Keep your fingers!!!

We've all been told by the more experienced people on this forum to NEVER wrap your fingers around the part of the sheath that protects the blade's edge. They told us and told us the knife could cut through the sheath and slice our fingers. They even posted stories where a good whack with the blade still in the sheath cut the knife free of the sheath.

I don't know about you guys, but I'd read those warnings, look at my solidly constructed sheaths tightly held together with a leather covering and figure maybe that would happen to a sheath well worn from months of daily carry, but these are good and tight and new. No need to worry. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!

I've recently seen three sheaths without a leather covering, just finished wood with thin brass strips around them holding the two sheath halves together. Listen up here guys, HI shop #1 is in southeast Nepal at an elevation af 2000 feet above sea level where according to Uncle Bill, the weather right now is about a hundred and ten farenheit with 98% or higher humidity. It's monsoon season. Uncle Bill's place in Reno is closer to 4000 feet above sea level and high desert with low humidity. Given time and the two scabbard halves dry, shrink a bit, get loose, and separate, leaving gaps along the edge where you can see the blade edge. Maybe on the leather covered sheaths the leather shrinks more than the wood, making it appear that the thing is still tight. I'll just say that having seen these three uncovered sheaths I no longer trust the leather covered ones, and I'm now listening to John Powell and Uncle Bill.

Uncle Bill asked me to note that two out of the three were not even HI blems but instead decently finished village quality.

The third is an HI blem, and it's scabbard has brass strips running the length of the blade spine and edge. IT's scabbard seems to be solid, but I can't see under the brass. I can't see under the leather of the leather covered sheaths either. But having had a chance to see the way they are all constructed, I can tell you that John Powell and Uncle Bill know what they are talking about.

SO KEEP YOUR FINGERS AWAY FROM THE SIDE OF THE SHEATH NEXT TO THE BLADE'S EDGE IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR FINGERS, JUST IN CASE.
 
Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
Thanks, Rusty, for reminding us to be careful. This is something we should post on a monthly or even weekly basis. Any scabbard no matter how well crafted is not a match for the blade it contains.

Actually, the shop in SE Nepal is about 300 feet rather than 2,000 which makes it worse when it comes to monsoon misery. The mosquitos never sleep down there and clothes never get dry. About the same latitude as Tampa, FL with hotter and nastier weather.

Uncle Bill
 
You are preaching true gospel Rusty. When the Gurkhas remove their khukuris from the standard carry behind the back, they grasp the whole scabbard (yikes) with the right hand, and pull with the left. The obvious and natural thing is that this automatically exerts pressure on the spine of the blade and pushes only on the outside curve of the scabbard. IE: no missing digits. When handling old knives it is really important that this method is used and NEVER grasp the entire scabbard. It's amazing how even an old "dull" blade can inflict damage.

------------------
JP
 
As a collector of "antique" khukuris you know full well that the old and worn scabbards are the most dangerous. An ounce of prevention....

Uncle Bill
 
Rusty, I learned this a long time ago with a razor sharp tanto I had. I never put my fingers were the blade may come out. That tanto went through the sheath and my hand like if it wasn't there.
 
Thanks for the wakeup call! I have been doing this pretty regularly. I will stop before I am a permanant righty! The thought never even occurred to me.
Thanks again!
Mike
 
Cobalt, now I know why you are safety oriented! Experience is the best teacher.

Remind us to keep a safety feature near the top all the time.

Uncle Bill
 
Jaeger, I did the same til I saw how the scabbards are put together and saw through the shrunken sides to the blades' edges on those two scabbards. That's why I posted. Hurts to even think about!
 
It does hurt to think about it, Rusty, but I'll bet it hurts more to actually do it.

Thanks again for reminding us.

Uncle Bill
 
The fellow below makes scabbards but not the traditional type. He uses horsehide of whatever and does good work at a good price.

Uncle Bill

Ron Strachan
Old Nags Head Cove
304 W. Sandpiper Ter.
Nags Head, NC 27959
tel 919-441-8500
 
Ron's a retired engineer and does the work because he loves to do it -- makes a big difference in quality. But, the down side is he takes his time so be patient. He's a good guy and easy to talk with.

Uncle Bill
 
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