Kydex Sheath Construction

scott kozub

scott kozub

Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
861
My shop isn't heated and it was below freezing at the time so I always struggle to get the kydex from the oven, into the press, the knife set and clamped in time. I was making a sheath the other day and wasn't happy with the fit up so I tossed it back in the oven and re-pressed it.

This made me think, has anyone tried riveting to non formed pieces of Kydex together first then heating. It will be pliable enough to quickly slip the knife in and press. Will be way easier to drill and rivet.

The issue will be the layout of the rivets but that should be easiest enough to figure out.
 
The locating rivets don't need to be in the final product. Make sure they are in the excess area that will get trimmed. After the parts are formed and cooled you can place the rivets where you want. Can you do the Kydex forming indoors in a heated apartment or house?
 
I have the same issue. Freezing garage makes getting the fit I want very difficult. Simplest solution is just moving the toaster and press inside on sheath day.

Also, kydex gets a bit sticky when heated to temp, so it may not be as easy as you’d think to heat them while riveted and then slide the knife in quickly.
 
I’ve done it just because I needed to reform an already made sheath and it is a real pain to get the knife nicely symmetrical between the rivets so I’d do what i4Marc suggests.
 
Its not too big of a deal. I can sometimes do a bit of local shaping with a heat gun. I was just if it was an easier way.

Hopefully this time next year I'll have a renovated barn with a dedicated knife assembly room and grinding room that I can heat instead of heating 3500ft.
 
The problem you may run into is the 1/4” drilled holes for the eyelets. Not always, but occasionally they will move and a gap will be visible around the eyelet. If I can’t get a sheath right, I’ll trash it and start over.
 
The problem I've had when trying to re-form sheaths that were already riveted, is that by the time you get the the kydex hot and pliable enough to form, it tends to want to stretch and move around the eyelets, and just never looks as good. I imagine that starting with two flat pieces would make this problem even worse.

This is part of the reason I mostly do "taco" style sheaths, or if I am doing a "pancake" style, instead of two seperate pieces, I'll fold a single piece still, but leave enough space for eyelets on both sides. I've even folded my kydex over at the tip instead of along the spine, when using a single piece. I just make it twice as long, instead of twice as wide if that makes sense.

All that said, a cold shop doesn't help at all, so that's why I would normally run a kerosene torpedo heater for around 30 minutes to heat the shop up if I was planning on doing kydex. Having grown tired of the noise and the smell, however, I JUST installed a ceiling mounted gas heater in my garage last week and it's been a game changer. It actually feels warmer in my garage than my house now. haha
 
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