Anyone here made a Kydex sheath?

[bmartin1uk]

I should probably ask this question over on britishblades but i'm not really a member, so i thought i'd try here first.

I finished putting a handle on my first knife at the weekend. Really happy with the way it turned out. Last night i attempted to make a Kydex sheath, and was reasonably happy with the first attempt at getting it to mold. However, i noticed that the Kydex (being pretty tough) is scraping the neck? bolster?....where the handle meets the blade, as i push and pull it out. The concept of Kydex i understand is to have a 'snug' fit so the knife clicks in and out. Anyone else had this problem? I reckon the handle will be recked after a dozen uses.

Is Kydex not designed for wooden handle knives?
Should i not be so precious about my knife?
Would a light sanding to take the edge off the Kydex work?

Any suggestions much appreciated

Ta

Ben

 

[Xunil]

I like Kydex sheaths for any knife you don't give a hoot about scratching.

Put a knife with a single grain of sand or grit into a kydex sheath and you can hear the cringeworthy scraping as it goes in and out, carving furrows into the blade/guard/handle

I usually grind a small, rounded indent in the middle of the flat side blade just in front of the guard or handle. Once the kydex has been formed to the knife I use a hot metal rod with a rounded end to form a small dent into the kydex which snaps into the indent of the blade.

That way the kydex itself doesn't need to go up over the guard area or onto the handle material.

I like kydex for dive/military knives and not much else, purely due to the issue of scratching.

 

[bmartin1uk]

Thanks for the response. I was worried it was just me - i think im going to continue with the sheath as i like its practicality, and just suck it up when it comes to the scratches - after all, if the knife is to have any real world use, surely its going to get scratched to buggery anyway.

 

[suburban bushwacker]

any real world use, surely its going to get scratched to buggery anyway.

Yep that's about it
SBW

 

[The Lord Poncho]

A bit of a hijack, sorry, but as it's something i want to have a crack at myself shortly, where did you get the kydex and rivets from, and did you use foam rubber to mould it into shape around the knife, or just do it by hand? Did you 'pad out' the blade with cardboard or something when you moulded to give it a bit more room in the finished sheath? Love to hear your thoughts,

Thanks! (and sorry!)

 

[suburban bushwacker]

While no expert myself I have made a couple of Kydex sheaths and they came out pretty well
I suggest having a peek at youtube for tutorials and of course British Blades.

heat proof gloves are a top tip
SBW