Help! Kydex sheath grew bigger, won't fit

diamdave

diamdave

Joined
Nov 29, 2001
Messages
3,283
Left my custom Bradburn in the car for a few days at work. The heat must have caused the kydex to expand. Knife now is loose, especially bad since this is for inverted carry! Tried contacting Gary, no luck.
ANYONE have ideas on how to 'shrink' my kydex back to proper size?
 
More heat is the only thing you can do to re shape the kydex. Unfortunatley this is the draw back on kydex, it doesn't take much heat for it to deform. I've heard stories of guys in the desert where its 120 degrees and their kydex gets soft and warps. The temp in your car in the summer can get even hotter.
 
You can use a heat gun, or try a hairdryer. Experiment with the heat settings. I had to widen the opening on a Kydex sheath that was scratching polished Ti bolsters. I was really surprised at fast it got soft enough to re-form. Try to keep the heat localized to just where you need to re-form it. You don't want to change the shape antwhere else. Also think out exactly what you need to do before heating it. It softens quickly. Good luck.

Ken
 
Kydex is a full memory plastic. It did't expand, it tried to return to its original shape, which is flat so it lost the individual contours of the knife it was to hold. Once this happens, the kydex needs to be re-formed to the knife. This is not easy to do without a press or padded vise and a controlled heating source. I would suggest you look for the original maker or, that not not working out, contact a sheath maker who deals with the stuff. there are several who cater to the custom knife trade. There is a long learning curve to working with Kydex as I learned when I introduced it to knifemaking in 1981. Good Luck, BOB
 
whoa! Bob Terzuola responding......... I am impressed. Thanks to all of you, all good advice. Normark, you may be hearing from me. dd
 
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