Adding friction to the BK16 sheath?

A.L.

A.L.

Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
8,229
Has anyone ever tried to add friction to the plastic insert part of the stock sheath for BK16 (or any of the closer cousins)?
I tried to add bit of fabric as liner, but the glue didn't hold it up..

I would prefer the sheath not to rattle (just preference, nothing "tactical") and have bit more security IF the straps would fail (or that I could put the knife in the sheath temporarily to do things without having to snap the thing).

Thanks!
 
My father and I were brainstorming solutions to this very problem over Fathers Day. Boiling the sheath to heat the plastic, then pitching it with a clamp was our first idea (as discussed here http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1071464-How-to-remove-liner-from-BK16-sheath). Then we thought about adding material to the bottom of the plastic sheath, such as a small squirt of expanding foam, to take up space and stop the rattle. This raised concerns of the injected material trapping moisture that would then be in contact with the blade.

Eventually, beers and steaks stole our attention away, and I was whisked back to my transient life of airports and hotel rooms before any theories were actually tested. I'm curious to hear what you come up with.
 
I've done this with another knife but it should work with the 16.
I removed the plastic liner from the nylon sheath and put the knife back in then used a hair dryer to heat the plastic, gently applied pressure and was done in less than 15 minutes.
I think I used rubber cement to hold the liner in place but not really sure.

Let us know how it works out and please post pictures.
 
You could go the route many around here go. And buy a custom sheath. I haven't done it myself yet. Seeing as full time father doesn't pay well. I think Aswelkie? sheaths are reasonable price. About 40 bucks or so.
 
I had one sheath made, out of leather, but it ended up not satisfying me.. Something happened to the leather along they way and loosened up.

ANYWAY

I read the thread rkmoore linked, and I decided to try and bend the insert. It's bit crude job, but seems to work now! We'll see if it has memory to shape back. It got nice friction now with no rattle.
 
Well, as I thought it would, the sheath returns a bit quickly after keeping the knife in the sheath BUT on the bright side there is no more rattle.
 
Gary's mod works very well indeed. It totally transforms the perception of that sheath. Kabar would be well advised to include a piece that Gary describes in its new sheaths, it would cost almost nothing.
 
Yetidayhiker said:
Gary's mod works very well indeed. It totally transforms the perception of that sheath. Kabar would be well advised to include a piece that Gary describes in its new sheaths, it would cost almost nothing.
Click to expand...

+1 I did it on my 15 sheath with a $0.50 leather scrap from a craft store. There is 0 rattle and the retention is just right without the straps :thumbup:
 
I successfully used Gary's idea on both my BK-5 and BK-15 sheaths, similar to his pictures in the other thread.

Worked very well! Thanks, Gary!

I cut rawhide strips from the palm of an old set of welding gloves that were too worn to protect my fingers anymore. I tucked about one third of the rawhide strip's length between the nylon sheath and the outside of the insert and tucked the rest into the insert itself.

My 15 only needed one strip but the 5 needed two strips to fill the empty space in the insert when the blades are I inserted. So on the 5 sheath, I now have strips on the front and back of the insert and the blade rests between them when "sheathed".

On the 15 sheath, nothing more was required to hold the rawhide strip in position no matter how many times I draw or insert the blade (meaning, the rawhide strip simply hangs free within the plastic insert). On the 5 sheath, I glued the rawhide strips with a bit of contact cement to the inside of the insert itself.

Knives are very secure and very quiet now!
 
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