Hello all! I've recently become the proud owner of my first (but not last) custom kydex sheath from Normark (a.k.a. Eric Noeldechen proprietor of "On/Scene Tactical" ) and I'd like to give you my impressions. Oh yes, the sheath was for my Busse Basic #7.
The fit and finish on this sheath is absolutely top-notch. The seams are all tight and very smooth with no rough edges or uneven joins. The sheath is the exact shape of the knife, meaning that there is no rattle when the knife is sheathed. The knife is held very snuggly in place, in fact, a little too tight for me. Modifying the sheath was no problem at all though. I contacted Eric first and he informed me that a hair dryer was all I'd need. I found a hair dryer didn't really produce sufficient heat to make the kydex workable so I broke out my heat gun instead. This worked very well. I carefully heated the mouth of the sheath and worked the knife in and out until I achieved the satisfactory amount of resistance. Now, all that being said, I would much rather have a sheath that's a little too tight than one that's loose. I can assure you it's a lot easier to loosen a sheath than tighten it. The clip also deserves mention. It's one of the newer style "J" clips, which allows you to slip the clip over a belt without having to remove the belt first. But unlike the clips that you find on folders the "J" clip has a hook at the bottom that keeps the sheath on your belt when you draw the blade. In fact, try as I might I could not get the clip to slip off my belt. The clip also allows the sheath to be pivoted 45 degrees right or left. This makes it perfect for right hand cross draws (my preferred method).
Out in the field (my backyard) I found the sheath to function as a good sheath should. That is to say that I never noticed it. It didn't dig into me, didn't rattle, didn't put up a struggle when drawing the knife nor was it loose enough to allow the blade to fall out even when carried inverted.
All in all I'm very happy, and there is only one modification I'm going to make: I'm adding a drain hole to the backside of the sheath. As it stands now, the sheath is almost watertight (save for a small open seam at the very tip of the sheath) and some might say a drain hole would remove that characteristic. I say that if I'm waist deep in water I couldn't care less if my sheath is watertight. What I am concerned with is working in a damp environment and putting a wet knife in a watertight sheath. So I'm breaking out my forstner bits in a few minutes and drillin' a hole.
My final two cents? I have a high quality sheath that is well made, functional and attractive. My recommendation? If you need a kydex sheath, check out Eric-you will not be disappointed. http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/
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"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n"
John Milton
There are only two types of people; those who understand this, and those who think they do.
The fit and finish on this sheath is absolutely top-notch. The seams are all tight and very smooth with no rough edges or uneven joins. The sheath is the exact shape of the knife, meaning that there is no rattle when the knife is sheathed. The knife is held very snuggly in place, in fact, a little too tight for me. Modifying the sheath was no problem at all though. I contacted Eric first and he informed me that a hair dryer was all I'd need. I found a hair dryer didn't really produce sufficient heat to make the kydex workable so I broke out my heat gun instead. This worked very well. I carefully heated the mouth of the sheath and worked the knife in and out until I achieved the satisfactory amount of resistance. Now, all that being said, I would much rather have a sheath that's a little too tight than one that's loose. I can assure you it's a lot easier to loosen a sheath than tighten it. The clip also deserves mention. It's one of the newer style "J" clips, which allows you to slip the clip over a belt without having to remove the belt first. But unlike the clips that you find on folders the "J" clip has a hook at the bottom that keeps the sheath on your belt when you draw the blade. In fact, try as I might I could not get the clip to slip off my belt. The clip also allows the sheath to be pivoted 45 degrees right or left. This makes it perfect for right hand cross draws (my preferred method).
Out in the field (my backyard) I found the sheath to function as a good sheath should. That is to say that I never noticed it. It didn't dig into me, didn't rattle, didn't put up a struggle when drawing the knife nor was it loose enough to allow the blade to fall out even when carried inverted.
All in all I'm very happy, and there is only one modification I'm going to make: I'm adding a drain hole to the backside of the sheath. As it stands now, the sheath is almost watertight (save for a small open seam at the very tip of the sheath) and some might say a drain hole would remove that characteristic. I say that if I'm waist deep in water I couldn't care less if my sheath is watertight. What I am concerned with is working in a damp environment and putting a wet knife in a watertight sheath. So I'm breaking out my forstner bits in a few minutes and drillin' a hole.
My final two cents? I have a high quality sheath that is well made, functional and attractive. My recommendation? If you need a kydex sheath, check out Eric-you will not be disappointed. http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/
------------------
"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n"
John Milton
There are only two types of people; those who understand this, and those who think they do.
