Favorite sheath materials?

[fogelmanc]

Just wondering, i know there are a bunch of sheath materials out there, so lets hear everybody's favorite materials and why. I'm new to this obsession/addiction/hobby so i need some advice and info on why you love the given material. I dont mind if you prefer different materials based on the tool, season, etc. Just need some pros and cons. Thanks in advance!

 

[rayban]

OK...I'll play......I'm partial to leather, I just plain like working with it and the creativity it allows, ........and because it smells good

 

[Travis E. Daniel]

Rayban pretty much nailed it. Just to add a note, just look for work by Paul Long and Stuart Branson and you will understand why i like leather the best. So much can be done with leather vs. other material. I used to hate leather working because i knew nothing about working it . Now i spend more money on leather and all the items associated with it than i did on my Ex. Trav

 

[fogelmanc]

thanks, i was going for leather too, but i live in a very rainy area and i dont want to damage a nice leather sheath. (and it loses the "new sheath smell" in the rain.)

 

[mostho]

For my knives I prefer a good vegetal tanned leather always.
Second other materials starting from kydex

 

[Kiah]

I like ....






wait for it





.... Kydex!

Seriously, I spend a lot of time in the woods. Climbing, falling, dragging stuff around, etc. Kydex lets me carry my knives the way I want (inverted over the right butt cheek mostly) without worrying about losing my blade. Leather looks better, and for a knife that I might just wear around town I may choose it. For getting dirty though, I stick with plastic.

 

[sheathmaker]

Well, I can truthfully say LEATHER has been "berry, berry" good to me, but that does not address your question nor provide a solution for you. If it's going to be a regular user and in a climate not all that friendly to leather, then Kydex would probably best your best option. You might also look at Martin Swinkel's offerings which combine the best of both worlds using Kydex and Leather (half tanned), and you might even be able to convince Kiah to cover one of his excellent sheaths with leather.

Paul

 

[Kiah]

you might even be able to convince Kiah to cover one of his excellent sheaths with leather.

Thanks for the props friend. Not doing it right now though. I plan to make some attempts in the next little bit after expanding my Kydex knowledge a bit more, but I do recommend Martin for hybrid sheaths. He does some awesome stuff.