Some months ago I made a leather sheath for a two layer Alox Victorinox pocket knife. This pocket knife is attached to a keyring and is carried in a pocket on a daily basis. It is an extremely useful tool and is used often. The owner of the pocket knife was worried that the aluminium scales were getting damaged while being carried and this led to the making of the leather sheath.
A few days ago the owner of this Victorinox pocket knife had an unfortunate experience. Not just one fall but two falls in the same day. The first was a slip in the mud during and family walk and the second was a trip over an uneven kerb or pavement. The first fall squashed the pocket knife in the trouser pocket and in the second fall the keyring got heavily dragged across a rough brick wall. Injuries were sustained by both the faller as well as the leather sheath covering the pocket knife. Nothing major thankfully.
The photographs below show the injuries to the pocket knife sheath as well as the state of the pocket knife after the fall. The sheath is quite badly damaged but the pocket knife is completely free of any damage. If the sheath hadn’t been there the pocket knife would have been severely damaged.
The leather sheath is made from quite thin bridal leather. The damage is really only on the surface and it is possible to tidy it up a little. This example is a testament to the protective properties of leather and both the owner and I are truly glad that the sheath was there.
One may argue that the cost of the sheath is close to the cost of the pocket knife in which case what would be the point of the sheath? One may simply replace the pocket knife. There are some instances in which the a leather casing is highly valuable. For example, if the item covered by the leather is rare or even irreplaceable or if it has some particular sentimental value then one may be justified in using leather to protect it. Besides this, there is a certain pleasure and enjoyment in using nice things!
Another example of protective properties of leather is the laptop sleeve. Through personal experience I have found that a leather laptop sleeve protected it’s contents from any damage compared with a laptop that was encased in three layers (two neoprene and one thick canvas cloth) that had the same fall but was not protected from damage.
As is often the case spending means saving!
