How would you sheath this knife?

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
7,743
This is my Fiddleback Karda.

i3hWZlp.jpg


It's a small 3 finger knife. There's no way I'd ever try to hang it around my neck as it's almost as heavy as my Kephart. I can't recall the dimensions off hand, but I can look them up if it'll help.

I'm not only new to making sheaths, I've (somehow) never owned one. At least not anything worth mentioning.

The sheath I'm making for the Kephart is a pouch with a dangler. I like the design/configuration, but I'm not sure that it would be appropriate for such a small knife.

Lastly, most any fixed blade is legal to carry here, but it must be open carry.

Thanks for any advice.
 
harronek said:
Horizontal , cross draw - Very Cool knife .:thumbup:


Ken
Click to expand...

Thanks Ken. :)

I guess I should have said that horizontal probably wouldn't work. At least I don't think so anyway. I usually wear t-shirts on my days off (when I'll be carrying it) and it usually covers my belt. I edc a SOG mt on my hip in its vertical leather sheath and it's nearly always covered. I think it's utterly silly that the difference between legal and not is a flap of cotton, yet there it is.

Let me ask you, have you ever seen an upside down leather sheath? I'm thinking the style that military guys sometimes carry on their chest where they pull the knife down out of a kydex sheath. I'm not sure if that is feasible on a belt with leather. Might have to have a keeper strap? Or it may be a terrible idea.

Bleh I don't know what to do. :(
 
I would go with a miniaturized version of a scandinavian knife sheath, with a pocket clip at the lip, and the lip just about the height of the lanyard hole. Drop the entire thing inside your pocket, letting just the lip of the sheath, the clip and the pommel exposed. I really miss a little fixed blade knife, like your, or a hunter's-pal like to carry this way.

Nice little kife, indeed! Congrats.
 
Last edited:
I personally think a waist w/ belt clip sheath would be pretty sweet for that lil' guy.

Love the knife btw!
 
Strigamort said:
Thanks Ken. :)

I guess I should have said that horizontal probably wouldn't work. At least I don't think so anyway. I usually wear t-shirts on my days off (when I'll be carrying it) and it usually covers my belt. I edc a SOG mt on my hip in its vertical leather sheath and it's nearly always covered. I think it's utterly silly that the difference between legal and not is a flap of cotton, yet there it is.

Let me ask you, have you ever seen an upside down leather sheath? I'm thinking the style that military guys sometimes carry on their chest where they pull the knife down out of a kydex sheath. I'm not sure if that is feasible on a belt with leather. Might have to have a keeper strap? Or it may be a terrible idea.

Bleh I don't know what to do. :(
Click to expand...


I don't know how your rules work .
Does the whole knife have to be visible or will just a part of it , or its sheath be OK ?

Ken
 
If you want an upside down sheath made with leather rather than Kydex, think 'magnets.'
Two magnets from an old, dead hard drive will hold the heaviest knives securely. You can embed the magnets into the leather easily using 'Sho-goo,' give them a cover of lining leather, and that knife will be as secure as anyone could ever want! I made a inverted sheath for an Ontario 8" Survival-style knife for a friend using just two hard drive magnets, and you could jump down from a 6' high ridge and that knife would not even wiggle!


Stitchawl
 
That's a great idea Stitch! I'm going to start drawing something up. I was initially thinking about using a welt cam, but the magnets would work great I'd bet. Do the magnets magnetize the blade at all?

As far as the law goes, it's very vague as they often are. I imagine it leaves some wiggle room either way, but I don't want to be on the wrong side of the wiggle. ;)
 
Strigamort said:
That's a great idea Stitch! I'm going to start drawing something up. I was initially thinking about using a welt cam, but the magnets would work great I'd bet. Do the magnets magnetize the blade at all?
Click to expand...

Yes, the blades do get magnetized a bit, so don't use this style of sheath for any demolitions or ordinance disposal tools! But for more mundane lifestyles that might benefit from an inverted carry, these magnets are great. You would not believe just how powerful these little things are. They are not the magnets we played with as children. In fact, these are dangerous to play with. I've already raised 2-3 blood blisters on my hands from these snapping together catching a fold of skin.

I cut out a square shape (as I would for any sort of inlay work in wood) rather than form-fit, inside on the back layer of the sheath, just deep enough for the magnets, lay down a layer of Shoe-Goo and set two magnets side by side into that, then fill in the spaces around them with more Shoe-Goo. Let it harden for 2-3 days then cover with a very thin liner leather. For a small boot knife such as the Gerber Guardian or Boker Boot Knife, I only use one magnet. Depending on the hard drive manufacturer, the magnets can be different sizes, but each drive will have two of them on the inside of the base of the read/write arm brackets.


Stitchawl
 
I doubt it because I always hear about those magnets, but is there another source for these? I've used many rare earth magnets, but I'd have to use several of the small ones to do the job. I have a small welding magnet that I think is rated for 150lbs and that sucker is easily capable of producing injuries if not handled properly, but I believe those get there strength from the actual arrangement rather than a single powerful magnet. I could be wrong about that. I wonder if it would be possible to arrange regular magnets to increase their power. In any case, I'd have to track down a hard drive as I don't have one readily available. Does the HD from a laptop have a similar magnet?
 
Strigamort said:
I doubt it because I always hear about those magnets, but is there another source for these?
Click to expand...

I haven't found any that are as powerful as the ones in hard drives. None of the Rare Earth magnets I've seen sold in shops have had nearly the power of these.

Does the HD from a laptop have a similar magnet?
Click to expand...

Yes, but... The hard drives in laptops are much smaller, so the corresponding magnets must be physically smaller. Also, older the hard drives tend to have larger, thicker magnets. Western Electric drives have thicker magnets than Seagate drives... I visit computer repair shops and buy a few drives for about $5 apiece. Many places sell their dead drives to a recycle shop for the precious metals in the circuit boards. If you tell them you only want the magnets, they may allow you to disassemble the drive and remove them in the shop. You will need a Torx driver and two BIG pliers, preferably Vice-Grip type, and one good sized flat-blade screwdriver to lift off the magnet once you've bent the brackets with the pliers.


Stitchawl
 
Don't forget that there is one more Torx screw UNDER the label. You'll be able to feel a dimple where it's located, then just slice the paper and peel back to expose it. Then use the screwdriver to pry off the cover. Should be 7 screws to remove the cover then 2 to remover the top arm bracket, one to remove the arm, then 2 more to remove the lower bracket. All are Torx except the arm bracket. That's usually a slotted head.


Stitchawl
 
Hey Strig, those magnets are neodymium magnets and you can buy them in just about any size (small) and shape you want. Not only are they in hard drives but they can be salvaged from cd/dvd playes/drives as well. I like them better out of those because they tend to be flat and square where the computer hard drive ones are kidney shaped. Usually there are two that "float" the lens assembly. Super easy to remove. My only worry with using magnets as such is that one would have to be careful with their cell phone and credit cards around the sheath.
 
Nice little stitching/utility knife.
I have one similar to it to cut saddle stitching
and I carry it in a basket weaved leather looped
upright holster I made for it over ten years ago
and still works fine with a matching belt.
Lots of compliments open carry in Texas.
comes in real handy in restaurants for steaks.
great little knife when Im sewing, real quick draw
and reholster for fast work.
 
A selection of different size and strength neodymium magnets can be found in the aisles of your local Home Depot and you won't need to dig them out of hard drives. Arrange them one on each side of the blade embedded in the sheath so the natural pull is toward each other. There should be plenty of "pinch" to hold the blade securely.
 
I thought that I'd posted what I ended up doing.

This is a snake overlay on 8/9oz.

AR4mkZ2.jpg


I have carried it often and just took the pic. It's holding up well even though the skin is quite exposed. I got a request for the same config, only for a larger knife. Retention is really nice. Fiddleback knives in general seem to have a great design for wet molded retention.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top