"pocket knives should either be carried or viewed in a museum"
my story
Hello, my name is Tom Cosgrove Jr. and I am a small batch leather artisan driven by the simple belief that pocket knives should either be carried or viewed in a museum. Because of my passion in that belief, my chosen craft is leather pocket knife slips.
My earliest exposure to leather crafting was as a first year Boy Scout at the Craft Lodge at Camp Keemosahbee in Connecticut. Later when I was "on staff", I taught leather crafting merit badge during the summers and was always making leather slips for my fellow Scouts to protect their folding knives. Now that my family is grown and I am retired, that exposure from over 50 years ago has rekindled my craft and I’m proud to offer my made in North Carolina leather pocket knife products that allow you to pocket carry one of your treasured folding knives and keep it sharp at the same time.
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Life is too short to not carry the best knives you own in your pocket whether a daily carry or on special occasions. My leather knife slips allow you to protect your finest pocket cutlery and carry them with peace of mind whenever you desire.
where form meets function
My artistry is simple; aesthetic clean lines, classic looks, and a focus on details like material selections, waterproof finishes and consistent stitch lines. Every leather pocket knife product that I sell is made 100% by my hands and all of the ideas, patterns and designs are my own after decades of using a wide variety of knife slips.
Each of my knife slips is hand cut from a hide and properly prepared using only hand tools. I take great pride in crafting each knife slip using no machinery, dies or other high-production methods. As a result of hand making my knife slips, slight differences and minor aesthetic imperfections arising from the animal's life (natural) or processing (man-made), including scars, insect bites, wrinkles, brands, and holes should be expected.
After each leather pocket knife product is made, I conduct a focused quality control inspection on every knife slip that is ready for shipping. Those that don't pass my Grade A inspection are made available from time-to-time as clearance inventory here. These leather pocket knife products may have slight differences and minor aesthetic imperfections from my Grade A leather pocket knife products, but are still 100% functional and usable.
3 styles of leather pocket knife slips to choose from
Introducing StropBaton™
The design of my leather pocket knife strop called StropBaton™ is rounded to offer a consistent, low-weight surface that avoids damaging your pocket knife edges during quick, high-angle contact. The inspiration for my design was a knife honing rod (sharpening steel) which is used to preserve the integrity and sharpness of a blade edge and helps in realigning the edge of the blade and removing any small burrs that may have formed during use.
The StropBaton™ is approximately 16.0" long with an 11.0" x 4.375" x 3/32" thick (2.39 mm) leather stropping surface covering the 1.75" diameter baton. A handy cord lanyard helps to secure the StropBaton™ firmly in your non-dominant hand while being used. The assembly of each StropBaton™ takes over one hour to complete, hence these are being offered on a very limited basis. If you like the design of my StropBaton™ and want to add this to your arsenal of sharpening tools, pick one up when they are available, you will be doing yourself and your pocket knives a great favor.
