Are you a Kydex sheath guy?

Due to the humidity and constant weather changes of where I live in the west pacific islands.. All of my edc fixed blades have kydex sheaths and even the few leather sheaths I have incorporate a kydex liner for this purpose..
 

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nice lookin bunch there. nice work.

no im not. its all sand down here on everything and even blows in the wind and gets into the sheath and sticks into kydex permanently. creates deep scratches in the steel over time and ya can hear it as you use the sheath. cant rinse it all out....so over time makes a good sheath a headache.
 
Kailash Blades said:
Thanks for the kind words guys :)
junglefighter junglefighter those are some great looking blades- particularly the special ops fighter. I've heard about hybrid leather/kydex sheaths. Maybe it's something we could try in future :)
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Kaliash,
Since I have lived in the Pacific rim area for most of my adult life, I have had to replace several leather sheaths due to the humidity, jungle rot and just plain wear on my edged tools since the 1970s.. When I had these made, I let the voices in my head take over while talking to the bladesmith who made the majority of my edc rotation about the sheath and that is where I came up with the kydex insert after having one made in the Philippines which wasn't kydex, but a light moldable plastic that has been used in one of my filipino made sheaths for the last 15 years.. I like the kydex inserts because it does away with the requirement of having strap around the handle of the blade.. Most of the sheaths I have had made with this configuration were of the high ride variation as I no longer am in the law enforcement or military field after retiring 6 years ago after close to 40 years in these occupations.. I still live in the Pacific islands and the rotation includes these blades, but now I don't have to worry about the sheath going to shit as a result of the humidity and jungle rot
 
With those big choppers, you don't have a lot of options for practical carry, looks like they are well executed and work. I dislike plastic, noisy, cold or hot depending. Bought a WWII style Great Western Bowie a while back, no sheath with it. Been thinking about a practical sheath - the commercial post war ring drop never worked for me. Dry where I live, and I've made some unusual and workable leather sheathes - got material in quantity, tools and considerable past experience. Future Challenge, though I can't imagine I'll carry it. Round tuit issue!
 
jbmonkey said:
nice lookin bunch there. nice work.

no im not. its all sand down here on everything and even blows in the wind and gets into the sheath and sticks into kydex permanently. creates deep scratches in the steel over time and ya can hear it as you use the sheath. cant rinse it all out....so over time makes a good sheath a headache.
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Yep this is a well established issue with kydex I feel. I think that with good sheath design it can be minimised though- lots of bolster pressure and adequate clearance around the blade
 
junglefighter said:
Kaliash,
Since I have lived in the Pacific rim area for most of my adult life, I have had to replace several leather sheaths due to the humidity, jungle rot and just plain wear on my edged tools since the 1970s.. When I had these made, I let the voices in my head take over while talking to the bladesmith who made the majority of my edc rotation about the sheath and that is where I came up with the kydex insert after having one made in the Philippines which wasn't kydex, but a light moldable plastic that has been used in one of my filipino made sheaths for the last 15 years.. I like the kydex inserts because it does away with the requirement of having strap around the handle of the blade.. Most of the sheaths I have had made with this configuration were of the high ride variation as I no longer am in the law enforcement or military field after retiring 6 years ago after close to 40 years in these occupations.. I still live in the Pacific islands and the rotation includes these blades, but now I don't have to worry about the sheath going to shit as a result of the humidity and jungle rot
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Yes I can imagine it having a big benefit in jungles compared to leather only sheaths. I have heard of the opposite toou- leather interior with kydex exterior so that the blade is not so easily scratched and is quieter. I have also seen sheaths with one side kydex and one side leather- these I do not quite understand though.
 
Acutereference said:
With those big choppers, you don't have a lot of options for practical carry, looks like they are well executed and work. I dislike plastic, noisy, cold or hot depending. Bought a WWII style Great Western Bowie a while back, no sheath with it. Been thinking about a practical sheath - the commercial post war ring drop never worked for me. Dry where I live, and I've made some unusual and workable leather sheathes - got material in quantity, tools and considerable past experience. Future Challenge, though I can't imagine I'll carry it. Round tuit issue!
Click to expand...
Yep for these big blades (especially as they need to be open spined) it is a real challenge to get practical carry setups going in kydex. We're getting better every day though. I think leather is a better fit for these big guys and quieter too but kydex shaves a significant amount of weight on such large knives.
Sheathmaking is lots of fun- I think that bowie would do great with a 45 degree fixed loop :)
 
Kailash Blades said:
Yep for these big blades (especially as they need to be open spined) it is a real challenge to get practical carry setups going in kydex. We're getting better every day though. I think leather is a better fit for these big guys and quieter too but kydex shaves a significant amount of weight on such large knives.
Sheathmaking is lots of fun- I think that bowie would do great with a 45 degree fixed loop :)
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Though I don't often carry a belt knife, I always have a 1911 behind my right hip which compounds the problem.
 
I prefer leather sheaths; they are quieter and don't accumulate grit like Kydex sheaths can. I treat all of mine with several coats of SnowSeal so they won't absorb moisture and have experienced no problems with rust (albeit I live in a fairly dry climate and also use rust preventive on my knives when they are stored). The Kydex sheaths shown are pretty neat, though, good craftsmanship,
 
My experience with sand and grit is that it gets everywhere no matter the material. Besides, if you use your blades, they will get scratched. Both materials are fine for sheaths, but you can leave the kydex sheaths on the blades in storage. That's a big plus in my book.
 
Barongs were often in 2 piece wooden sheaths, tied together with reeds or grasses of some kind. Have a couple, bindings absent. They would purportedly cut through the binding on the draw. Might be an interesting approach if somehow modernized.
 
Alberta Ed said:
I prefer leather sheaths; they are quieter and don't accumulate grit like Kydex sheaths can. I treat all of mine with several coats of SnowSeal so they won't absorb moisture and have experienced no problems with rust (albeit I live in a fairly dry climate and also use rust preventive on my knives when they are stored). The Kydex sheaths shown are pretty neat, though, good craftsmanship,
Click to expand...
In our experience leather sheaths do accumulate grit also but it's not as big a deal because the particles can get embedded into the soft leather. In kydex they sit on the surface and get pressed hard into the blade. Loud and scratchy and unpleasant. I prefer leather for my needs too. I like the slimness and low weight of kydex but there's something solid and quiet and dependable about a one piece leather sheath :)
 
Acutereference said:
Barongs were often in 2 piece wooden sheaths, tied together with reeds or grasses of some kind. Have a couple, bindings absent. They would purportedly cut through the binding on the draw. Might be an interesting approach if somehow modernized.
Click to expand...
I recently saw a video of a person performing one of these sheathed strikes. He swung the blade with the sheath attached and it split and separated as the blade moved through the air. Straight through the tatami mat no worries! Wish I could find it!
 
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