i have a dumb question

those sheaths will not dull your knife.

hitting things like rocks with the butt is not good for that style of butt (that sounded wierd)
 
so you are saying that certain styles of knives are made for butt striking?

thats kind of wierd... so what kind of things is the end of my knife suited for?
 
"... so what kind of things is the end of my knife suited for?"

It lets you keep a better grip on the knife.
 
Rich357 said:
"... so what kind of things is the end of my knife suited for?"

It lets you keep a better grip on the knife.
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oh i c.

butt how long would my knife last, say, as a hammer to hammer nails and tent stakes?
 
Well, the first nail you hit would gouge through the powder coating.

I guess it wouldn't make your blade fall off...it just kinda of rubs you the wrong way imagining it.
I was once out somewhere and needed a hammer-like function but the closest thing I had available was my 4D Mag-Lite so I resorted to it. It's now got a nickel-sized collection of shiny little dings through the black paint job that I get to shake my head at every time I pull it out. The light's fine, function unaffected, but it's an unpleasant scar from using the wrong tool for the job.
 
bobby.t said:
Well, the first nail you hit would gouge through the powder coating.

I guess it wouldn't make your blade fall off...it just kinda of rubs you the wrong way imagining it.
I was once out somewhere and needed a hammer-like function but the closest thing I had available was my 4D Mag-Lite so I resorted to it. It's now got a nickel-sized collection of shiny little dings through the black paint job that I get to shake my head at every time I pull it out. The light's fine, function unaffected, but it's an unpleasant scar from using the wrong tool for the job.
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so when you say "powder coating" that just means the paint will scratch? or does that mean that the butt itself will deform?
 
Yes, you'll chip off the paint, but it will also eventually cause some dings and deformation in the metal. Also, synthetic sheaths won't dull your blade, but you want to watch out for debris sticking to the blade or getting into the sheath, as it will leave long, ugly scratches on the blade as you resheath. This can happen with any type sheath, I guess, but it seems more pronounced on kydex and the like. Even being careful, it's easy to end up with scratches on the blade with that type sheath. You can't really avoid scratches on a "user" knife anyway, so I don't sweat it. :thumbup:
 
what exactly is a "synthetic sheath"? is that just some catch phrase fancy name for a sheath made out of plastic or does it have actual substance/depth to it. *cause i know "next generation" is probably just some fancy name. anyways... yeah...

and why is it easy to end up with scratches on 'this type of sheath'?
 
Yeah, it's just a plasticy material. Nothing fancy. My guess about the scratching would be that due to the hard surface of the plastic any sand or other abrasive crud that gets in there is squeezed between the inner surface of the sheath and the blade, so it scratches the steel on the way in (or out). On a leather sheath, it's possible for the debris to get pushed more into the leather or the grain (rough part) of the leather inside the sheath and not push as hard against the steel (again, a guess, but it sounds plausible). It just seems that my kydex sheathed knives always end up with scratches of varying length running parallel to the edges, whereas my leather sheathed knives don't seem to suffer the same fate, or at leas not as much. I'm not talking deep scratches that could hurt the integrity of the blade or anything, rather cosmetic scratches that are just sort of unsightly and annoying. Keep in mind that some sheath expert could come in here and blow my theory out of the water, but that's the best answer I can give you at the moment. :D:thumbup:
 
so is there a such thing as a 'better' sheath? maybe other than what looks better...
 
I tend to prefer leather when I have a choice, since it seems easier on the blade finish (and I tend to prefer the look of leather), but synthetics aren't bad. As long as they have halfway decent construction (which Ka Bar should), they are very tough and impervious to the elements. Don't get too freaked out about the sheath. I was just suggesting that you be extra mindful of keeping debris off the blade and out of the sheath, to avoid any unexpected scratches in your new blade. After you've seriously used the knife a while, it'll be pretty scratched up anyway, so it won't be a big deal, but since this is your first, I just wanted to give you a tip on keeping it nice looking as long as possible. :thumbup::)
 
A properly designed sheath of any material including synthetic (probably Kydex) will not dull the knife, they are designed in such a way that the edge itself doesn't touch the plastic. I believe the butt cap on a Kabar was intended primarily as a means to drive tent stakes and as an all purpose emergency striking tool, it can be used as a nail hammer but it's not a good idea, if you miss with a hammer you just ding the wood up a bit, if you miss with that kabar you will get a nail through the hand for your effort.
 
sprite said:
i have a dumb question.

will using a sheath somehow make the blade of a knife duller?

my knife came and it uses this so-called synthetic sheath

also i was wondering if my knife was designed to be able to hit hard things with the butt cap... like rocks and stuff
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anything that the edge of your knife touches will dull it to some extent.

if you have a habit of unsheathing/resheathing while running the edge on the sheath, eventually you will notice a loss in cutting performance, though it wont be substantial.

looks like regular plastic or kydex, which is much softer than the knife steel. but any cutting eventually dulls an edge.
 
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