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EEEEEWWW!! What's that smell???

Monofletch

Monofletch

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
10,017
I acquired another Gerber Harsey Hunter from a BF member. It was new in the sealed package with a very nice leather sheath. After arrival I stuck it up on my knife shelf (still in the package) next too the other HH I have and went to work.

When I got home 10 hours later my wife had a look on her face....you know......."that look"! :o To make a long story short--there was an odor emanating from the room with the knife. It's a musty, stale, maybe even moldy smell throughout the house. I would have NEVER believed it was coming from that knife package. When I opened the door I knew what the source was--when I opened the plastic knife package I expected too see an alien colony of mold and mildew. There was NOTHING strange on the knife or sheath. It looked brand spankin new-the leather looked great, but the musty smell was horrible. After opening the package the smell was more of a chemical smell. I would guess that it was whatever they used to treat the leather??

I took the knife and sheath over to the sink and wiped it down with a damp paper towel expecting to see a bunch of residue, but nope-nothing. Went and bought some Odor Ban (for laundry) which worked on the old musty ARMY sleeping bag I bought--nope, didn't phase it. Goo Gone--nope. Lysol cleaner-nope. I even put it in a sealed gallon bag with baking soda with no results. Last night I tried CLP Break Free (you never know)-I haven't opened the basement door yet.

Can anyone recommend what too try next? I need help!! :( I would just leave it outside for a few days, but it's snowing and I hate to ruin such a nice leather sheath.
 
Put it in your attic and leave it for a long time, or put it in a plastic freezer bag with a couple boxes of baking soda and seal it up.
 
Some of the chemicals used to treat leather would make you want to wear gloves while handling it, forever, after!

The human nose is extremely sensitive to sulfur-based chemicals, and a group of chemicals called "Ketones".

That's all the further I want to stretch my chemistry knowledge!

My advice would be to do some research about leather manufacturing, and see if you can find some information about what might have gone into that sheath.

It may turn out that the answer is a simple as giving it a good coating of beeswax, but I wouldn't want to make any promises.

In the end, this sheath may be a lost cause, but, as we're fond of saying here: "that's a good reason to go custom".

Good luck, man, and wear your gas mask!
 
Mono...that nasty smell could well be formaldehyde, if the maker used it as a leather preservative. It is just nasty smelling. Id just email the manufacturer for info...Im sure they would be of assistance...
 
I would get my money back, I assume that was not disclosed in the for sale thread, shady sellers give everyone a bad name
 
rajincagin said:
I would get my money back, I assume that was not disclosed in the for sale thread, shady sellers give everyone a bad name
Click to expand...

No way is it his fault- we are on GREAT terms. This was a secondary knife in a trade anyway.
 
Well I tried emailing Gerber and they said............

Thank you for contacting Gerber Legendary Blades in your quest to find a replacement sheath for your product. Unfortunately, since we no longer manufacture this knife, we no longer have replacement sheaths available. We would strongly recommend completing a search on the Internet for a manufacturer that would manufacture sheaths. You may also want to check XXXXXXX or XXXXXXXX . Another option would be to locate a leather maker in your area to custom make a sheath for your Gerber knife. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Who is a good sheath maker on BF?
 
And some things that are banned in Europe are OK here ! If it came from China , they don't care at all not even for their own people !
If the knife is OK and you like it , toss the sheath and get a custom sheath [get a sample of the leather first .Or go with Kydex]
 
Mono...Ive been doing some research, and I'll stand behind my suggestion the culprit is formaldehyde. Please get rid of it. The fumes are a health hazard. Toss it in the garbage, amigo. Good luck on finding a new sheath. Many excellent makers on this site.
 
The leather must have been tanned with some funky toxic chemical. If you haven't already become extremely addicted and fallen in love with the aroma, throw it away as suggested. Look around in the Sheathes & Such section for sheathes, it has loads of talented people.
 
I don't use leather any more .In 1992 there was a major change in tanning when they introduced some very bad chemicals I bought the first leatherman tool for myself and a friend . I opened the package and immediately threw the sheath in my woodstove. The chemical also contaminated the lube in the knife .I had to boil the knife in detergent to get it out .I wrapped my friend's knife in layers of al foil. Told him to take it home before he opened it=he laughed. When he go home and opened it he immediately called "what is that ? " So that's two people who got immediate allergic reaction .The cure was to destroy the sheaths , boil out the lube.A few years later the printing industry made major changes to terrible inks !! More people got sick. Medical statistics show the changes .

BTW my SurviveKnives knife had a strong smell from the handle Made from phenolic resin which gives off formaldehyde .Removing the handles I put them out in the sun and rain for 4-5 months - no more formaldehyde !!!
 
A Justice said:
Just to be clear, you isolated the cause being the sheath?
Click to expand...

Yes. I checked the wife and kids---they smelled different.:D

As a last ditch effort I boiled some water and Dawn dish soap. I let the sheath sit in there until I could handle the temps. I used a Scotchbrite pad and even more Dawn and scrubbed the hell out of the sheath- so much the black coating was coming off- afterwords my hands smelled like it! And the d@mn thing still smells! Not quite as bad, but it's still there. I tossed it out on the deck for it too sit another week.

I am in talks with a BF sheath maker
 
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