ESEE 6 sheath question

E

E.W.

Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
14
First off, thanks for all the good ESEE information on this board it has been very helpful.

I currently have a HEST, ESEE 4,5, and have just added the 6. With the exception of the 6, all others came with a nice heavy duty kydex sheath. The sheath that came with the 6 is, well lets just say a much thinner low quality disappointment. I was wondering if any of you multiple ESEE owners have experienced the same thing. Of course my next question is were to purchase a better sheath. I appreciate any input. I can post pictures later if my situation is unheard of to you all. Thanks.
 
I know what you mean, but the injection molded sheaths on the 3 and 6 are not much lower quality. They are really quite good for a factory sheath.

Like you, I prefer kydex. Shotgunner11 could definitely hook you up with a nice kydex sheath for a 6.
 
I love Kydex and I didn't like the injection molded sheath at first either, but give it a chance, use it for a while, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. Just my .02.
 
I hope they're good because each mold costs about 6000 dollars ;)
 
I really like the Injected molded sheaths add the molle back & pouch and you have a sweet factory rig for the ESEE 6

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There's a general tendency to think plastic is crap. I've used both kydex and injection molded sheaths from ESEE. They both have their merits and detractions. In particular, the injection molded 6 sheaths I tend to like. I've used and beat the hell outta them in both wet summer months, and freezing cold Buffalo winters. So far, no issues. It holds the knife, and gives it to me when I want it. All I really can ask of a sheath.
 
The factory plastic sheaths are excellent.

In some ways they are better than kydex. IMHO.

Give it a chance.
 
I have found the plastic sheath on both the 3 & 6 to be excellent, they are lite strong and hold the knives securely. I use the belt clip on the 6 and find this works very well.:thumbup:

Cheers ,
Richard
 
It took me a little getting used to at first when I got my 3 and 6. But after a short time I came to like them just as much as my kydex sheaths. They're super durable and provide plenty of mounting options for your knives. Like Tony said when you pair the 6 up with the Molle back and Pouch it makes for one bitchin' set-up.
 
In actuality they are a lot more durable than Kydex when it comes to extreme temps.
 
R.A.T. said:
In actuality they are a lot more durable than Kydex when it comes to extreme temps.
Click to expand...

It was about 20 degrees or less the week this photo was taken. My 6 and 3 both preformed normally. The kydex on my 4 and 5 were noticeably firmer and less "snappy" once they froze in. As a sidenote, the six batoned a ton of wood for the fire that night without a problem.

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That is too cool man. Always thought about it since before i even bought the 6, now I have a junglas and next in line is an izula II. It would be cool to have all the handles match. :thumbup: Are the 5 & 6 the same handle thickness?? Are the canvas 5 handles any more rounded, i think that would be cool. One more question, are the 5 & junglas handles the same color canvas or a little different? Thanks for your response -Tyler
 
the scales on the 5 are a little thicker not much than the ones from the 6 enough so that you need to use the spacers from the 6 to fit the 6 scales back on the 5. the canvas is the same color on the 5 the 3 mil and the izula as the junglas.

take it easy
cricket
 
I wish my 4 had the same sheath as my 6. The molded plastic is smoother and easier on the knife and edge than the rough feeling kydex. I think the plastic is more user friendly than the kydex.
 
A short primer here on Kydex vs injection molded polyethylene. The injection molded sheaths will out perform the Kydex every time . Why? The injection molded sheath can be molded to fit with much closer tolerances than kydex, perform well at extreme temperatures and has 'memory' to always go back to the molded form even when stressed out of shape or heated to extreme temperatures.

Kydex will fail at extreme temperatures ( we are talking -20F and lower or above 110F) , has no memory so once it is stressed particularly with heat it will not return to it's molded shape and it cannot be fit to really close tolerances to knives.

So why use Kydex if Poly is so great? Cost has a lot to do with it on the front end. Like Jeff said every injection molded sheath is gonna run about $6K or so in mold cost up front and then the mold has to be maintained along the way. The machinery to injection mold is quite expensive also so the number of injection molders are less so price in each piece can be an issue. These cost issues also affect how many and how fast you can make changes to injection molded sheaths.

Kydex conversely is a much lower tech product requiring not a lot of expensive machinery or expensive up front mold cost. In fact you can find videos on making Kydex sheaths with sheet goods and a toaster oven:) We can make changes really quick with Kydex sheaths and changes are easier made for the end user (you) if you want to modify your sheath since there is a lot of extra material around the perimeter of the knife. And although Kydex may loose it's tension with too much heat you can also reheat it and reform that original tension with a little patience.

I could go on with pros and cons for each material but basically after considering initial costs we look at what the end users want and a large number of you like and want Kydex. So we use both, trying to apply each to it's best use and what the demand is. The 3 and 6 have had some military applications and the military generally likes injection molded since it doesn't fail at temp extremes so that dictated why we used poly on those particular sheaths. Mike
 
I appreciate all the responses. I will admit this was a knee-jerk reaction on my part because i didn't read the web info real close. The sheath is already starting to grow on me. Thanks.
 
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