Today in the shop I’m making a leather carrying sling for the Plumb Scout Hatchet that I made for my daughter. To see the video we made on restoring the hatchet, and making the Osage Orange handle, click here…
Making a Scout Hatchet for My Daughter • Making a Scout Hatchet...
For the sling, I had a few versions in mind when I did the design sketch in my notebook. My final design was a combination of similar slings that I have seen around.
I started by making a template of the head on paper, to mock up the shape, and then transferred that to the 7-8oz veg tan leather. I cut out, refitted, and trimmed the leather to wrap the head, and fold over to creat a snap closure. I beveled all the finished edges, and then dyed the leather, before burnishing the edges. I glued and secured the front edges, and welt, with contact cement and Chicago screws, attaching the front D-ring at the same time. Then I folded and secured the back closure with two more Chicago screws, the top one holding on the back D-ring. I added the snap, dyed and finished all the exposed edges, and then moved on to the strap.
Figuring out the mechanics of the strap was a little tricky. I cut a 5 foot strap of 3-4oz veg tan leather at 3/4” wide and dyed and finished the edges. Then I used two swivel trigger clasps, and a strap side to make the strap adjustable, and used additional Chicago screws that I modified to fit the thinner leather to secure the hardware.
I used a simple slot technique, cutting into the strap, to let me feed the handle of the hatchet through, to secure it vertically. I oiled everything with Neatsfoot leather oil, and took it outside for a test run.
I’m super pleased with how it turned out, and am sure that it will serve my daughter well as she uses her hatchet on her adventures with Girl Scouts and around the property.
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