How to purchase a good beaded Knife Sheath

The best knife sheath is one you can display and use.

A good beaded knife sheath will be the length of your knife blade, and an inch or two of  your knife handle.  This is the Native American fashion of carrying a knife.  By allowing the handle to slide down into the sheath one or two inches, you are keeping the knife dry and safe from falling out.

A good knife sheath will be beaded all the way over to the edges.

Look for close even rows of beadwork.

A row of beads will usually be about 7 to 9 beads in a row.

A "lane" is a long line of rows.

Good colors of beads for authenticity sake are: plain white, various shades of blues, dark red or med red, various shades of greens, greasy yellow, corn yellow, Crow pink or Cheyenne pink, small amounts of black, minor use of brown, minor use of orange, pumpkin, cranberry,and other original/traditional colors.

A good knife sheath will always have a more solid inner leather or rawhide insert.  This holds the knife in place and keeps it from cutting through the buckskin.

A good knife sheath will be made from buckskin or other properly tanned hides.  For authetic style look for hides that have been 'brain tanned'.  Brain tanning means that the hides have been tanned using the animal's brain.  The brain gives the hide a soft white result.  The hide is then smoked for the gold brown or tan color and the smoky smell.

A beaded strap or beaded 'tail drop' are usually for decoration.  However, the beaded strap can be useful as well.

Knife sheaths are as varied as their makers.  Look for a beadwork design you like and enjoy owning a good knife sheath for your knife!

Beadworkers are very hard laborers and develope patience through their determined efforts to produce results pleasing to themselves and others.

To care for beaded knife sheaths, simple treat them with care.  Remember that dropping a piece of beadwork against a hard surface can break one or two of the glass seed beads.  The broken glass bead can cut the thread and then you have a loss of beads.  This can be repaired by the beader of the knife sheath.

Otherwise, keep the beaded knife sheath as clean as possible and handle it with respect and care.

Osalita