DIY Quiver - Leather Questions...

deejayarcher

New member
Hi all,

Now I am very much a tinkerer and builder of stuff and I was thinking that I would like to make my own quiver, arm guard and maybe a tab too.

My question lies with the fact that I know absolutely nothing about thickness or types of leather that could be used and where to get it...

Would I need to get some 1mm / 2mm PET plastic for a structure and then cover the structure with thin leather if it is easier to find / cheaper? Or is there a thicker leather that can be bought from somewhere that would not need the plastic inner?

I have found some very detailed "How-to's" online, but none really explain the type / thickness of leather being used, or where to get it in the UK? I did find some leather over on fleabay, but I have no real idea about thickness or types. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Cheers,

Dave.
 

Riceburner

Active member
I'd imagine that most people would just say "find what you can and experiment"!

Have to admit that tends to be my system, but will watch this thread to see what pearls are forthcoming. :)
 

deejayarcher

New member
I'd imagine that most people would just say "find what you can and experiment"!

Have to admit that tends to be my system, but will watch this thread to see what pearls are forthcoming. :)
I have found this website:
Traditional Materials

I'm hoping that "Del the cat" may find this post and jump in with some stellar advice and a couple of suppliers...

Fingers crossed! :eek:ptimist:
 

ThomVis

Active member
Thickness: Depends on what you use it for. Armguard can be 1 thick layer, for a fingertab it's better to build thickness from multiple thinner layers so it stays more flexible.
 

deejayarcher

New member
Thickness: Depends on what you use it for. Armguard can be 1 thick layer, for a fingertab it's better to build thickness from multiple thinner layers so it stays more flexible.
Thanks Thom!

The issue I am having most trouble with is the thickness for the leather regarding the quiver really...

Good point on the finger tab, I never thought to build it up using multiple layers, good idea!
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
Charity shops are a good source of old handbags, boots etc which can have good leather in 'em, watch out tho' as some manmade stuff is V hard to tell from the real thing.
This post from my blog gives some hints.
Bowyer's Diary: Leatherwork
(If you search for quiver, there are some other entries too).

The leather in the main body of the quiver is about 2.5mm thick, the partitions and side pocket are about 1.5-2mm thick, it has darkened down considerably since the pictures were taken.
I bought two 'sides' of veg tanned hide from ' Le Prevo leather'
Del
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
Craft type shops sometimes do mixed bags of leather off-cuts, some of which can be useful. Or they may have a box full of leather bits... Finding pieces big enough (or enough of the same sort) can be a challenge.

As to what weight of leather you need for a quiver... It depends. If you are working from an existing pattern, it's probably best to go with what they suggest. A lot of trad looking leather quivers are made out of fairly heavy cowhide (especially holster quivers).

Working without a pattern, or copying other styles... The normal cloth-with-plastic-tubes type of quiver would suit a softer leather. Though you can make a soft quiver without stiffening bits at all, some people don't like that feel. My first home made quiver was constructed from a leg of a pair of jeans...

My current quiver is made from a fairly light leather but quite a stiff one. The result is something more or less flat, which packs away easily, but holds it's shape fairly well.

I'll try and post a picture.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
Lying flat... Not looking too bad for all the years of use...


And a shot showing how layering the leather, folding edges etc can be used to stiffen a thinner piece up:


My apologies for the photo quality... It's the best my phone can do with the light in the kitchen this evening (no flash).
 

Craftsman

New member
Look up "The Identity Store" in Matlock, Derbyshire for all sorts of materials.

I made a quiver just recently from two plastic powder tubs glued end to end and covered them with brown suede.
I then took a round disc of sheet bathroom panelling, drilled arrow holes in and forced it into the open end of the quiver, added 'D' links for the hanging straps and loops for a belt.
Took me less than a day and cost virtually nothing, using materials hanging about in the home.
eg. old unused suede coat, 'D' links and straps from old handbags, Imperial Leather talc powder tubs, etc.

Oh, I forgot the piece of upholstery foam from an old cushion to put in the base to stop the 'clonk' as the arrow hits bottom!
 

deejayarcher

New member
Charity shops are a good source of old handbags, boots etc which can have good leather in 'em, watch out tho' as some manmade stuff is V hard to tell from the real thing.
This post from my blog gives some hints.
Bowyer's Diary: Leatherwork
(If you search for quiver, there are some other entries too).

The leather in the main body of the quiver is about 2.5mm thick, the partitions and side pocket are about 1.5-2mm thick, it has darkened down considerably since the pictures were taken.
I bought two 'sides' of veg tanned hide from ' Le Prevo leather'
Del
Thanks Del!

I am a pretty avid reader of your blog now I have found it, although I don't comment on it I must say.

Thanks for the advice and pointer to your blog posting, I have read it and it certainly helps. I think I just need to get some scrap material to test with and then take the plunge with some leather and see how it goes. Thanks for offering another place to get the leather retail.

Cheers,

Dave
 

deejayarcher

New member
Craft type shops sometimes do mixed bags of leather off-cuts, some of which can be useful. Or they may have a box full of leather bits... Finding pieces big enough (or enough of the same sort) can be a challenge.

As to what weight of leather you need for a quiver... It depends. If you are working from an existing pattern, it's probably best to go with what they suggest. A lot of trad looking leather quivers are made out of fairly heavy cowhide (especially holster quivers).

Working without a pattern, or copying other styles... The normal cloth-with-plastic-tubes type of quiver would suit a softer leather. Though you can make a soft quiver without stiffening bits at all, some people don't like that feel. My first home made quiver was constructed from a leg of a pair of jeans...

My current quiver is made from a fairly light leather but quite a stiff one. The result is something more or less flat, which packs away easily, but holds it's shape fairly well.

I'll try and post a picture.
Thanks Rik!

I have just found some patterns online which may prove to be useful, in giving me some sizes and ideas, I have also found a step by step pictorial guide too which is very good indeed. Thanks for the advice I never thought of finding an off-cuts bag. To be honest I didn't even know where to look, but some googling has turned up some good results. I may take a look around some charity shops at the weekend if I get a chance.

Must say that I really like the look of your photos of the quiver in the post below, the quiver is very good indeed! How old is it now? Did you stain or dye it at all?

Cheers,

Dave.
 

deejayarcher

New member
Look up "The Identity Store" in Matlock, Derbyshire for all sorts of materials.

I made a quiver just recently from two plastic powder tubs glued end to end and covered them with brown suede.
I then took a round disc of sheet bathroom panelling, drilled arrow holes in and forced it into the open end of the quiver, added 'D' links for the hanging straps and loops for a belt.
Took me less than a day and cost virtually nothing, using materials hanging about in the home.
eg. old unused suede coat, 'D' links and straps from old handbags, Imperial Leather talc powder tubs, etc.

Oh, I forgot the piece of upholstery foam from an old cushion to put in the base to stop the 'clonk' as the arrow hits bottom!
Thanks Craftsman!

The Identity Store has a great website, I can see some cash trickling it's way over there at some point!

I have seen some suede coats and boots in my local charity shops before, so maybe if they are reasonable prices I could get use one of those. Love the idea of scouting round the house to find all the bits. Good tip on the upholstery foam on the bottom too, I hope there isn't an uncomfortable seat in your house now though! :blush:

In the loft I think I have an old 100litre trekking back pack, maybe I could utilise that or the buckles and stuff off of it...

Just want to start making stuff now!

Cheers,

Dave.
 

philhoney

New member
Hi,
I have made loads of bracers and tabs and half a dozen quivers for our club.
The leather I use comes from anywhere I can get it cheap or free.
For the tabs I use 2 layers of thin leather with a piece of plastic as a stiffener and paracord for fastening.
The bracers are made of 2 layers of leather with a couple of layers of thin card and 2 ice lolly sticks all stuck together with double sided tape and then sewn all round. I made some with paracord and toggles for the beginners to use and made better ones with webbing and velcro for myself and other club members.

I have made quivers from leather, plastic drainpipe and leather covered drainpipe.
The best looking one has been claimed by my 13yr old grandaughter so it must look OK.
I took a 20 inch length of black plastic drainpipe and heated it up with a heat gun until it was soft. I then put 2 pieces of 2x1 timber down inside the pipe and hammered wedges between them so that I ended up with a rectangular pipe with rounded corners. A piece of wood cut to shape plugged the bottom and I cut a nice "S" shape at the top. The next step was to cut a piece of leather (old coat) a bit longer than the tube but about 1/4" narrower than the circumference. I punched holes about 1/2" apart along both edges and then laced it up, pulling it tighter several times, one stitch at a time until the edges met. A couple of webbing straps and a belt clip finished it off.

One of my club mates gave me a piece of thin, less than a mm, very old, stiff leather. Once cut to shape it is stiff enough to hold its shape with just one row of stitching holding the edges together.
If you want pics I can get some on Monday eve.
Phil
 

deejayarcher

New member
Hi,
I have made loads of bracers and tabs and half a dozen quivers for our club.
The leather I use comes from anywhere I can get it cheap or free.
For the tabs I use 2 layers of thin leather with a piece of plastic as a stiffener and paracord for fastening.
The bracers are made of 2 layers of leather with a couple of layers of thin card and 2 ice lolly sticks all stuck together with double sided tape and then sewn all round. I made some with paracord and toggles for the beginners to use and made better ones with webbing and velcro for myself and other club members.

I have made quivers from leather, plastic drainpipe and leather covered drainpipe.
The best looking one has been claimed by my 13yr old grandaughter so it must look OK.
I took a 20 inch length of black plastic drainpipe and heated it up with a heat gun until it was soft. I then put 2 pieces of 2x1 timber down inside the pipe and hammered wedges between them so that I ended up with a rectangular pipe with rounded corners. A piece of wood cut to shape plugged the bottom and I cut a nice "S" shape at the top. The next step was to cut a piece of leather (old coat) a bit longer than the tube but about 1/4" narrower than the circumference. I punched holes about 1/2" apart along both edges and then laced it up, pulling it tighter several times, one stitch at a time until the edges met. A couple of webbing straps and a belt clip finished it off.

One of my club mates gave me a piece of thin, less than a mm, very old, stiff leather. Once cut to shape it is stiff enough to hold its shape with just one row of stitching holding the edges together.
If you want pics I can get some on Monday eve.
Phil
Thanks Phil!

You are a true DIY'er by the sounds of that little lot! I won't lie, I am in awe of that little lot.

The heated drain pipe is a very neat idea indeed, I like the forming method too. If you have any photos of the bracers and the quivers, they would be greatly appreciated indeed, but no rush, I'm still in the playing stage at the moment.

Now it is seeming more and more like I need to convince my wife to "clear out" some of her older hand bags, for some experimental material. :mischievo

Cheers,

Dave.
 

Score the Green

Supporter
Supporter
Hi
I made several quivers got suede coat from charity shop and used the sleeves just tapered the seam and put wood block in bottom held in place with uphostery nails
 

deejayarcher

New member
Hi
I made several quivers got suede coat from charity shop and used the sleeves just tapered the seam and put wood block in bottom held in place with uphostery nails
Thanks Score the Green!

Did you not have any issues with structure, as in it would probably be very flimsy when not on your belt / back?

I guess that doesn't actually matter that much anyway? It's because pretty much everyone at my club has the quivers with tubes in, so figured rigidity is a key point, but maybe not?

Cheers,

Dave.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
The Identity store in Matlock is VERY good for its leather and leather working stock, and the staff are very friendly and are willing and able to offer advice on leather and equipment for your projects. I generally buy my leather from them and have made my own embossed quiver, several bracers (burnt and embossed), pouches, as well as some artistic pieces.
If you're wanting to emboss a design upon your quiver you will be wanting vegitable tanned leather as that is the best to work with as its untreated. The quiver I made is quite robust with a 3-5mm thick leather, and has maintained its shape after just over three years of shooting, in all weathers. It can also be free standing if you put the belt down right. The only real wear its showing is a bit on the bottom for the binding. Mine doesn't have any plastic tubes in, and when not shooting I use to carry my drink bottle and knife, as well as my arrow tube.

DSC_8105_fs.jpg
Picture of it in action.
 

deejayarcher

New member
The Identity store in Matlock is VERY good for its leather and leather working stock, and the staff are very friendly and are willing and able to offer advice on leather and equipment for your projects. I generally buy my leather from them and have made my own embossed quiver, several bracers (burnt and embossed), pouches, as well as some artistic pieces.
If you're wanting to emboss a design upon your quiver you will be wanting vegitable tanned leather as that is the best to work with as its untreated. The quiver I made is quite robust with a 3-5mm thick leather, and has maintained its shape after just over three years of shooting, in all weathers. It can also be free standing if you put the belt down right. The only real wear its showing is a bit on the bottom for the binding. Mine doesn't have any plastic tubes in, and when not shooting I use to carry my drink bottle and knife, as well as my arrow tube.

View attachment 1800
Picture of it in action.
Thanks Raven's_Eye,

That is very cool indeed, and exactly the sort of thing I was looking for! So your's is 3-5mm thick and that means you could etch / stamp / emboss that bird design on it?

Looks like "The Identity Store" is going to be getting a call from me then! :)

Cheers,

Dave.
 

Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
You can put a design on thinner leather, but vegitable tanned leather is the best for it. wet the leather with a sponge so its cold to teh touch, trace out your design and then you are able to emboss it on. Veg tan leather is a pale flesh colour, but after the design I dyed and sealed mine.
 

deejayarcher

New member
You can put a design on thinner leather, but vegitable tanned leather is the best for it. wet the leather with a sponge so its cold to teh touch, trace out your design and then you are able to emboss it on. Veg tan leather is a pale flesh colour, but after the design I dyed and sealed mine.
Many thanks Raven, I think it is time to get some leather and have a go!

Cheers,

Dave
 
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