First sheath!

Shoki

Shoki

Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
7,395
Inspired by Marion Poff and others' excellent kydex work for Moras and survival-type knives, I purchased myself a square foot of orange Kydex. My original plan was to just make some little sheaths for firesteels, bic lighters, and maybe a camp axe but I couldn't help myself. As soon as I had the Kydex in my hand I went to town with my newest Mora and this is what I came up with:
Photoon2010-02-16at2248.jpg

Photoon2010-02-16at22482.jpg


It's a little simple and a little rough but I'm really happy with it. I think once my ferro rod comes in, I'll make a loop and add it but other than that I think it's finished. What do you guys think? Sorry about any loss of vision or headaches resulting from my color choice. :D
 
The more I hang around this place, the more I like orange ;)


Looks nice, how's the retention on it? What'd you use to press it?
 
6shooter said:
The more I hang around this place, the more I like orange ;)


Looks nice, how's the retention on it? What'd you use to press it?
Click to expand...

Thank you. The retention is much better than the factory sheath and requires a solid tug to pull it out. To press it, I just used my fluffiest bath towel, the floor, and a frying pan. Pretty primitive but it worked great.
 
Very nice! Looks nicer than mine. Love the simple look.
I used basically the same setup, but with a wooden board instead of a frying pan.
 
Nice! I've thought about getting some to try and make some lighter holders and such myself but I'm worried it'll be addicting. LOL
 
Nice first attempt! Like 6shooter, I find orange growing on me. (Of course, it could be some kind of fungus :rolleyes: )

On my list of things to try/do.

Doc
 
Stormstaff said:
Nice! I've thought about getting some to try and make some lighter holders and such myself but I'm worried it'll be addicting. LOL
Click to expand...


I haven't used all the Kydex yet and I'm already thinking about ordering more! I think a lighter holder is next and I want to experiment with making a handle for a ferro rod.
 
Nice job! I would round off some of the corners more but that's just a personal preference and can always be done later. A fluffy towel and a frying pan. :D :thumbup: Kydex is great stuff. My first sheath was for my wife's nicest kitchen knife because she kept throwing it in the drawer and dinging up the edge. It spiraled from there.

What kind of tools did you use? Drill, dremel, bench grinder, etc.?
 
hoopster said:
Nice job! I would round off some of the corners more but that's just a personal preference and can always be done later. A fluffy towel and a frying pan. :D :thumbup: Kydex is great stuff. My first sheath was for my wife's nicest kitchen knife because she kept throwing it in the drawer and dinging up the edge. It spiraled from there.

What kind of tools did you use? Drill, dremel, bench grinder, etc.?
Click to expand...

I do plan to round the corners down and clean it up.
At the moment, most of my tools are still in storage, including most of my abrasives. I think I maybe have 1 tiny little file.The only tools I used other than the frying pan and floor were my Dewalt drill, a hammer, and a screw with the head cut off to set the grommets.
 
Blais said:
I do plan to round the corners down and clean it up.
At the moment, most of my tools are still in storage, including most of my abrasives. I think I maybe have 1 tiny little file.The only tools I used other than the frying pan and floor were my Dewalt drill, a hammer, and a screw with the head cut off to set the grommets.
Click to expand...

Cool, that just goes to show that one can make a kydex sheath with little more than basic household stuff. Sounds similar to my first ones only I used a hammer and a drift to set the rivets. Yours really looks good, did you buy the sheath making kit with the belt loop and screws?
 
hoopster said:
Cool, that just goes to show that one can make a kydex sheath with little more than basic household stuff. Sounds similar to my first ones only I used a hammer and a drift to set the rivets. Yours really looks good, did you buy the sheath making kit with the belt loop and screws?
Click to expand...

It was pretty simple and I think it would be a dream with the right tools. With a band saw, belt sander, toaster oven, press, foam, clamps, and proper gloves, I bet I could fire them right out and a decent clip. I wouldn't want to go into production or anything but I've got visions of sheaths for every little gadget I own dancing through my head. My father in law already wants me to make a holster for his 9mm.
I did buy the kit with the loop from knifekits.com. I couldn't find a source for significantly cheaper kydex and the hardware was an added bonus.

JOSH111 said:
I like it! A dead ringer for the Hatin TEC I have.
Click to expand...
Cool! It could be an evil twin.
 
Last edited:
Blais said:
It was pretty simple and I think it would be a dream with the right tools. With a band saw, belt sander, toaster oven, press, foam, clamps, and proper gloves, I bet I could fire them right out and a decent clip. I wouldn't want to go into production or anything but I've got visions of sheaths for every little gadget I own dancing through my head. My father in law already wants me to make a holster for his 9mm.
I did buy the kit with the loop from knifekits.com. I couldn't find a source for significantly cheaper kydex and the hardware was an added bonus.


Cool! It could be an evil twin.
Click to expand...

I wish it was easy to fire them out. :D I've got all the right tools and still, kydex can be very unforgiving and frustrating. I'm sure it's nothing like leather. I romanticize what it must be like working with a natural material that's flexible. Maybe the grass is just greener on the other side.
 
hoopster said:
I wish it was easy to fire them out. :D I've got all the right tools and still, kydex can be very unforgiving and frustrating. I'm sure it's nothing like leather. I romanticize what it must be like working with a natural material that's flexible. Maybe the grass is just greener on the other side.
Click to expand...

Ah, I too would love to work with leather. However, I've been comparing Kydex with fiberglass in terms of ease of work so I guess that's why I find it so fantastic. Fiberglass is messy, sticky, totally unforgiving, and you don't really get a second chance once the resin sets up. I like that I can put a malformed project back into the oven and it will unfold and go back to perfectly flat stock. I'm only really worried about cutting the stock too small.

I was just admiring your Izula sheaths and I was wondering how you made the little thumb-tread area on the top of the sheath. Did you just use a file or some other trick? Great idea and it looks really cool.
 
Great job! Don't appologize for it being simple; in my experience, simple usually means relable. Complex just means more things to go wrong with it. As for the orange color, well, I did have to reach for my sun glasses, but, on the plus sude, you are not likely to loose it if you drop it in the booneys!
 
hoopster said:
kydex can be very unforgiving and frustrating.
Click to expand...

Yeah. You have that right. Last week I pressed one knife, 5 times before I got what I wanted. There are a couple knives that I still have not found elegant sheathing solutions for... They wink at me from the bench, laughing at my clumsy attempts....

When it goes right, it is a dream. But, when it starts to fight you....

Marion
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top