A revelation in cheap sheath material!

Looks kinda cool. Be careful heating it up thought. The fumes.
2
Eye Protection: Use safety glasses with side shields
Skin Protection: Use protective garments
to prevent excessive skin contact
Note:
Personal protection inform
ation shown above is based upon
general information as to normal uses and conditions. Where
special or unusual uses or conditions
exist, it is suggested that the
expert assistance of an industria
l hygienist or other qualified
professional be sought.
Handling and Storage Precautions
Wear protective equipment and/or ga
rments described above if exposure
conditions warrant. Store away
from heat or flames.
Reactivity Data
Stability/Instability Stable
Incompatibly (Materials to Avoid) Oxidants
Hazardous Polymerization: Will Not Occur
Hazardous Decomposition Products: Ca
rbon Oxides and hydrocarbon gases
Health Hazard Data
Recommended Exposure Limits:
Treat dust as a Nuisance
Particulate:
Respirable Fraction
Total Dust
OSHA
5 mg/m³
15 mg/m³
ACGIH
5 mg/m³
10 mg/m³
Fume: Carbon Monoxide
50 ppm (OSHA & ACGIH)
Acrolein 0.1 ppm (OSHA & ACGIH)
Acute Effects of Overexposure
Eye:
Dust may cause mechanical ir
ritation. Fumes can be very irritating
resulting in a burning sensa
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Skin:
Essentially non-irritating
3
Inhalation:
Dust may product mechanical
irritation to the mucous membranes
of the nose, throat and upper resp
iratory tract. Fumes ban be quite
irritating to the eyes and mu
cous membrane of the upper
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Gotta' pay attention to the thickness. This stuff is tough enough that you don't need anything near leather thickness. The material used in the sheaths depicted is 30 mil, or 0.03" (or 3/100" if you prefer.) :)

As far as heating it goes, the melting point is 250° F and I have a digitally controlled heat gun so it doesn't hit the melting point, let alone the smoke point. No fumes involved.
 
The controlled heat is a big plus then.
 
HDPE is pretty forgiving, fume-wise. If it's not on fire or at the middle-to-upper range of its molten range it's unlikely to produce any significant fumes, and HDPE fumes are listed as simply causing lung irritation. I'd probably just use a hair dryer for any mild forming rather than a full-blown heat gun if you don't have a digitally-controlled one. And this is all only if you choose to do forming of it. I did it not because it was necessary, but because it was a low-labor improvement. I'm pretty sure the work I did would have happened on its own over time just from pressure like leather breaking in.
 
Haven't finished reading all of the posts yet, but it looks like a great material especially for machetes that have no sheath and hatchets/axes if for nothing else than to keep them from cutting stuff you don't want cut.

The problem with machetes that don't come with a durable sheath is that the cost is prohibitive relative to the cost of the machete. It is one of the reasons I have always gone with Condor.

Are the cut edges sharp?
 
the lack of sheath (though I understand why and support the reason behind it) was my main trepidation when I preordered the kingfisher. I wonder if I contacted your site directly if you would potentially hold the shipping of my kingfisher to I can add on a sheath and save the shipping?
 
If you'd like! I can add a note to myself on the order if you shoot me an email with the order number and the request. Not sure what the price of the sheath will be until I get a design finalized and can price out the material costs, but it'll be cheap, I can tell you that much. I'm actually working on a Tramontina bolo sheath at the moment. :p
 
As a contractor, I built a couple of landfill cells. We used the big brother of this stuff as the liner - 60 mil HDPE, both smooth and textured. The joints/seams are all double heat seamed.
 
I will take a cheapo sheath for my Large 21 please.

FortyTwoBlades said:
Yeah, I'm planning on adding the option for cheapo sheaths for stuff that doesn't otherwise have an option available. I actually stumbled onto this material while material-scouting after a conversation with a customer who wanted a sheath for a Tramontina bolo machete he'd ordered. I think I'm gonna' make him one and send it along with the machete as thanks for inspiring me to go digging for alternative economical sheath material.
Click to expand...
 
BellaBlades said:
I will take a cheapo sheath for my Large 21 please.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what tool you're talking about--I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific. I sell the Tramontina bolos, so I have them to use for fitting the sheath properly. It's difficult to make a well-fit sheath without the actual item on hand.
 
Oops! Now that the secret is out.
Will we be seeing copy cats roll out such sheaths on an industrial scale?
Nice attempts at cost savings btw,
And the sheaths do look functional.
Keep it up op!
 
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