Jim March
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 7, 1998
- Messages
- 3,021
I've been doing pocket carry for the Sifu but...I miss the greasy-fast access I used to have with my old AlMar QSVs and the leather rigs I used to build. In doing some cleaning, I realized I had one small sheet of .090" Kydex laying around, and pondered how to sheath the Sifu. What I came up with seems to be unique, extremely simple and is capable of speed-draws *faster* than my old AlMars.
The concept I was starting from was a "belt slide" type gun holster, most commonly used for 1911-type pistols and other autos. A good picture of same from: http://gunweb.com/advertis/hellweg/index.html
What I did was take a single strip of Kydex, cut perfectly rectangular, the same width as my belt and exactly the length of the closed Sifu. I heated it, laid the Kydex on a flat metal surface then laid the Sifu across it closed...not at 90degrees, but at a "forward cant" of about 30degrees from vertical. In other words, with the Kydex laid sideways as it'll be on the belt, the pivot-up closed knife is tilted forward at around the same angle that the barrel of that gun is tilted in that picture above.
The upper layer of the Kydex is folded so that the bottom layer is about 3/8ths" longer than the top. I used my heavy gloves to mold the Kydex right down onto the finger grooves, with the "hump" in the middle of the spine right dead center of the Kydex. In other words, most of the grip above the belt, maybe an inch and 3/4ths below. Exactly where isn't critical, as long as it's TIGHTLY molded via your fingers! I used rough-side-in on the Kydex and got good results.
In my version, the "fold" in the Kydex is to the rear of the sheath, and it's set up strong-side.
However, with my .090" grade kydex in a strip only 1.5" wide, there was NOT enough tension to keep things anywhere near steady enough. A minute of head-scratching had the answer: I drilled two holes just in front of the knife where the Kydex meets, and tied a loop of 1/4" bungee cord through it and tied in the back. THAT gives the whole thing enough tension.
A crude picture:
Guys, no joke here, this is a FAST rig. You pinch it just behind the pivot with your thumb between you and the grip and you just snap it upwards...you never need touch the thumbstud or even the slidebar. The pic above is how I did it for strongside right carry but you can reverse for southpaw easily enough. Once built, you tie it onto your belt with leather lace, paracord or whatever and then slide the belt on and off.
You can also re-sheath it one-handed, unlike previous designs I've done.
I've never seen a Kydex rig with less materials or simpler to build. I carried it today, absolutely no looseness or slippage whatsoever AND no fumbled draws in living-room practice.
Jim
The concept I was starting from was a "belt slide" type gun holster, most commonly used for 1911-type pistols and other autos. A good picture of same from: http://gunweb.com/advertis/hellweg/index.html
What I did was take a single strip of Kydex, cut perfectly rectangular, the same width as my belt and exactly the length of the closed Sifu. I heated it, laid the Kydex on a flat metal surface then laid the Sifu across it closed...not at 90degrees, but at a "forward cant" of about 30degrees from vertical. In other words, with the Kydex laid sideways as it'll be on the belt, the pivot-up closed knife is tilted forward at around the same angle that the barrel of that gun is tilted in that picture above.
The upper layer of the Kydex is folded so that the bottom layer is about 3/8ths" longer than the top. I used my heavy gloves to mold the Kydex right down onto the finger grooves, with the "hump" in the middle of the spine right dead center of the Kydex. In other words, most of the grip above the belt, maybe an inch and 3/4ths below. Exactly where isn't critical, as long as it's TIGHTLY molded via your fingers! I used rough-side-in on the Kydex and got good results.
In my version, the "fold" in the Kydex is to the rear of the sheath, and it's set up strong-side.
However, with my .090" grade kydex in a strip only 1.5" wide, there was NOT enough tension to keep things anywhere near steady enough. A minute of head-scratching had the answer: I drilled two holes just in front of the knife where the Kydex meets, and tied a loop of 1/4" bungee cord through it and tied in the back. THAT gives the whole thing enough tension.
A crude picture:
Guys, no joke here, this is a FAST rig. You pinch it just behind the pivot with your thumb between you and the grip and you just snap it upwards...you never need touch the thumbstud or even the slidebar. The pic above is how I did it for strongside right carry but you can reverse for southpaw easily enough. Once built, you tie it onto your belt with leather lace, paracord or whatever and then slide the belt on and off.
You can also re-sheath it one-handed, unlike previous designs I've done.
I've never seen a Kydex rig with less materials or simpler to build. I carried it today, absolutely no looseness or slippage whatsoever AND no fumbled draws in living-room practice.
Jim
