kydex scabbard or/and repair the old one?

P

Pan Tau

Joined
Sep 3, 2002
Messages
750
Hello,
I have a little problem with the scabbard of my Chiruwa AK. Some wood is missing inside on the spine side of the scabbard. It is right in the bend so the tip gets caught in this hole and pierces through the leather (there is a hole now, maybe I can link a pic in one day or two when the film will be developped) if you do not resheath the khuk very carefully at a certain angle.

I wondered if I could repair it myself as we do not have a Terry Sisco here in Germany. On the other hand I thought about buying or making a kydex sheath (I know they are not that beautiful and do optically not fit the knife but I use my khuks a lot along a creek to clean up besides and in the water and it gets wet from time to time...). So I e-mailed a kydex-sheath-maker here in Germany and he mailed back yesterday. He offers a kydex sheath (he already made some for CS Khuks) for about 70 Euros (about 68-70 US$) and he attached a picture (see link below). I had to send in my Chiruwa and had to miss it for about six weeks if I order one. :(
I know nothing about kydex or sheath-making so I ask you if this sheath looks good in your eyes and is worth the price. I wonder about drawing the khuk as I (I am right handed) carry mine on the left side and had to push it to the back instead of really drawing it.
If you have any experiences with kydex-khuk-sheaths or have photos or drawings please post or e-mail.

Thanks a lot in advance,

Andreas





kydex sheath khukuri
 
I would email Uncle Bill and see if he can send you another one before you do anything else.
 
Thanks Ankerson,
I do not know if a scabbard of another Chiruwa AK could fit. I think they are made according to the knive - so sending just a new scabbard without giving the khuk to the sarki would be a problem...

Andreas
 
It might, just send Bill the Lenght, most are about the same size and thickness. It would help if you told him the Kami who made it too.
 
I found a really nice knife site and spoke with the gentleman on the phone; very nice individual. He has custom made all types of blades, handles and sheaths...even shoulder harnesses. I can't remember the name of the site and I don't have it on my computer here at work. I will post it or send it to you as soon as I get home this afternoon.

bt
 
Pan, if it's a user (and why would a chiruwa AK not be), I'd just fix the current scabbard and press on. If that's easier said than done, I'd try Ank's suggestion. Call me eccentric, but I got a thing about stuffing a nice hand-forged blade into a scabbard that's essentially plastic.

Sarge
 
I have a sheath with missing wood also. I put in some fancy thick epoxy in the hole and shaped it with a stick. It seems to work alright. Perhaps it's even stronger than the original wood. :yawn:
 
That's funny, I've seen that pic on the website of an American sheath maker, I can't find the bookmark right now though. Wonder who's borrowing from whom? (of course the only reason I remembered is because I saved the pic too, to help in making my own sheaths :D)
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
I have a sheath with missing wood also. I put in some fancy thick epoxy in the hole and shaped it with a stick. It seems to work alright. Perhaps it's even stronger than the original wood. :yawn:
Click to expand...

You beat me to it, Bruise. I too, had a similiar problem. I did the same thing, except I coated the spine of the blade with a good coat of vaseline to prevent the epoxy from sticking to the blade. Put the blade in the scabbard, slit the scabbard a bit more to pack the epoxy in, gently, and let it cure. Works fine.....

I also mixed a little kiwi black polish in the epoxy, smoothed off the leather after epoxy cured and put some black shoe dye on it. Hardly notice the repair.
 
Call me eccentric, but I got a thing about stuffing a nice hand-forged blade into a scabbard that's essentially plastic.
Click to expand...

... Silvrfalcn, that's what I meant when I said it would not really fit to combine a HI Khukuri and a kydex-sheath - I feel the same. :rolleyes: However I have not tried it yet and kydex seems to be a good choice that would save me time (it takes long to dry a soaked scabbard and I do not dare to put my khuk into a wet scabbard...). :confused:

Thanks for the good advice, I think I will try to repair the scabbard in any case.

Andreas
 
The kydex sheath might work, and you could alsways have a retaining strap attached up near the handle for extra security. If you use it in water or wet connsitions, you might have the maker put a hole in either side of the scabbard near the tip, this allows for water to drain from the scabbard.

Keith
 
Slitting the leather to get more epoxy in seems like a good idea. My missing wood was on the cutting edge side so I probably had a little more tolerance in how much "goop" I could have put in.

Maybe I'll knit a sheath out of kevlar. :)

That leather sheath that Terry Sisco made for Beoram was absolutely wonderful.
 
Thanks a lot!
I know that Terry sisco does good work but wondered if shipping from Europe to the US and back would be too high if it could be fixed here.

bye,
Andreas
 
My preferences:

1) Fix it myself

2) Go kydex

The reason I'd use a kydex (or other synthetic) sheath, is that the khuk would perform better with a kydex sheath. Take it down to the river, fill everything with water, then just dump it out and dry for a few hours. You can still use the sheath that came with it if you want to show off - just be careful going in and out. For working situations, go with quick and easy.

I think it's similar to the Canadian army (?) guy who got a Tarwar, and had second thoughts about subduing the Magic Stone finish. Several people had the insight that the kamis designed the knives to be used, and would recognize that a mirror isn't the best thing to take into battle. Same here. I'd bet that if kydex were cheaply available, Nepalis would use it. Bura wouldn't present a kothimoda to the king in kydex, but he might send some ghurkas off to war with it.

Still, there is something magical about a good leather sheath.....

YMMV
 
I think you are right - almost like working-clothes or a dinner-suit have their surroundings they fit in.

OK, I think I will order a kydex sheath for the "wet" jobs and repair carfully the leather scabbard to match the more formal occasions
:)

Thanks everyone for the tipps and the help you provided!

Bye,
Andreas
 
Found the link, I think that pic was originally from
www.survivalsheath.com . It's not on their website now but you can see they offer sheaths for the CS khuk-like objects and can do custom stuff.
 
Thanks mpisi!
I see they are about 20US$ cheaper than the guy here in Germany - about enough to pay shipping to the US (if I do not count customs duty) or enough to negotiate a bit (I guess he has no fixed prices for khukuri-sheaths as the khuks are VERY unusual over here - a friend who is a lord of the ring-freak meant my 18" AK would pass as an orc-knife :eek: )

Bye
Andreas
 
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