Does the sheath matter to you?

I just returned a Tactile dreadeye because the sheath was horrible. Light shake and it came flying out. Tactile wasn’t much help either and at the price of the knife I didn’t want to pay for a better sheath.
 
As long as I can set the sheath up for left-hand draw: I'm good to go!
 
I make leather sheaths for most of my FBs as the originals usually are not up to the same standard as the blade. Case in point, Benchmade's Puukko 200. Knife is great, the sheath sucked, so I used it for a pattern to make a better one out of heavier latigo saddle leather. Same for my Kabar Mark 1 (big, floppy, thin leather sheath two sizes too large). I'm making a vertical sheath for my Bradford Guardian 3 -- the horizontal sheath it came with is fine but I don't care for that style. Most of Buck's leather sheaths are fine, and my Marbles knives (from Mike Stewart's shop at the time) came with excellent heavy duty leather sheaths. I've re-sheathed all of my Cold Steel knives in new leather. Kydex/Concealex sheaths tend to pick up grit that scratches the blades and add too much bulk for my taste.
 
Almost every fixed blade knife I've bought came with a rubbish sheath. I would prefer the option of buying a knife without the sheath for a reduced cost and then paying for a custom sheath.
 
When I buy a fixed blade I expect to have a sheath with it. I don’t care what it looks like, the plainer the better. I actually don’t like the fancy leather sheaths, but I do appreciate the craftsmanship and effort involved. I like kydex and leather. For kydex, I want taco style, compact as possible, and a secure fit. Leather, imo, can get away with a less perfect fit.
 
I like good but simple, if the sheath makes up a decent portion of the selling price. Sheathes like Randall, Dozier, Cutlery Shoppe's old Sheath Tech, etc.... puts out or used to put out. Not a fan of excessive bulk or stuff trying to be the SAK of sheathes.
 
As a lefty, the sheath matters as much as the knife if not more. I strongly prefer kydex over leather in general, but especially because it's easily reversible from right to left handed. I bought a Bradford G3 instead of a Lionsteel M4 because the G3 came with a lefty leather sheath Bradford swapped for me. I also got kydex for it which I use most often. With the M4 I would have had to get a custom sheath for it.
 
I don't think I've ever refused to buy a knife I want due to a poor sheath, but I have a substantial pile of great knives I don't carry (yet) due to poor sheaths. Fortunately I have found a source for inexpensive, generic leather pouch sheaths for fixed blades that were otherwise uncarry-able. But costs do add up and I admit I don't like the disappointment of learning a new knife has a terrible sheath.
 
I like to get a sheath with a knife, but if it is a bigger knife, I am never going to carry it on my belt, so the sheath only has to be good enough to protect the blade in my pack and keep me from cutting myself. A cardboard slip wrapped in duct tape works for my purposes.
 
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Lee D said:
If I’m dropping my money on a fixed blade I expect an acceptable sheath to accompany it. If Buck and KaBar can do it, there’s no excuse why all manufacturers can’t.
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My ka bar fighter (1271) came with a pretty sloppy sheath tbh. Ka bar has since upgraded it but I’m stuck with the first edition… 🤨
 
I don't like these kydex sheaths that attach below the knife hilt. They hit me in my side and I only use sheaths that drop the knife down, so the knife hangs below my belt. Just carries better and feels more natural to me.
 
Yes, the sheath matters. I’ve spent more on a custom sheath than I had spent on the knife with the stock sheath. If I don’t like the sheath I won’t carry the knife, and if I don’t carry the knife it won’t get used, and if it doesn’t get used it gets sold or traded.

I’m mainly a kydex man, but I have some damn nice leather rigs that I wouldn’t swap for kydex. They just need to carry the way I want them to in the position I want them to. Mainly high and tight, 3:00 - 3:20. Haaaaate danglers - no desire to have my blade flopping all around by my leg, gimme high and tight and outta the way.
 
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