- Joined
- Oct 19, 1999
- Messages
- 2,836
A while back I had the distinct privellege to work with Chiro (who is reknown for his custom kydex and neck knife reviews - Hi Chiro!!) to design a butterfly knife kydex sheath. I saw his page on a whim and eyeballed his Gerber Multitool kydex sheath and instantly wanted to have one of those for my Jaguar 239 copy knife. The result is pictured above.
Recently 2Sharp, fellow Balisong fanatic sent a custom concealex kydex sheath designed for the Benchmade 45 Butterfly knife. I was ecstatic at this knew toy and had to give a review. I promised a review to Chiro as well before but I was a slacker and it seems I cannot conitnue working on my homework until i get this done and do these two gentlemen justice.
First of all the image posted above is self explanatory. The to psheath is made by Chiro and the bottom by aka 2Sharp.
First of all Chiro's.. When it got to me it came very very tight and I had to draw th eknife repeatedly under a hair dryer to get it to the desired tightness. THe blue lines show how this rides on my best (I carry Chiro's on my left side). THe red arrows show where the knife locks with a 'click' due to dimples that cling onto the Balisong holes preformed per my specifications (the rest Chiro designed by interrogating me). Chiro's sheath features his handy dandy 'clip lop' which allows the user to remove and attatch the sheath on your belt without actually removing your belt. Moreover, it features a horizontal, 12.5 degree and 45 degree carry option with a swivel of a screwdriver.
Personally I carry my Jaguar on my left side 12.5 degree pointing 'up'. The draw is quick and easier than your typical 'cocoon' by far!!! However the latch drop opening where you tug on the knife by the latch and not my holding onto the handles is eliminated since the sheath is too tight.
My complaint is that the sheath 'runs' down my belt when I draw the sheath. But that is my fault since I wanted to have the 'clip on' option where I can remove the sheath anytime I please. Chiro's sheath is comfortable for everyday wear no matter where in yoru belt you wish to place it.. kidney, front, side.. I prefer the 'pistol in you jocks' kidney carry which allows me to draw the knife left or right handedly. Chiro's sheath is rock solid, your knife wont fall unless there is deliberate drawing force.
Next is my newest toy. 2Sharp's first sheath design. he noted that he was very influenced by Microtech, and forewarned me that he found a defect in his prototype since it 'sticks too far' causing a lump in your shirt if you choose to tuck out and carry this concealed. The best carry for this woudl definitely be as front as possible.
THe blue line shows where my belt goes and the red arrows indicate where this sheath 'locks' into the knife. 2Sharp chose to lock ontto the knife by the tang finger guards. One thing I noticed with this knife was that it scared me cause the hold seemed loose, and woudl probably let the knife go in any instant since not much concealex was covering the knife.
I wore this for a day and there were no problems. I think a heafty punch to your front or if you run into walls woudl cause this knife to fall though (coupled with the knife sticking out too much). 2Sharp assures me that he is working on a remedy as we speak.
This sheath was designed for right side carry. At first I thought this was weird since it is designed with a 20 degree carry option pointing 'down'. Why would you want your balisong pointing down I wondered. but after playign with it, I saw it as a stroke of genius. When drawing your balisong in the reverse grip you tend to pull down then let the momentum do the opening for you. If conversely you pull 'up' to draw the knife you would have to stop the flow of movement then push 'down' to open the blade. wasted motion.
another cool option about 2Sharp's sheath is that the latch drop opening is possible. it is a sacrifice of retainment ability and easy deployment in these sheaths. As a side note despite 2Sharp's concern about the knife 'sticking out too much' his sheath was confortable to carry. I would also like to note that unlike Chiro's 'up' carry 2Shapr's config didn't leave me with the 'cold tummy' feeling when the knife handle touched made contact with my gut.
2Sharp's sheath also had numerous carry options with a litle unscrewing - even a perfectly vertical carry option.
No mater which sheath both of them looked SWEET when unconcealed. It gave you the nice little 'sidearm look' Imagine if they were both poinnting up then I could do the right to left left to right 'X' draw simoltaneously!!!
From my review I hope to influence these two talented gentlemen to refine their craft in contributing to the balisong community. I was quite displeased that Benchmade chose to discontinue their 'cocoon' sheaths for their new BM42 line and replaced it with the more common 'slap your logo here knife sheath co.' sheaths. Maybe Kydex sheaths are the wave of the future??? Thanks for reading. Now back to homework
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</A> If you play with love you will be heartbroken; if you play with knives you will [bleed]
[This message has been edited by sniperboy (edited 02-18-2000).]
