Hybrid Sheaths.... My favourite kind!

[azwelke]

Gaston,

My apologies, I didn't mean it like it came across.

Al

I think leather inside makes a lot more sense, although even leather can be very "scratchy" all over if the treatment of the leather, and the shape of the blade, lends itself to that: That is, the Full height Flat Grind being the worst... Sabre grinds tend to confine the scratches to the "bearing" area.

Frankly, kydex sheaths, and the absolutely terrible scratching they do to any blade, plus their cheap plastic sounds, are one of those things about today's knife world that I'll never understand...

There used to be Eagle Industries nylon sheaths with rigid rolled-up rubber inserts, "hairy" on the inside... Not generic: Specific blade designs... That always seemed to me far more sensible...: 30 years later, many of the knives blessed with an Eagle sheath can still be sold as new...

Gaston

 

[trestle]

Martin Swinkels does amazing work, too bad he's overseas and....well....all the rest.

Azwelke, do you accept orders for your work and is that leather covering the AK sheath? Those are some amazingly tight tolerances if so. Great work.

 

[azwelke]

Azwelke, do you accept orders for your work and is that leather covering the AK sheath? Those are some amazingly tight tolerances if so. Great work.

Hi, Thank you Yes we do accept custom hybrid orders, but they take a little longer to complete. And Yes that is leather wrapped around carbon fiber holstex.

Al, are you doing those by special request?? Looks great.

Thank You HK Yes, by special request only.

 

[jimmay]

Here's my first attempt at making a sheath. The kydex alone wouldn't hold the ASHBM in place when turned upside down so I made one to incorporate the kydex but also have a top strap and a comfortable belt loop. I also kept the screw holes so I could teklok it to my pack when I'm out in the woods.

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[Gaston444]

Gaston,
We use spacers so no scratches, and no rattle. Kydex doesn't scratch, debris does. Leather is more abrasive than kydex, that's why we use it for strops
Please do not confuse us with the guy/ guys who didn't use spacers for a long time, scratched a lot of Busse's so I hear..

Al

Are the spacers in a rubber-like or soft material? Anything hard will scratch, while some leathers do, some don't. Leathers have a broad variety of properties...

Gaston

 

[azwelke]

We use an air gap, so no Rub If debris gets into any sheath, scratches occur.

 

[leatherman]

Gaston,
We use spacers so no scratches, and no rattle. Kydex doesn't scratch, debris does. Leather is more abrasive than kydex, that's why we use it for strops
Please do not confuse us with the guy/ guys who didn't use spacers for a long time, scratched a lot of Busse's so I hear..

Al

Must, remember NOT to be drinking coffee while reading the forums, just hurt myself! Hot coffee out the nose is NOT a pleasant thing!

Here's my first attempt at making a sheath. The kydex alone wouldn't hold the ASHBM in place when turned upside down so I made one to incorporate the kydex but also have a top strap and a comfortable belt loop. I also kept the screw holes so I could teklok it to my pack when I'm out in the woods.

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That is awesome jimmay! Very well done! I love it.

 

[Hard Knocks]

Here's my first attempt at making a sheath....

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If I built a hundred they wouldn't look that good. Nicely done :thumbup:

 

[jimmay]

Thank you both!
I wish I could say I knocked out in a weekend but it took me a few weeks to complete it. While I was working on it, I was checking out the work on the sheathmakers sub forum and realized the massive amount of talent and dedication it takes to make a proper sheath. A lot of those guys can turn a piece of leather into beautiful art! If I tried to do this for a living I would have to find somebody to recycle massive amounts of scrapped leather.

 

[jbs121s]

Martin Swinkels does amazing work, too bad he's overseas and....well....all the rest.

I second this, I only have two Swinkels, but they are by far my favorite and that is really saying something because there are some super talented guys out there making both leather and kydex sheaths. As far as I know Swinkels is no longer in business, I have not gotten any reply to emails in over a year.

 

[Garth Reckner]

Nice looking sheaths guys.

Garth

 

[Andy the Aussie]

As far as I know Swinkels is no longer in business, I have not gotten any reply to emails in over a year.

...... yes there were a number of issues at the end with payments and no sheaths received etc etc. My take was, like many small craftsmen, he became a victim of his own success and over committed (and took money) and was unable to service the production in a timely manner.

 

[jbs121s]

...... yes there were a number of issues at the end with payments and no sheaths received etc etc. My take was, like many small craftsmen, he became a victim of his own success and over committed (and took money) and was unable to service the production in a timely manner.

that's too bad because he is very talented. I had a similar experience with a once popular kydex bender, he basically quit for a year or so after he burned a lot of the Esee community, I see he is back at it but mainly catering to the Survive crowd

 

[Hard Knocks]

that's too bad because he is very talented. I had a similar experience with a once popular kydex bender, he basically quit for a year or so after he burned a lot of the Esee community, I see he is back at it but mainly catering to the Survive crowd

He must be catering to them on FB or ebay, there's not much talk on their forum. Unfortunate, he's very talented, and I had always hoped he'd get things straightened out here.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

I had a similar experience with a once popular kydex bender, he basically quit for a year or so after he burned a lot of the Esee community, I see he is back at it but mainly catering to the Survive crowd

Unfortunate, he's very talented, and I had always hoped he'd get things straightened out here.

...... yes lots of people put a great deal of faith in him and he let a great many people down. I know that he built a base of fans over on the ESEE forum and they hang in with many many excuses about delayed delivery even when he was selling on ebay etc. Sad as he is a talented sheath maker.

 

[jbs121s]

He's had a lot on ebay. I have several of his sheaths but will never use him again. I had several orders that took months longer than they were supposed to but the final straw was an ebay order I never received.

 

[lozdesign7]

Hmmmm Andy and Jbs... are you talking about Swinkles or Blah Blah Blah Tactical selling on ebay etc????

Lawrie

 

[jbs121s]

didn't mean to take over the thread, sorry.

there are so many awesome sheath makers out there, we are really lucky to have so many quality choices available. there are always going to be a few bad apples and it doesn't take long to find them.

back to the original thread----hybrids are my personal favorite and I would love to see some more guys trying them

Nice sheath Jimmay, someone else said it, but its true for me, I could try 100 and not get one that nice

 

[Vili]

Hybrid sheaths brought me to this forum! I just wish I could have got into sheaths a few years earlier, would have loved a Martin Swinkles custom to learn from.

... There used to be Eagle Industries nylon sheaths with rigid rolled-up rubber inserts, "hairy" on the inside... Not generic: Specific blade designs... That always seemed to me far more sensible...: 30 years later, many of the knives blessed with an Eagle sheath can still be sold as new...
Gaston

Got one of these nylon sheaths with my Ontario Blackbird. Like you said Gaston theses are great at minimizing rubbing. The "hairy" lining and ample space make sure of that. Only two downsides I've come across is that it does rattle and thud with movement, debris loves to settle in that fuzzy lining.

Are the spacers in a rubber-like or soft material? Anything hard will scratch, while some leathers do, some don't. Leathers have a broad variety of properties...

Gaston

We use an air gap, so no Rub If debris gets into any sheath, scratches occur.

Thanks Gaston for bringing up this question and thanks or answering Azwelke. In the research phase of making a hybrid, and any bit of knowledge is good knowledge...

PS:First post, hello!