- Joined
- Aug 30, 2007
- Messages
- 5,483
The bow legged chopper can't have a decent kydex sheath. I'll explain. I went through three molds last night trying to find one that worked.
The first was a standard sandwich, two pieces of kydex, one molded to each side of the blade. When I got it molded perfectly, I set the eyelets. Now I did take into account that the tip of the blade is much wider that the top, so I space the eyelets far enough away to accomidate it. The knife came out of the sheath with waaay too much drag. Then I looked at it and thought, "this sheath is damn near 5 inches wide." Plus, there is no way to get the knife back in the sheath once it's out. The shape of the tip prevents it. So I cut that sheath in half, threw it in the trash, and started over.
The second sheath I decided to do as a fold over to cut down on the width. Great idea. Molded like a champ. Somehow I forgot in the process, that it still wouldn't fix the problem of the tip of the blade not being able to be inserted into the sheath. See, with most standard shaped tips, the point goes into the sheath and as you slide the blade it, it spreads naturally. With this knife, the point isn't a point at all. It's a long blunt side. It does come at an angle, but unfortunately, the angle goes in the wrong direction. With the way the kydex molds, the point where the blade first comes in contact with the sheath upon sheathing, it's pretty much just flat and there's no opening. I thought, "well maybe I can flare it a little to get the desired effect." NOPE. Even with a flared opening, the blade tries to go the wrong way when you start to push it into the sheath. So, I cut that one in half and threw it in the trash.
Next came a vision. The whole problem was that the sheath was molded to the blade. Since the blade was shaped crazy, why not just mold it as though the blade was unifrom from tip to hilt? I got out a piece of 1/4 inch pine, traced the blade shape, drew staright parallel lines, cut it with the scroll saw, and got to molding. Terrific! Now how the hell do I get the knife to stay in the sheath since now it has no retention what so ever? How about a retention snap strap. Great idea other than it looks like crap and the knife still wiggles around toward the handle in the sheath. Frustrated, yet again, I cut that bastard in half and threw it in the trash. I got on the internet and started looking for inspiration. There's only one sheath style i can see being able to be molded with kydex and actually working.
This...
Unfortunately, it looks the sh!t and wouldn't work worth a damn in a baldric rig. After thinking about how I would feel if that sheath came with my brand new $350 knife. I decided not to waste another piece of kydex.
So in conclusion, a kydex sheath will not be a good choice for this knife. I'm going to have to recomend a leather sheath where the opening for the blade is nice and uniform like a kuhkri sheath with a retention strap. It took a lot of alcohol last night to wash away the frustration. Now that I'm writing this, it's all coming flooding back.
Andy, gimme a call when you get a chance. I can bring this big f@#$er back out to you tonight.
Sorry I couldn't make this thing work. I feel an overwelming sense of defeat. I wanted this thing to have a seriously kick ass sheath and it just wouldn't work.
The first was a standard sandwich, two pieces of kydex, one molded to each side of the blade. When I got it molded perfectly, I set the eyelets. Now I did take into account that the tip of the blade is much wider that the top, so I space the eyelets far enough away to accomidate it. The knife came out of the sheath with waaay too much drag. Then I looked at it and thought, "this sheath is damn near 5 inches wide." Plus, there is no way to get the knife back in the sheath once it's out. The shape of the tip prevents it. So I cut that sheath in half, threw it in the trash, and started over.
The second sheath I decided to do as a fold over to cut down on the width. Great idea. Molded like a champ. Somehow I forgot in the process, that it still wouldn't fix the problem of the tip of the blade not being able to be inserted into the sheath. See, with most standard shaped tips, the point goes into the sheath and as you slide the blade it, it spreads naturally. With this knife, the point isn't a point at all. It's a long blunt side. It does come at an angle, but unfortunately, the angle goes in the wrong direction. With the way the kydex molds, the point where the blade first comes in contact with the sheath upon sheathing, it's pretty much just flat and there's no opening. I thought, "well maybe I can flare it a little to get the desired effect." NOPE. Even with a flared opening, the blade tries to go the wrong way when you start to push it into the sheath. So, I cut that one in half and threw it in the trash.
Next came a vision. The whole problem was that the sheath was molded to the blade. Since the blade was shaped crazy, why not just mold it as though the blade was unifrom from tip to hilt? I got out a piece of 1/4 inch pine, traced the blade shape, drew staright parallel lines, cut it with the scroll saw, and got to molding. Terrific! Now how the hell do I get the knife to stay in the sheath since now it has no retention what so ever? How about a retention snap strap. Great idea other than it looks like crap and the knife still wiggles around toward the handle in the sheath. Frustrated, yet again, I cut that bastard in half and threw it in the trash. I got on the internet and started looking for inspiration. There's only one sheath style i can see being able to be molded with kydex and actually working.
This...
Unfortunately, it looks the sh!t and wouldn't work worth a damn in a baldric rig. After thinking about how I would feel if that sheath came with my brand new $350 knife. I decided not to waste another piece of kydex.
So in conclusion, a kydex sheath will not be a good choice for this knife. I'm going to have to recomend a leather sheath where the opening for the blade is nice and uniform like a kuhkri sheath with a retention strap. It took a lot of alcohol last night to wash away the frustration. Now that I'm writing this, it's all coming flooding back.
Andy, gimme a call when you get a chance. I can bring this big f@#$er back out to you tonight.
Sorry I couldn't make this thing work. I feel an overwelming sense of defeat. I wanted this thing to have a seriously kick ass sheath and it just wouldn't work.
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I'll bust it out tonight and see how it turns out.
