kydex and leather combo sheaths?

Bruce Bump

Bruce Bump

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
Messages
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I like the simplicity of the pouch sheath but am always wishing the knife would snap in like kydex. The downside of kydex to me is the scratches it leaves on the blade and the overall look isnt always appropriate for a gents hunter style knife with natural handle materials and a hand rubbed or damascus blade at least IMHO. So do you guys have any ideas how to make a leather pouch with a kydex holding system inside (out of sight)? Do you remember the Morseth knives? They had a snap-in hold system of some kind.

I want it to be secure enough to carry upside down also. Im not asking for much am I?
 
i dont remember where, but i did see a leather pistol holster that ha a tension screw like those used on kydex. you might try a chicago screw in too close to a molded sheath, then adjust the screw until the knife pops in. never tried it but it might work
 
Here's my thoughts.... make a kydex sheath to retain the knife and contact or barge cement your choice of leather over the kydex sheath.... then finish or tool the leather to your liking.... I've seen a couple of these and they're pretty slick.... hard to tell they are kydex... the maker's used thinner leather than an all leather sheath or maybe a pin lock on an all leather sheath would hold it securely enough for you..... hope that helps a little....:thumbup:
 
Dave, would you give me a run down on how to make your pressed leather sheath. Looks interesting. I have seen leather pistol holsters that are thin and press formed to fit the gun. They are very stiff and snap tight. How do you get the leather to soften up enough to be that pliable and stiff when dry. Also what top coating to keep it stiff but yet weather resistant forever?

I like your belt loops too. Also I plan to use a thick stiff back so all the pressing will be on a thinner leather front side.
 
you can insert the kydex (I epoxy)into your sheath and you don't need a welt! (you still get the scratches.) you can still line the kydex with thin leather and get a "snap " fit but if anything gets in there, it will scratch still.
 
Mark Pointen said:
you can insert the kydex (I epoxy)into your sheath and you don't need a welt! (you still get the scratches.) you can still line the kydex with thin leather and get a "snap " fit but if anything gets in there, it will scratch still.
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Im trying to prevent the scratches but still get the snap and hold that kydex offers. I have lined kydex before and yep it scratches because of dirt and rocks in the sheath. Kydex is not forgiving at all.
 
Bruce,

I've been thinking about this for a while as well, for about the same reasons as you. My thought was to take some thinner Kydex (the .06" stuff maybe), fold a piece of thin glove leather over the knife and do a flat-back pressing of the kydex around the blade (with leather still in place). Then, cut the Kydex so that it's 2 seperate pieces (front & back) and use contact cement to attach the thin leather to the inside of the kydex. Then, proceed with setting up your outer layer of thicker leather, cemented to the outside of the Kydex. Standard shaping of the edges sheath with a belt grinder, etc. Then, set up and drill holes for stitching and stitch through all the layers to lock the Kydex in place.

I haven't tried it yet since I don't have all of my sheath making stuff yet, but hope to sometime in the near-ish future for my own EDC knife.

-d
 
Bruce,
Mine isnt made from thin leather...I used 9-10oz all the way around on the one shown

All ya gotta do is lightly wet the leather and THEN wrap the knife up lightly in some saran wrap (I grease the blade and metal stuff) and then press it just like I would kydex...Has to be almost completely dry before ya remove the knife...That is the tricky part
 
All good stuff guys, You have me thinking. You know that .010" fiber spacer material? Why cant I wet a piece of it and press it instead of kydex (no heat involved) let it dry and sandwich it between a thin piece and a thicker piece of leather. the leather will probally need to be wet too. The rest of the sheath would be the regular pouch style complete with the welt and any belt loop of choice. Make sense or am I babbling again?
 
Bruce Bump said:
All good stuff guys, You have me thinking. You know that .010" fiber spacer material? Why cant I wet a piece of it and press it instead of kydex (no heat involved) let it dry and sandwich it between a thin piece and a thicker piece of leather. the leather will probally need to be wet too. The rest of the sheath would be the regular pouch style complete with the welt and any belt loop of choice. Make sense or am I babbling again?
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As long as the spacer material will take a good set I don't see what it wouldn't work. Let us know how it works. :)

-d
 
Bruce, when I make my sheaths, I wet shape the sheath with the knife in it, wrap tight with nylons and let dry. Then I soak in melted beeswax and keep working it with a heat gun. This keeps the wax plyable to fit the sheath really tight to the knife and it helps to saturate the leather with wax. Once it cools down, the sheath is nearly indestructable and waterproof. As the sheath wares, you can warm it up again, tighten it up and melt away the scratches and ware marks.

Just my thoughts, I like the results.

Randy,Deweyknives
 
Before anybody asks, yes, remove the knife before you soak the sheath in the wax. I submerge it deep enough to coat it inside also. It helps if you warm the sheath a little or soak long enough for the wax to soak in. Remember to empty the wax out of the sheath while it's still hot or the bottom inch of your sheath will be solid wax. The down side of this is you will get a little wax residue on your knife for a while, but it wipes right off.
 
Bruce Bump said:
Randy does the bees wax stiffen the leather?
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Yes, I tell people if they lose the knife, use the sheath. Very stiff and they stay that way. Also leaves the leather a nice rich brown color. If you look at my pieces in the gallery here [first pics here] the pouch sheath is what they end up like.
 
I think Jens Anso used to make kydex sheaths covered with exotic leathers. Jens used to frequently post on another forum, Not KFC, the other one (They changed their name a while back and I can't remember what it's called). They are assoiated with Knifekits.com.
 
I actually just had a customer pose this question to me, though for a blade sheath with a guard on the knife. I was going to have Tess stitch in two strips of kydex into the welt of the sheath and then heat and form them to the guard of the knife. This way it snaps the knife in place securely and doesn't scratch the blade....the guard yes but, not the blade. ;)
 
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