BK16 + Condor Bushlore Sheath

H

Hawkin Hwang

Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
12
I don't know about you guys, but when I got my BK16, I was super excited by the knife but not the sheath. The sheath was too long and too "tactical" to my liking. So I set out to find a leather sheath for it. With some help from the forum, I manage to track down my old Bushlore and use the sheath for my 16 instead. It was a good fit, but a little loose. So I was thinking of an way to fix that. This is what I have come up with :)

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Being a cheapo I am, I was very excited to not have to spend $50+ on a custom leather sheath when I can do something as simple as this. What do you guys think?
 
Functional, too, if you ever need a bit of cordage.

What happened to the Bushlore that was in it? You're gonna need something to carry that in, now ;).
 
granitestateofmind said:
Functional, too, if you ever need a bit of cordage.

What happened to the Bushlore that was in it? You're gonna need something to carry that in, now ;).
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the bushlore now sits in a SOG NW ranger 2.0 leather sheath strap to my lamp as my utility knife at home. and the NW ranger now has the sheath from the 16.....

continental shift of sheaths hahahaha :D

I like the look of the sog with the cordura. surprisingly, the straps fit perfectly, too. i'll post some pictures when i get a chance to
 
Good call on the switcheroo. It's all about finding the carry option that you're comfortable with, and that fits your needs best.

I'm no leather worker, but I wonder if you could somehow remold it to fit the 16 a little better.
 
I was poking around Youtube for wet-forming already-made leather sheath to increase retention. There are a few good tutorials on it.

The downside with wet-forming with the stitches already in is you risk those stitchings coming loose according to one of the tutorials i found.

As far as the original Bushlore sheath goes, the 16 fits in with the guard and top of the handle creating the most friction, where as the Bushlore stays in because of the thicker handle on the palm swell portion. The "width" of the sheath was exactly right. just the "thickness" of the pouch that was slightly large. That's why I use the paracords to pretty much sinch up the sheath to create more friction on the palm swell of the 16. That said, I think the wet-forming might be plausible because it does the same thing without external support. Hope that makes sense.
 
For the record, I really like your cordwrap workaround. you could easily adapt it to any of the horizontal carry positions. If you're going the reforming route, maybe a generous coating of neatsfoot or wax would do nicely to protect the stitching whilst soaking the sheath. Unless the threat to the stitches is swelling, in that case, maybe sponging the water on and going slow would be the way. Or maybe contact cementing some suede or felt pads at the friction point? I'm not sure. Just trying to help take things up a notch, it's what I do. Can't help it.
 
I love the cordage wrap around the sheath!
I do this with many of my knives. It removes the "rattle" and also provides you w/ a bit of cordage in case of emergency

This is my 9, note around the bottom of the sheath I wrapped it w/ 550 cord then secured the cord w/ a ranger band or two.
Tightens things up real nice :-)
 
Thanks PointyEnd for the tip. If I get some free time this summer I just might try that!

MrKnot: The ranger bands sounds like a good idea. I recently popped my mountain bike tire so I'll have some fresh supply XD.... The 9 has a similar sheath to the 16 right (Nylon with plastic insert)? I ask because I was wondering how effective the "rattle removal" is. Also, if it's really tight, wouldn't that scratch the blade?
 
The Condor bushlore sheath is just a little stretched out version of the Kephart sheath. It fits a bit more snugly in the Kephart sheath. I suspect it might loosen up with time.

Glad that this is working out for you.
 
Hawkin Hwang said:
MrKnot: The ranger bands sounds like a good idea. I recently popped my mountain bike tire so I'll have some fresh supply XD.... The 9 has a similar sheath to the 16 right (Nylon with plastic insert)? I ask because I was wondering how effective the "rattle removal" is. Also, if it's really tight, wouldn't that scratch the blade?
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Yup, nylon with an insert.
I don't worry about scratching the knife up too much, it's a user...it's not so tight that it interferes with the draw or anything, it'll still slide out if I hold it upside down and give it a little shake, just keeps it quiet when I'm walking around.
 
My BK16 just arrived today and much like the OP I love the knife, but am not a huge fan of the sheath. It's not horrible, but I'm interested in trying the Kephart idea. Has anyone who tried this had the leather loosen up?

The only problem would be where to put the Kephart. Would a 5 1/4 inch Ka-Bar leather sheath work well enough if modified a bit? I've also seen 5" leather ones floating around. All under $10.
 
Just gotten my 17 today and I did not enjoy the sheath much, looking forward to fixing up a kydex for it. I have leather but ain't really sure how to work on it right
 
I have both bushlore and kephart leathers. My bk16 fits good in both. Kephart tighter

Anyone have a Basic 5" sheath?..... Id guess its the same as the bushlore....?



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Cool; I like it.

The 16 is a great sized knife and, in part due to its size - is a very popular style/shape/size.

Accordingly, I would suspect that a variety of knives of its genre would have sheaths that fit. So, I said that to say this: field and bushcraft sized/shaped knives along the lines of a 16 are probably popular among us. While most of us do prefer using a Becker we probably have other similar knives and a commonality of sheath(s) makes sense.

Thanks for sharing.
 
JDMiller said:
I have both bushlore and kephart leathers. My bk16 fits good in both. Kephart tighter

Anyone have a Basic 5" sheath?..... Id guess its the same as the bushlore....?



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If you had the choice again would you buy the Kephart to get a knife and a sheath or would you spend the money on a mid level custom leather one from a popular auction site?
 
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