Here's a pic of my first "trash can plastic" sheath, made for a customized Ontario machete. I used too many rivets, but it still came out OK. The brass post was turned from a piece of round stock, to allow tucking the whole thing in my belt when I wanted to.
Regarding the machete: I removed the awful D-handle, reground the choil and added canvas Micarta scales with homemade "Loveless" rivets -- made from bolts and round stock that I cut and tapped -- to secure them, along with epoxy. Moving the handle up shortened the whole machete by a bit. It's been used primarily as a huge kitchen knife and has gone along on many picnics and BBQ outings. It's great for cutting frozen food!
The other is a Tramontina 12-inch machete, with the handle re-worked a bit. The craptastic cardboard scabbard is fine for carry in a pack. The small mill file has its own pocket: I like to touch up the edge on the machete every time I use it.
The second pic shows the mouth of the plastic sheath. The layers of the welt are clearly visible. The welt allows for the blade thickness without having to "mold" the sheath, and it protects the fastenings from the blade and protects the edge from being dulled by the rivets. If I wanted to drill lashing holes around the edges of the sheath, I would have made the welt wider.
Finally, here's a closeup of the two machete handles. The dimples in the rivets serve to "lock" the threads (along with the epoxy that was on them). You can also see the reshaping of the Tramontina handle, which is why I strongly prefer their hardwood handles.
All my best,
Dirty Bob
