In our military days, my best friend and I learned how to cook together. Granted, when people think military they ask, "Why did you have to learn to cook? Didn't they feed you three square meals a day?"

The answer is yes but when you have the option for housing allowance, some move off base. I was one of those people.

Over the years we honed our skills the best we could and then as life happens, we got separated from the military and moved away. However, over many years we still keep in touch. He recently upped his knife game learning about different grades of steel, hardness, how to properly sharpen a blade, etc.

He knew about my hobbies in making things so it was a no brainer when he wondered if I would make this blade a proper saya (aka sheath).

Supplies

Soft wooden board (I used curly cherry 2 ft X 4 in X 1/4 in)

Wooden dowel for the pin (I used walnut 1/4 in)

Brass tubing (optional)

Wood glue

Clamps

Chisel & hammer

Router & bits

Measuring & marking tools

Card stock

Various saws

Non-skid material

Stuff to sand

Files (optional)

Safety gear and dust protection

Tape

Epoxy (optional)

Leather or felt (optional)

Wood finish

Step 1: Planning and Set Up

I had an idea of what a saya should look like but to do this right, my friend sent me his blade to measure. Equally as important, I got to handle it and gain familiarity. He could have simply sent me the measurements via text or email, but this was personal.

Sentiments aside, a traditional saya is made of a soft wood, like magnolia. It has a recess for the handle to protrude from and a pin to hold the blade in place. A well made saya will not allow the blade to fall when held vertically without the pin inserted. I knew I had to do this properly.

I measured the thickest part of the blade with my calipers and it measured 0.175 inches, pic 2. Divide that by 2 (= 0.0875, pic 3) since you will be removing wood from both sides of the saya. Some folks have make a 3-layer glue up with two layers being flat and the third being where the knife would rest. I felt that removing material with the router was what I was more comfortable performing, hence making this a 2-layer sheath.

Pic 4 shows a small jig I made of scrap wood for setting the depth of cut on the router, pic 5. I made this by plunging the router into the small square piece and nailed a resting wood piece on it. The long piece rests on the plane of the base and the bit goes through the hole to set to 0.0875 inches.

Now lets remove that wood where the blade will rest.

Step 2: Route Out, Chisel Out

I used a V-groove bit to get as close as I could to the pencil mark (edge) I made where the blade will rest and then removed the inner excess with a 1/4 inch flush bit. In hindsight I felt comfortable enough to use the flush bit outright and that is what I did on side 2, but I was being overly cautious.

TIP: I used kitchen non skid material to keep my board from moving while the router was spinning.

I used a sacrificial piece of 1/4 inch thick wood to slide the router base all the way to the edge of where the blade will be inserted. This is a safety issue, too, since you wouldn't want the router to "fall away" when you get close to the edge. It also helps keep everything smooth and level. You don't want to make a topographical map in there, either.

Afterwards I cleaned up the groove with a hammer and chisel to make everything tight for the blade.

Step 3: Repeat on Side 2 and Glue Up

In hindsight (once again) I should have used a piece of cardstock with the blade profile to reproduce the cut on side 2, buuuut I went grade school and did a pencil rubbing. This actually worked just fine but there are better more efficient methods on producing a mirror image. The last thing you want is to have the blade grooves out of alignment...

Knife makers have the luxury of tracing the blade before the handle is attached but I didn't have that option.

I repeated the cuts for side 2 and proceeded to cut away the slots where the handle would rest and then cut a diagonal slant where the blade would run just to make it look more traditional. I cut away that excess on the bandsaw and repeated it on side 2. It is still rough at this point but I will sand it smooth later. Oh yeah! There Will be sanding...

Now we are ready to glue the two pieces together. I had to use a lot more clamps than I anticipated since the wood had an annoyingly slight bow to it but everything worked out in the end. Plus I needed more pink mini clamps, pic 5!

Step 4: Finishing Touches on the Saya

After the glue dried, I cut away the top part to make the sheath look more like a knife. I simply rested the blade on top and drew out about 3/4 of an inch, pic 1. I removed that with the bandsaw, pic 2 & 3, and then sanded the edges to make everything flush, pic 4.

This next part is optional but I wanted to add a little more pizazz to there the pin would inevitably go. I decided to add some brass tubing to the guide and to do that I bought some inexpensive tubes that are supposed to be used for pen blanks, pic 5. I cut them to size, filed them smooth (you Don't want them to interfere with the insertion of the blade!), drilled a 1/4 inch hole, and epoxied them into place. This tube is 1/4 of an inch in circumference and so is my dowel. I realized that now it wouldn't fit in the hole and needed to trim it down ever so slightly. After yet another round of sanding, pic 6, I worked on the pin.

Step 5: Pin 'Em

My walnut 0.254 inch dowel needed to be trimmed to fit into a 0.240 hole. Yes, I measured with calipers and took it to the lathe. It may be overkill but I came this far and needed to ensure everything would come together like I envisioned. I even though of chucking it to my drill press to sand it.

After a couple passes and a light sanding, I got to 0.238 inches on my dowel and it slid in like a charm. I wanted it to be snug but not scrape the brass too harshly.

Step 6: Polish and Completion

Now that everything is finished, it was time for...finish. For this I just used kitchen olive oil that way it was more food safe. I rubbed the outside but then noticed that I had to get the parts where the knife would be inserted. The contrast was driving my OCD crazy so I dipped an applicator in the oil and rubbed the inside, pic 3.

This turned out better than I imagined and I am hoping my buddy thinks so, too! It only took me a weekend to complete. The longest moments being the glue up, waiting for the epoxy to dry (overnight), and sanding. Lastly, this also beats having a knife block taking up valuable real estate on your kitchen counter, in my opinion.

Hopefully, this inspires you to make your own. The wood and brass cost ~$20 and if I make more, I don't have to buy brass tubes and a walnut dowel again, so you could have that going for you, too. Thanks for checking this out and I hope to see you for the next one.