Alternative to Cold Steel Kobun?

Heiheit

Heiheit

Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
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Hey guys I'm looking for an alternative to the Kobun.. It would be a great knife, but the edge rubs on the inside of the sheath making it go dull with a few withdraws which sucks because I really the knife itself. Oh well, it's getting returned.

So what are some alternatives to the Kobun? It needs a concealable sheath and needs a 4-5in blade. It would be great if the cost was almost as low as the kobun too.

Thanks for your help.
 
Why not just make a new sheath for the Kobun? The Kobun is a great knife, and a kydex sheath for it would be easy to make, and not too expensive to have made for you.
 
Maybe a mora 2000?
Honestly I'd vote for a new sheath for the Kobun. But if you're planning on returning it then I guess not.
 
Other knives have this issue as well. Try taking it out/putting it in the sheath a few hundred times, while watching tv or something. That usually fixes the problem.
 
My 7in. Ka-Bar has the same issue of the sheath dulling it. Not sure what to do with mine.
 
fishface5 said:
wait a minute - are you sure you don't just have a wire edge that needs to be stropped off? A few pulls in and out of a plastic sheath should not be able to dull the blade.
the only alternative I can think of off the bat would be the Boker Nealy Kwaito
http://www.boker.de/us/fixed-blade-knife/boker-plus/tactical-knife/02BO290.html
Click to expand...

Mhm.. Sharpened it 3 times to determine it was the sheath. Why shouldn't it? If it can scratch the blade from friction then it can dull the edge. I had 2; both had the same issue.

I like the look of that boker, I'll look into that a bit more, thanks.

TwinStick said:
Other knives have this issue as well. Try taking it out/putting it in the sheath a few hundred times, while watching tv or something. That usually fixes the problem.
Click to expand...

Already returned it, but I'll give it a shot for the next one.
 
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There's not much that compares to the Kobun in it's price range. Maybe look at some of Cold Steels other offerings, but they may have the same issue. I would keep it and focus on dragging the spine along the sheath when you draw it, and drawing it less in general. Sucks to have to do either, but for the price, hey...
 
Just keep unsheathing and resheathing. They probably use the same kind of glass-fiber in the sheath that Ka-bar does, and if you draw it a whole bunch, you'll wear a nice little groove into the sheath, and the problem will go away. Hard to beat that knife at that price, honestly. I love mine.
 
I got my Kobun recently....and absolutely love it!! But the repeated drawing and sheathing has begun to show a minor wear on the handle guard. Although its not much but do any of you guys have had similar issues? I did smoothen out the top edge of the sheath to reduce the rubbing but the side ridges will keep rubbing I guess!!
 
This threads is a few months old, but I'm glad to see what I suspected confirmed. I got a new Kobun today, it was dull. I sharpened it well, then while trying various ways to carry it and pulling it from its sheath maybe a dozen times it was dull again. (Not like a butter knife, but after sharpening it there was an immense difference when trying to cut paper. I bought the knife after seeing a nutnfancy review, and I noticed that his knife also was dull when he tried to cut paper; he thought it was just because he hadnt sharpened it for awhile. For those who jerked it in and out of the sheath for awhile, I wonder how long it took till this dulling stopped happening ?
 
Pointshoot777 said:
This threads is a few months old, but I'm glad to see what I suspected confirmed. I got a new Kobun today, it was dull. I sharpened it well, then while trying various ways to carry it and pulling it from its sheath maybe a dozen times it was dull again. (Not like a butter knife, but after sharpening it there was an immense difference when trying to cut paper. I bought the knife after seeing a nutnfancy review, and I noticed that his knife also was dull when he tried to cut paper; he thought it was just because he hadnt sharpened it for awhile. For those who jerked it in and out of the sheath for awhile, I wonder how long it took till this dulling stopped happening ?
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting. I think the sheath is just poorly designed.
 
SOG NW Ranger 2.0

The sheath is not an alternate (leather and less retention) but the knife itself is quite comparable.
 
I'm going to return it. For the application I had in mind, a dull knife is unacceptable. In an emergency situation when under stress, where clothing needs to be easily/quickly cleared, or where the body might be forced into an awkward position - you may not be able to pull it out 'the right way'. I simply don't trust it for this application. I'm not willing to sheath and unsheath the knife 200 times in the hope that a groove may wear enough to eliminate the problem. I suppose I could use it to open packages and mail, but $30 is a bit much to spend on a letter opener.

Its too bad, because its a nice knife. Only the sheath is an issue for me. Perhaps the company will get enough customer feedback to make a change.

I'm glad to be made aware of this issue. I have a K-Bar with plastic sheath in an emergency kit and will have to keep this in mind.

P.S. - Do the higher end CS fixed tanto style knives have this same issue ?
 
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To be fair, I have a CS Kobun and have not had this problem at all. Not sure if my experience belongs to the minority or majority, however I have to admit that it's been the ideal boot knife for me.
 
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