Big Ugly BK-16 Megatransect Sheath

[averageiowaguy]

Hey everyone,
Most of you probably don't know or care but I was just part of an expedition that is doing a megatransect of South America through the wide part. It has gone through the Andes and the extreme environments of the cloud forests of the Eastern Andes and the Amazon Jungle. I joined the expedition for a short time around Iquitos, Peru.

The Amazon 5000 Expedition's leader is Mickey Grosman.

His knife of choice for the expedition has been the Pathfinder (Dave Canterbury's knife) made by BHK. By the time I saw it, the knife had done about 2100 miles. The knife was doing great.

He and I both favor the low riding knife sheath style for a fixed blade of this size. The sheath that comes with the Pathfinder knife is a really good sheath. The extremes of environment that the knife and sheath have endured are amazing. It has been freezing cold in the mountains, hot and dry in some semi-desert, wet 100% of the time in the cloud forest, and humid and nasty-hot in the jungle. The knife and sheath have been in and out of rivers, swamps and lagoons. By the time I joined the expedition, Mickey had developed the opinion that the leather belt loop and sheath back components of the sheath should be made of Kydex. The extremes of super wet to super dry, and super hot to super cold had taken a toll on the leather portion of the sheath. Mickey had some extra stitching placed by a cobbler in a village.

As seen in the above photos, he also added an extra layer of retention by using a piece of surgical tubing tied with bank line. Don't get me wrong, the sheath was still quite functional and is clearly an example of fine craftsmanship and intelligent design, but the extremes of environment demanded too much of the leather.

My current fixed blade of choice is the BK-16. It comes with a very good sheath as well, and I have had no problems with the sheath. I especially like the pocket on the front which holds my sharpening stone and lighter.

It originally came with two of the nylon button straps for retention, but I removed one and replaced it with some shock cord. I got that idea from IAwoodsman. I also like that the back of the sheath is compatible with Molle gear and that it offers three positions of belt carry, depending on how you set it up. So my reason for making a new sheath was NOT because the old sheath has any problems.

I took the sheath design from the Pathfinder knife and incorporated a few design changes that work better for my style. I also included the aspects suggested for improvement based on 2100 miles of a megatransect of South America.

It is big and ugly but it is simple and it works. Complicated stuff fails. I spaced the grommet holes to be compatible with Molle gear in case you would want to tie it onto a pack. I've added a 10 foot length of paracord to help accomplish that task. The Chicago screws holding the lower part of the kydex to the belt loop have been treated with Lock-Tite and superglue.

I also incorporated Mickey's idea for a secondary retention system using latex surgical tubing tied with bank line.

I'm headed back to the expedition in the near future so the sheath will get some extreme environment testing. In the moderate climate of Iowa, it has done very well. The advantage of using leather for the belt loop is that there is some flexibility between the kydex and the belt loop portion of the sheath. You lose that with my sheath. I've shaped it with a gentle curve so that it rides very well over the anatomy. The shaping makes up for the lack of flexibility a little bit but the sheath is still stiff. If that is a big deal to you, you probably wouldn't like this sheath.

This was my first knife sheath. The execution was far from perfect but it is functional and the design is rooted in experience and reality. I'll be evaluating it and making improvements as I need to.

[bsmith_shoot]

It is ugly, and a very great ideal. Functionality takes priority over vanity, in most all situations as far as I'm concerned. If its ok with you, I'm going to steal your design, and add some personalization of my own to it. Great post, great write up!

[DerekH]

I wonder if nylon webbing would work as a good substitute for leather in those types of extreme cases? Food for thought.

Nicely though out sheath there Kyle, and very nicely done. You are bringing that to the gathering I hope?

[averageiowaguy]

I wonder if nylon webbing would work as a good substitute for leather in those types of extreme cases? Food for thought.

Nicely though out sheath there Kyle, and very nicely done. You are bringing that to the gathering I hope?

Yeah it will be there. I'm bringing the lawnmower blade parang as well.

Nylon webbing would probably work well too. ESEE uses nylon webbing for the sheath backs on a few of their sheaths I think. There is something stiff in the nylon sheath back that they make. I'm not sure what they are putting in there. The sheath for my ESEE-3 held up pretty well over the course of about 1.5 years of use and abuse. There were a few places where the stitching came out but the sheath didn't fail. There were also a few areas where the nylon was clearly experiencing wear and tear. The only problem I have found with the ESEE-3 sheath is the velcro strap used for secondary retention. It did well until I started taking it into deserts. The sand.

[LG&M]

I like it. IMO if it works it's not ugly.form follows function. Thanks for the post.

[tincansurvival]

It hurts my eyes! I love the orange. I can't wait to read the report!

[Dudepal]

I love the bright safety orange! I agree with function over form. Nice write up as well, look forward to more

[Holmesmade]

Nylon webbing will definitely be an improvement over leather in those types of environments.

Two layers of webbing stitched together will stiffen up a bit. A layer of thin plastic, milk jug kinda stuff, stitched between the layers of webbing will stiffen it up quite a bit, but still be flexible enough to keep the drop loop from binding while you're hiking or doing camp chores.

Just my nutter opinion, anyway.

[averageiowaguy]

Nylon webbing will definitely be an improvement over leather in those types of environments.

Two layers of webbing stitched together will stiffen up a bit. A layer of thin plastic, milk jug kinda stuff, stitched between the layers of webbing will stiffen it up quite a bit, but still be flexible enough to keep the drop loop from binding while you're hiking or doing camp chores.

Just my nutter opinion, anyway.

I think that is what ESEE is doing (more or less) with their nylon backed sheaths.

[rkmoore]

I've done the nylon webbing with a strip off a plastic cutting board. Worked great! The cutting board was from the dollar store and my wife got what was left of it. Kinda forgot about that one. But really good stuff.

[Hawk590]

I am really digging the orange. I am the worst at setting things down and having to go back and try to find things. That one would not be an issue for sure! The knife in general is really a beautiful thing with the "scars" of hard use but it will conitinue to be used for years.

See ya at the gathering.

[averageiowaguy]

I am really digging the orange. I am the worst at setting things down and having to go back and try to find things. That one would not be an issue for sure! The knife in general is really a beautiful thing with the "scars" of hard use but it will conitinue to be used for years.

See ya at the gathering.

The setting things down benefit of orange is the main reason I use it. The orange came in handy several times during this last trip. Not only did I set it down once or twice, but the natives kept borrowing my BK-16 to use it. They would use it, finish whatever task and just leave the knife there. Curious behavior to say the least.

Another benefit is that dressed up in orange the knife/sheath combo says 'tool' more than it says 'weapon.' Stupid stuff like wearing camo or having military gear can have very bad consequences for you in certain countries, Peru included. The expedition went through a village just before I joined. In the village they said hi asked for info and moved on.

A day or so later the expedition was intercepted by the Peruvian military because they were reported as 'having automatic weapons', wearing full camo and being terrorists. They had a single shot shotgun, which is legal, and no camo. Imagination can do a lot in the jungle. I like non-military looking gear for non-military purposes. I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about what I'm doing.

[shockjockey24]

it seems like if you made the belt loop taller and narrower at the top, it would allow the sheath to swing just enough to get out of the way when needed. or instead of nylon, use a piece of thick sheet rubber for a belt loop

[Saymon]

Wow..

Fantastic adventure! thanks for sharing ... I live in the middle of the Amazon forest is know as she is brutal with steel knives ...

[GODSPEED TACTICAL]

I like the sheath and the name too. "BUBK16MT Sheath", I thought the same thing about the belt-loop as shockjockey did when I first saw it... the wider it is the stiffer it will ride but you can go too narrow where it rides and looks like crap.

I was picturing something like this for a secure sheath setup on your Bk16:




But it doesn't come in "sexy-orange" and it doesn't incorporate the surgical tubing.. easy fix though and at minimum a snap would have to be added to the loops where they wrap the scales so the velcro doesn't fail on you... especially in the jungle.



Was also thinking of making it a pouch-sheath and possibly running the surgical tubing through the two eyelets in the belt-loop:







Looks good and can't wait to see more jungle-pics, did you take your Izula with you?


Eli

[averageiowaguy]

I like the sheath and the name too. "BUBK16MT Sheath", I thought the same thing about the belt-loop as shockjockey did when I first saw it... the wider it is the stiffer it will ride but you can go too narrow where it rides and looks like crap.

I was picturing something like this for a secure sheath setup on your Bk16:




But it doesn't come in "sexy-orange" and it doesn't incorporate the surgical tubing.. easy fix though and at minimum a snap would have to be added to the loops where they wrap the scales so the velcro doesn't fail on you... especially in the jungle.



Was also thinking of making it a pouch-sheath and possibly running the surgical tubing through the two eyelets in the belt-loop:







Looks good and can't wait to see more jungle-pics, did you take your Izula with you?


Eli

Those both look like good sheaths. Really fine craftsmanship. I didn't bring the Izula. I gave that knife to a friend's son.

[averageiowaguy]

it seems like if you made the belt loop taller and narrower at the top, it would allow the sheath to swing just enough to get out of the way when needed. or instead of nylon, use a piece of thick sheet rubber for a belt loop

I'm actually considering narrowing the belt loop at the top. I'm going to keep the sheath as wide as it is at the top grommet but then grind in on each side to narrow the top just a bit. I was thinking of starting with like 1/2" on each side, maybe a little less.

[jdk1]

Leather has nice properties, but handling extreme environments isn't its forte. If treated right, it can do very well though. I think for a small part like a sheath hanger, boiling it in bee's wax would go a long way in keeping it functional. The Egyptions used that method and I've been told their tack is still usable today. Brass grommets around holes would help as well I imagine. In the end, nylon would probably work better, but leather gear is just so easy to make/customize yourself. That's its biggest benefit to me. I'd have to try the kydex set-up to see if it's comfortable. Thanks for sharing your adventures, ideas and gear. Take care.

[shockjockey24]

[QUOTE]I'm actually considering narrowing the belt loop at the top. I'm going to keep the sheath as wide as it is at the top grommet but then grind in on each side to narrow the top just a bit. I was thinking of starting with like 1/2" on each side, maybe a little less./QUOTE]

that sounds like it would work if you make another one though, remember if the loop is taller, it can be just as wide but the height will allow it to swing (im sure theres a ratio of height to width to figure that out, but I suck at math ) I was thinking about using a piece of heavy tractor trailer tire inner tube for a belt loop, it should behave like leather as far as sewing/tacking, but be totally rot resistant.

[averageiowaguy]

Yeah rubber would work. I don't want it to be totally free to swing. There is a little bit of room between the 1.5 inch belt and the top of the loop so that it can swing somewhat. I think shaving 1/2 inch from each side will be more than enough.