Dyeing a KA-BAR Sheath

Semper Praesidio

Semper Praesidio

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Feb 19, 2014
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Recently, I was very blessed to win a new KA-BAR/Becker BK15 in a giveaway over in the BK&T subforum. LOVE the blade - not a huge fan of the tan sheath. I considered getting kydex for it, but do like having the tool pouch on the front. So, after some consideration, I determined to take a shot at dyeing the factory KA-BAR sheath black. So, I picked up some supplies this afternoon:


I used 3 layers of the aluminum foil and an empty ziplock bag box to make a dyeing tank (I'll do this differently next time - more to come on that in a moment):


I soaked the sheath in hot water because I heard it would take the dye better if I did:


Next, I filled the tank with about a cup of white vinegar, the whole bottle of RIT dye, and topped it off with boiling water. Then dunked the sheath in it (promise there's a sheath in there):


As I was sitting there working on a couple of things, I heard this drip, drip, dripping sound and noticed my tank had sprung a leak and soaked through all my fail safes. I got a disposable roasting pan under it (glad I did this outside):


I left the sheath in as long as it was submerged in the dye. I was afraid it hadn't had enough time to soak, but I think the final product came out pretty well! This picture was taken about 5 minutes after it came out of the dye:


I checked it when we got home from a friend's house after watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. It'd been hanging to dry for about 6 hours and seems to still be holding its color well. We'll see what happens when it starts getting used. Planning to do the sheath for my BK16 next. I'll probably do a couple of things differently but overall, very excited about the outcome. My wife was even impressed!
 
very nice! One thing you may want to check though...

Nylon doesn't often take RIT very well. Years ago I tried dying some nylon almost identically as you did [just from OD to black] and after it was completely dry, the black would rub off like a very fine powder. I rinsed the nylon and it almost completely washed off it. I was mad....but learned something from it.

So you may want to do a "water" test to see if it happens to you.
 
druid189 said:
very nice! One thing you may want to check though...

Nylon doesn't often take RIT very well. Years ago I tried dying some nylon almost identically as you did [just from OD to black] and after it was completely dry, the black would rub off like a very fine powder. I rinsed the nylon and it almost completely washed off it. I was mad....but learned something from it.

So you may want to do a "water" test to see if it happens to you.
Click to expand...
Had definitely thought about that Druid (doing a test after its completely dry). Hoping what I read about pre-soaking the sheath and using the vinegar helps. When you did it, did you do both of those steps?
 
Semper Praesidio said:
Had definitely thought about that Druid (doing a test after its completely dry). Hoping what I read about pre-soaking the sheath and using the vinegar helps. When you did it, did you do both of those steps?
Click to expand...

Yes I did. I searched everywhere and polled anyone who I thought who would know. I asked everyone at Joann fabric [I have one local to me], my mother [who made clothes] and the uniform lady at the High School my kids go to. They all said use vinegar and in the manner in which you posted.

The problem is not so much the dye as it is the nylon. It's [for all intents and purposes] a plastic thread, woven into a cloth. Plastic must be dyed while in the process of making it a thread, then those dyed threads are woven into the fabric. The fabric is then utilized for whatever.

I used hot water....cold water, with and without vinegar....nylon is finicky with taking dye.
 
druid189 said:
very nice! One thing you may want to check though...

Nylon doesn't often take RIT very well. Years ago I tried dying some nylon almost identically as you did [just from OD to black] and after it was completely dry, the black would rub off like a very fine powder. I rinsed the nylon and it almost completely washed off it. I was mad....but learned something from it.

So you may want to do a "water" test to see if it happens to you.
Click to expand...

This. Definitely worth a test, otherwise you could risk the dye running out all over your kit in the field.
Can you not buy the KA BAR Eagle sheath direct from KA BAR? Might be a safer option.
 
Wurger190 said:
This. Definitely worth a test, otherwise you could risk the dye running out all over your kit in the field.
Can you not buy the KA BAR Eagle sheath direct from KA BAR? Might be a safer option.
Click to expand...

I'm not finding anything on KA-BAR's website specifically called an "Eagle sheath" - are you referring to this? Says its for 7" blades - seems like a lot of extra sheath for the BK15 or BK16.
 
That's the puppy - I ordered the D2 Extreme 7" KA BAR with this sheath, they called it the Eagle sheath there. It's similar to the Blackhawk sheath I have for my old 1217 which is why I wanted the sheath. I agree, it seems a bit pricy, I know Soldier of Fortune in Wales (sofmilitary.co.uk ) do a sheath like yours in black for about $20, not sure what the shipping would be?

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/black-nylon-knife-sheath-product,15051
 
Wurger190 said:
That's the puppy - I ordered the D2 Extreme 7" KA BAR with this sheath, they called it the Eagle sheath there. It's similar to the Blackhawk sheath I have for my old 1217 which is why I wanted the sheath. I agree, it seems a bit pricy, I know Soldier of Fortune in Wales (sofmilitary.co.uk ) do a sheath like yours in black for about $20, not sure what the shipping would be?

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/black-nylon-knife-sheath-product,15051
Click to expand...

I guess it is less a matter of price and more a matter of its almost an extra 1.5" of sheath on my BK15 (more than that on the BK16 if I decide to get one for it). It may turn out that I don't have an option and have to invest in an aftermarket sheath, just prefer something that fits the blade better - which may mean going back to the kydex consideration.
 
Ah, got you - knife length! Hopefully the dye does hold up and your problems end there. Another option if it weeps dye would be to blanch it in hot water to get as much dye out as you can, dry it out and use spray paint to recolour it. I did this with a Camelbak Motherlode (1000 Denier Cordura) and the spray paint lasted a good long while.
 
Wurger190 said:
Another option if it weeps dye would be to blanch it in hot water to get as much dye out as you can, dry it out and use spray paint to recolour it. I did this with a Camelbak Motherlode (1000 Denier Cordura) and the spray paint lasted a good long while.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep this is mind in case the dye job ends up being less than I hoped for.
 
That looks great. I'm very interested to hear how it holds up long term. Does it stay that dark and does it bleed on your clothes or skin. Keep us updated. :thumbup:
 
you can also try leather dye, it kinda fades after a while but holds the black and doesn't rub off.
 
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