How to loosen up a very tight fitting sheath

L

longbow

Joined
Jan 9, 1999
Messages
4,350
I have a 16" khukri I rec. from Uncle P. When I first rec. it the khuk was pretty easy to withdraw from the sheath. Now it takes considerable effort to remove it. What gives? I am thinking the rosewood liner shrunk up some. How can I best remedy this? This is the second khuk I have owned. Without adoubt one of the sharpest knives and most robust cutting tools I own. I use a user I rec. from him more than this one. This seems to me to be almost presentation grade so the withdrawal thing may be a moot point but still would like to remedy the situation. As always any and all comments and thoughtfull suggestions are appreciated. Keep'em sharp and Happy Holidays.
 
I put a few strips of masking tape on one of my blades and then put it back into the sheath for a few days. ALong the spine and at the cho area seemed to work for the blade I was doing. Others have used a wedge of some kind in the mouth of the sheath to stretch the leather. Either way I would try just a bit at a time. Good luck
 
Originally posted by longbow
Now it takes considerable effort to remove it. What gives?

I am thinking the rosewood liner shrunk up some. How can I best remedy this?
Click to expand...

Longbow the liner isn't rosewood or it wouldn't be so apt to shrink so badly.
The scabbard wood is actually a soft wood that can absorb moisture or lose it quite rapidly depending on the surrounding conditions. Keeping a khuk in the house in the winter with the drier conditions due to heating the house and the naturally drier winter air can cause the scabbards to shrink.
Do a search on tight scabbards and you will find a wealth of info on how to correct, or to tighten a loose scabbard.
 
Thanks for the info. It is much appreciated. I will try the tape thing. I have been pretty much been working the blade in and out of the scabbard all day. Getting a little better but not to quickly.

I did a bit of sharpening to the edge today too. Just used a white fine stone along the edge in a back and forth motion. Not that it needed it by any stretch. Got a little careless and slid my finger off the stone on to the end of the point as I was coming back on the blade with the stone. Holy crapola talk about a good gash in the finger! What a bonehead. This thing has an extremely sharp point and even more so now that I have sharpened it a bit. Keep'em sharp
 
Like the others have said, these sheaths are very weather sensitive! If the problem persists or if you don't want to do the work yourself contact Terry Sisco and he can fix it. Did a few for me and I highly recommend his work.
As far as getting bit by your khuk, some of these things have real personalities, real mean personalities. Not all of them of course, just some. Be careful. Like many repetitive tasks it's easy to get lulled into complacency which is what the mean khuks want. Then they've got you!:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top