Waxed sheath

Gentlemen,Is it possible to return a Randall sheath back to the shop for the "wax impregnation" process?
Specifically a brown Model 28 sheath.
Thanks, Gordon

The leather is treated after the sheath is crafted. You can do some home treatment that is almost as good as a real waxed sheath against rain and snow.

Sent Gordon a PM earlier to say the same thing.

Gordon, I am not sure what the RMK Shop offers. I do know I have sent RMK no hone sheaths to Sullivan’s for waxing. As long as your sheath is not black they can wax them, at least they use to. You might reach out to Sullivan’s Leather Shop. attached pics of the 2 waxed sheaths Danny did for me.

Thanks for the replies,I,m going to be down for awhile following my shoulder surgery next month and during my recovery I may try to do my own version of a waxing process.
I will let you guys know how it turns out,it should be fun to try this.
Thanks again, Gordon

If you decide not to try your waxing process, I can do it , cost is $10 per sheath plus shipping.
Stikman

Do you re-stamp "W"?

Eric is correcti on black sheaths.

A sheath can be waxed or black but not both.

I can re-stamp depending on where the original stamp is located.

Danny,
Are the sheaths not always waxed "after" they're completed? I thought I saw, somewhere in this thread, talk of waxed, "prior" to assembly?
Best, Capt. Chris
PS: I'm shooting to get down to you in the next couple of days...CCS

The sheaths are waxed after completion, assembly would be difficult because the glue we use does not work very well on waxed leather.

That's what I thought, just wanted to set the record straight for our forum members.
Thanks, Capt. Chris

Sorry for that bad call, you guys do an amazing job cleaning them after, not much trace around the stitches or buttons not to mention inside.

Good info. I dipped two of my sheaths in melted beeswax. Came out nice.

Pics?

Steel6, Could you give a description of how you dipped your sheaths?
Maybe step by step instructions?
Respectfully, Gordon

Sorry for the delay. Busy week. I use a crock pot to melt down a block of beeswax. I get the wax from my local beekeeper buddy. Dip the bare sheath (no stone or paracord) into the pot. Use some tongs to move the sheath around and let the wax soak in. Lift the sheath out and pour off any liquid wax. Once it is cooled off and hardened I clean the snaps with a toothpick along with buffing off any excess wax.

The sheaths for the model 5s are dipped in beeswax. The sheath for the model 3 is not waxed.

I uploaded your pic Jim. Nice work on the wax process.

I do basically the same , but my wax is 50% beeswax and 50% paraffin , but I let them soak for a couple minutes , then clean them with a soft cloth , getting all the wax from the stitches and snaps , and making sure there is no wax left on the inside.

That was my question. How do you keep or remove the wax from the inside of the sheath?

Dennis

Getting the wax out of the inside is the tricky part for me. I’m going to try the 50/50 mix next. Just to see the difference. I do like the waxed finish.

Thank you. I was having so challenges resizing and uploading the pictures.

Jim,

Guess if I had a few sheaths to wax the croc pot sounds like a good idea. I've only done a few one at a time. Snowproof beeswax worked well for me by spreading heavy layers and melting with an external heat source. It's amazing to watch the leather just soak up the wax as it gets hot enough to liquefy.
I started with boots early on an only did a few sheaths but the process works great.
Thank you for the post.

My son and I tried a double boiler set up in my kitchen, bad idea. I was scraping wax drippings for a few days. My buddy and I decided to get the crock pot and set it up at the meeting room of our rod and gun club. We dipped knife and axe sheaths, belt pouches, and anything else leather to try it out. Once we were done, cool it down and store it away. No mess to clean up.

Yeah, I get it, sort of a little production run. I'd sign up for that too.

Crock pot liners might work well. Just a thought.

Dennis

I’m okay with a dedicated crock pot. Spare vessel is an option too.

I’ve tried the heat gun, rubbing the wax into the hot leather. Dipping is much better.

I use a bamboo chop stick to clean up the inside of the sheath after dipping.

If you let them soak and the whole sheath gets hot enough the wax will pour out from the inside , I then shake it so that the wax comes out and wipe the excess from the opening.I have a restaurant warmer that I use , and I get the wax to about 180* before dipping .

Do you want the inside of the sheath to also be waxed or only the outside? If you only want to wax the outside, it seems like you could stuff some paper or whatever inside the sheath before you soak it to keep the wax from getting inside.

I want it waxed inside and out. I live a half mile from the ocean. All the water in the area is brackish. Between falling, jumping, or wading into the water while fish and boating, sealing out the salt water is key. When I get caught out in the rain while hunting and camping and get soaked thoroughly, I don’t go into panic mode. Guns and knives get dried off first.

If I only wanted to wax the outside only, external heat and rub it in like doing boots and gloves.

I take my 19 saltwater fishing all the time.
I hose the sheath & knife down with fresh water, dry the knife & outside of the sheath down, put sheath in sun for 15-20 minutes & i'm good.

Rain and snow is what I will be dealing with.
Getting soaked with rain is most likely.
Of course I will dry my Rifle and knife every night(in that order) But it will be nice not to be overly concerned when I get caught out in bad weather.

Gordon

Makes sense. Thanks for the response.

Unless you were diving, how wet would you say you could get a sheath completely saturated? I suppose completely exposed on your belt in bad weather?
In cold climates it's probably under a jacket. Waxed helping anything?

Salt water exposure makes perfect sense to me.

Warren
Many years ago I fell in open water in the winter. I had a non RMK knife and
“home done” waxed sheath on. I and everything I had on was soaked.
When we got home, we slowly dried the sheath, no direct heat, re waxed it and nary a problem.
Now it was not in the water long, but I was soaked to the skin.

"Fell in open water"
Love to hear about that story friend.
I think the bottom line discussion should be leather completely soaked or occasionally wet.
I've been wearing leather soled dress shoes for years. None have had wax treatments and all survived.
Bring on the argument as a civil discussion.

I worked as a forester for the Forest Service adjacent to Yellowstone Park for 3 years and the Idaho Department of Lands for 5 years, spending 90% of my time in the field, wet or dry. I always wore a pair of leather White's boots, made in Spokane,WA. Tried many different brands of waterproof concoctions. SnowSeal worked the best but had a bad effect on any threads. I finally mixed SnowSeal with Mink oil and that worked. Now the bee's wax and pine tar mix is very popular. It's one thing to get leather wet once in a while vs leather boots walking in wet weather day in and day out, to find a good waterproof material. Old timers made their own, 40% bear fat,40% mutton tallow, 20% pine tar. Hard to find that today.

Pap

To further the discussion, I like waxed leather for knife sheaths and axe guards for the protection of the steel tools against rust, not necessarily for the upkeep of the leather. The leather sheath is replaceable if the knife remains in good shape.

Leather shoes and boots get wet, dried, and eventually replaced as they were out. I still carry my hunting knife from 35 years ago however my boots from that period are long gone.

Dive knives are a different matter, they all get trashed after time. My son asked me what happened to your Model 16? I went diving all the time. Work, sport, and police dive team. Sea water at depth does a job on the them. The Model 5 I carried for a rope knife survived just fine.

For me the waxed leather is just extra insurance. And I like the look and feel although it can be stiff at times.

My leather handgun holsters were not waxed.

Just to add a tidbit, my oldest White's boots are 38 years old and have been factory rebuilt twice. I love my Lace up Cowboy boots by them with mini Vibram soles.

Pap