first Kydex sheath..is this normal??

Robdude

Robdude

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
2,577
I sent my knife in to have a custom kydex sheath made for it. just got it back but im surprised because it rubs the blade a lot sliding it in an out. to the point that its rubbing the blade finish away slowly and every time I remove the knife, there is kydex shavings on the blade.. Is this normal or did they do a poor job building my sheath?? The place I went with was highly recommended and I don't know if this is just how kydex works itself in..?? If you own kydex please chime in and give me some input!!
 
Robdude said:
I sent my knife in to have a custom kydex sheath made for it. just got it back but im surprised because it rubs the blade a lot sliding it in an out. to the point that its rubbing the blade finish away slowly and every time I remove the knife, there is kydex shavings on the blade.. Is this normal or did they do a poor job building my sheath?? The place I went with was highly recommended and I don't know if this is just how kydex works itself in..?? If you own kydex please chime in and give me some input!!
Click to expand...
Yes, abrasion with any sheath material is normal. FRN is far worse though, it will dull your knife too. Leather or felt lined is probably the best option but, will still abrade eventually. I would just stop caring about the finish honestly man. It will get worn with use anyway. Just use that sucka like it was meant to be😈
 
Tachead01 said:
Yes, abrasion with any sheath material is normal. FRN is far worse though, it will dull your knife too. Leather or felt lined is probably the best option but, will still abrade eventually. I would just stop caring about the finish honestly man. It will get worn with use anyway. Just use that sucka like it was meant to be��
Click to expand...

sorry im new at this sheath thing.. whats frn??
 
Your best bet is to get a bare steel blade if the scratches will bother you. A Stonewashed finish will be better then a satin or polished one as well. Honestly though, I find knives are like new cars, once they get a few scratches you won't care so much anymore. The coating is on there for one or both of two purposes; to stop glare so an enemy combatant can't pinpoint your position and/or to limit/prevent corrosion. Aesthetics were not part of the design at least for real user knives. A few scratches wont effect the performance. In fact, the coating can greatly increase friction so some even strip it off.

The bottom line is, use it man. It's a tool not a painting. Trust me you will have a lot more fun beating on it(using it lol)then looking at it☺
 
Tachead01 said:
Your best bet is to get a bare steel blade if the scratches will bother you. A Stonewashed finish will be better then a satin or polished one as well. Honestly though, I find knives are like new cars, once they get a few scratches you won't care so much anymore. The coating is on there for one or both of two purposes; to stop glare so an enemy combatant can't pinpoint your position and/or to limit/prevent corrosion. Aesthetics were not part of the design at least for real user knives. A few scratches wont effect the performance. In fact, the coating can greatly increase friction so some even strip it off.

The bottom line is, use it man. It's a tool not a painting. Trust me you will have a lot more fun beating on it(using it lol)then looking at it☺
Click to expand...
I plan to beat the s*** out of the knife..scratches dont bother me. I just want to know if its normal for it to be a tight fit at first and if it loosens up over time. I wouldn't be happy if I sent my knife in for a custom fit only to have it come back to tight..
 
Robdude said:
I plan to beat the s*** out of the knife..scratches dont bother me. I just want to know if its normal for it to be a tight fit at first and if it loosens up over time. I wouldn't be happy if I sent my knife in for a custom fit only to have it come back to tight..
Click to expand...
O, ok. It's common on here for people to buy knives just to look at. I don't get it but, it's common. Sorry for the confusion.

In that case no worries man. Too tight is much better the too loose. You will never have to worry about loosing it. A good sheath maker makes for a snug fit. It should loosen up some, but not a lot over time. You can also see if there is a tension screw on the sheath that can be loosened(some have this). Could you post a pic of the sheath?
 
Kydex itself won't scratch the finish. Dirt and grit in the sheath or on the blade will. If the sheath was molded properly, the blade should have been covered in three layers of blue masking tape so as to provide the proper clearance before the kydex was pressed. Wear marks will occur over time, but should only appear as shiny spots, not scratches. With proper clearance, it should NOT be shaving kydex.
 
It probably rubs a bit worse too due to the deep blood groove in that blade. Either way, I think you should be ok. It will break in a bit as the sharp edges polish the inside of the sheath.
 
bghorn said:
Poor job. Some rubbing is normal but when knife shaves off kydex as much as seen on your photo, it's just too tight.
Click to expand...

I agree, I have used kydex holsters for guns and knives for many years, and have never seen that kind of extreme scratching.
 
Can you post a pic of the sheath? I really don't think it's that bad man. A bit of shredded Kydex is normal in my experience. Plus, that blood groove is really large and deep which is making it scape more I think. You could always contact the sheath maker and ask if your that worried.
 
Yester5 said:
Kydex itself won't scratch the finish. Dirt and grit in the sheath or on the blade will. If the sheath was molded properly, the blade should have been covered in three layers of blue masking tape so as to provide the proper clearance before the kydex was pressed. Wear marks will occur over time, but should only appear as shiny spots, not scratches. With proper clearance, it should NOT be shaving kydex.
Click to expand...

I agree for the most part with this. Kydex is my preferred sheath material. I have sheaths from many of ths most popular makers and companies. Some are better than others. The best makers there will be no rubbing yet have truly secure and rattle free fit. In experienced or hurried makers will have less desirable fit and finish. I can say though that the azwelke sheath for my tglb does not rub like that and has an excellent fit. Who is the maker of your sheath?

I would say the kydex trimmings should calm down. If you are fine with the fit and since you are going to use the hell out of the knife anyway don't worry about it. If it bugs you or you have other questions you should contact the maker.
 
I have a couple kydex sheaths and some are excellent. Snug fit but doesn't shave kydex or wear coating. One i have was ridiculously tight and I can feel the blade rub as I pull it in and out. I was able to fix it thou by wrapping the blade in blue tape, then using a heat gun heated up the kydex a lil in the blade area. Then inserted the wrapped knife and let it cool. Afterwards the fit was snug but the blade wasn't scraping anymore.
 

Here she is! Honestly It's not so bad now.. I contacted them an they said to use a touch of wd-40 an wow it made all the difference. I'm surprised. :)
 
It looks good but a little more prep in the fuller area would have helped there. The knife shouldn't have it's retention from being tight on the blade. The shavings also could have been left in the sheath when the top was being finished and not necessarily being shaved off from insertion. You can use some blow off or a compressor and try cleaning it out, then see if it persists.
 
Robdude said:
Is this normal or did they do a poor job building my sheath??
Click to expand...
No, that is not normal!

I would not be happy with it. The blade shouldn't rub much at all. I suspect the blade wasn't 'padded' when the kydex was formed. The kydex should 'lock' on the quillion/guard, not the blade. The blade should almost free-float.

A 'highly recommended' vendor should be willing to make this right. Certainly the ones I know here would - if you're not happy, they're not happy. Have you contacted them?
 
TravisH said:
No, that is not normal!

I would not be happy with it. The blade shouldn't rub much at all. I suspect the blade wasn't 'padded' when the kydex was formed. The kydex should 'lock' on the quillion/guard, not the blade. The blade should almost free-float.

A 'highly recommended' vendor should be willing to make this right. Certainly the ones I know here would - if you're not happy, they're not happy. Have you contacted them?
Click to expand...
Thanks TravisH, yes I contacted them and they explained that the only part.on the blade that is touching is where it grabs in the "blood groove" they said they could loosen it but it may rattle in the sheath. They said the blood groove is unusually large on the Busse an to try a little wd40, I did an it works AWESOME now..very happy!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top