
Sure, copy as much as you want, you would still do same work I do. :D
 
I like the look of leather sayas. I plan on convincing my girlfriend to do one or two for me (she has already made me two hand stitched knife rolls (1 was stolen)). They can look very nice, there was a western handled fowler in the classifieds with a saya that comes to mind as one of the nicest I've seen if you're looking for design ideas.
 
These will be made of 8-9oz leather, so they will be stiff and thick (like wood sayas), and with a lock to keep the knife in place, so rest assured about the protection. Nice leather finish and contrast stitching will be the icing on the cake.
 
I like the leather ones. I would prefer them to wood sayas for most knives I might take with me to someone else's house.
 
Great, now I have to learn to do leather-working.... :D

In all honesty, I am kidding, and there's zero "rivalry" between Marko and I. He's been insanely helpful with everything I ask.
 
I'm interested. Love the wooded sayas, but they pretty bulky when you have a bunch of them side by side in a roll/bag. Leather would be lower profile. And cool looking:D
 
I'm interested. Love the wooded sayas, but they pretty bulky when you have a bunch of them side by side in a roll/bag. Leather would be lower profile. And cool looking:D

Thickness-wise leather sayas will be slightly thinner, around 10mm, while my wooden sayas are about 12-13mm. There will be a strap on the leather saya to keep the knife secured.
 
I'm interested. Love the wooded sayas, but they pretty bulky when you have a bunch of them side by side in a roll/bag. Leather would be lower profile. And cool looking:D

A leather sheath also has the advantage that it won't crack if the roll is accidentally compressed, as has happened to a couple of mine.
 
A leather sheath also has the advantage that it won't crack if the roll is accidentally compressed, as has happened to a couple of mine.

Yikes! Haven't encountered that yet. Although I do sometimes worry about shifting and my edges rubbing against the sayas. Not all sayas are made as well as Marko's after all(in fact few are in my experience).
 
I'm interested in all of your work...but cant seem to get your shopping cart to work or a response from you. Shame really.
 
Hey Folks, need some more of your attention.

I have done some research and I think I would like to go ahead with the leatherworking project: sayas and soon thereafter - knife and accessories rolls. The cost of buying tools/machinery is quite high, so I would like to get a better idea how much demand is there.

The cost of saya will be $.27 for basic and up to $1/mm for an upgraded version, depending on a level of difficulty and time involvement. For example, custom inlays, pressed work, custom colors will put the cost in the upper range. Also, cleaver sayas will be priced differently (Price TBD). Orders over $70 will ship for free.

The way it would work is the following. Once you place an order, I will send you some template material on which to outline your knife profile. Once I get the outlines back from you, I will make templates to which the sayas will be fitted. If you prefer to send in your knives for fitting, that would be fine.

Essentially, these will be custom sayas. I will make them available in three basic colors - dark brown, black and cognac and would also do custom colors upon request. There will be a contrast stitching (unless requested differently) and a strap with a snap to keep the knife in place. The quality of workmanship is to exceed expectations.

Please fill out the form below and indicate price range and quantity you would be interested. I have some upcoming equipment purchases for my shop unrelated to leatherworking, so I have to tread lightly taking on a new project/cost.

As always, Thank You!

http://www.tsourkanknives.com/index.php/surveys/leather-saya-survey-order
 

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