Does Kydex Ruin Wood Handles?

[yakantosh]

Will a kydex sheath eventually destroy the finish on a wood handled knife where the two make contact? I am well aware of the polishing effect it has on micarta, and an concerned that if I use kydex with a wood handle it will just slowly sand the wood away. Any advice?

 

[leatherman]

It wont sand it away, but a tightly fitted kydex sheath will rub on wood polishing it a bit. It also depends on the hardness of the wood in question as to how much the plastic will impress it.

 

[Kiah]

Maybe. Where it's just contacting the handle, it should be fine short of grit getting in there (which is a probability in some environments). The main issue comes at the retention point. If the retention is a gentle slope on a wide area then that's less of an issue than if it's all on a small point, especially if that point is sharp.

Probably not very helpful, but it really does depend on a few things. If the knife doesn't have a metal guard to put the retention on or wear on the handle is unacceptable, I'd probably go with leather. If the only obvious retention point is small, I'd definitely go with leather.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

And even leather will cause wear on a knife handle, whether from removal/insertion into and out of the sheath, or just from vibrational rubbing caused by general movement while being carried.

The only way to prevent ANY wear would be to leave the knife out of the sheath, in the box, up on a shelf and never move it.

Wear will happen, period.

 

[yakantosh]

The retention point is relatively small, so I will go with leather then. Thanks for the input.