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Making A Knife Sheath

Including Some Fancy Lacing

Step 7

 

This tool is called a lacing fid.  It is exceptionally useful when doing lacing.  After you have punched the holes using a lacing punch the slots tend to semi-close up.  It makes it very difficult to get the lacing needle through.  Use the fid to slightly enlargen the slot.

 

Lacing punches - USE A LACING PUNCH!  These are small chisels that come in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 prongs.  Get a lacing punch that has prongs as wide as the lace you will be using.  You can also get lacing punches where the chisel points are set at an angle.  This creates a very decorative lace pattern.  Please don't use hole punches.  Yes they work, but they don't look nearly as nice as a lace punch.

 

The other thing you will need is a lacing needle.  There a a couple ot types on the market.  One is brass colored and has a hole in the back end with threads inside.  You taper the end of the lace and litteraly thread it into the needle.  While these work really well at some point the lace will break off inside the needle and make the needle useless.  I prefer lacing needles that have a split end with "teeth" inside the split.  You spread the split ends and put the lace material inside.  then you press the split ends closed and the "teeth" bite into the lacing material keeping it locked onto the needle.  If the lace breaks you simply spread the split ends of the needle and pick out the lace piece and re-thread the needle.

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