Hot Dip Application ---

Heat between 2 and 8 bars of SheathCoat ™ in a container that will allow the waxes to reach a temperature between 225-250 degrees f. and allow complete immersion of the sheath. Bend a sturdy coat hanger so that it will fit snugly into the sheath. It must be able to hold the weight of the sheath and the waxes that temporarily fill the sheath during dipping. Dip the sheath slowly into the hot liquid. Dip approximately 10-20 seconds. If you begin to see yellow bubbles, pour out excess liquid from the sheath and remove immediately. Be careful, the liquid is hot and can burn. Insert the knife ..(pre-wrapped in tin foil to protect the knife).. into your sheath and use a smooth blunt instrument to press the hot leather to the shape of the knife in the handle area. This assumes you are preparing a pouch sheath. Otherwise, this step is not necessary. Place the sheath in the icebox and allow it to cool completely. BE CAREFUL...Hot waxes can and will burn if they come in contact with eyes or skin. Remove the sheath and knife from the icebox when the sheath has completely cooled.  The knife may be removed at this point and the sheath will retain the handle shape so that you will always have a glove fit for your trusted blade.

A word about soak temperature and soak time.  I find that the range of 225 to 250 degrees f. and soak time of 10 to 20 seconds are the optimal ranges of use.  A temperature of 225 degrees f. allows a soak time of 20 sec. and 250 degrees f. allows soak time of 10 sec.  These are the rules of thumb that I use.  Over the years, I have tried temperatures up to 300 degrees f.  However, temperatures in this range tend to cook the leather even with short soak time.  You know you are cooking the leather when you see yellow bubbles coming from the sheath.  Temperatures much below 200 degrees f. and the waxes and oils do not soak well into the leather.  You know this is the case when you remove the sheath from the hot dip and the excess waxes and oils just cake up on the surface and do not soak into the leather.  You have two choices at this point.  The first is to raise the temperature of your dip solution and then resoak the sheath.  The second is to put the sheath in the microwave for 10 seconds on high.  This will allow the sheath to soak up as much of the excess as it needs. 

   WARNING... do not use the microwave method if the sheath has any metal as part of the construction (like rivets or snaps). The metal will damage the microwave oven. Snaps and rivets must be added after the SheathCoat TM treatment.  If you use the suggested ranges of temperature and soak time, you achieve the best results.  

NOTE: It is a good idea to prepare small pieces of leather ( 1" by 2" strips with hole for dipping rod) to test different temperature and time combinations until you are satisfied with the combination that works for you. 

Wrap the sheath completely and tightly with the gauze wrap impregnated with SheathCoat ™. Place in the microwave oven for 30 seconds. Generally this will be enough time to complete the operation.  After the wrap cools enough to handle, unwrap the sheath and insert the knife and follow the instructions in the hot dip method above for forming the sheath to the knife handle. ...WARNING... do not use this method if the sheath has any metal as part of the construction (like rivets or snaps). The metal will damage the microwave ovenSnaps and rivets must be added after the Sheath Coat ™ treatment.

Tips and Tricks ---