Kydex Sheath Help Needed!

Tyrkon Lawson

Tyrkon Lawson

Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
8,583
Now for the sheath question. I have a kydex sheath for my HD. Before the nekkidness it fit great. Once the coating was stripped it became a bit loose. Enough to where it will fall out if I turn the sheath up side down and give it a shake.

Is there an easy fix for this? You know, like heating it up a bit with hot water or a hair dryer and pinching the sheath in a bit. ;)

Thanks. :)
 
Sorry, I have no advice for you, but I am a bit amazed that simply removing a coating would create that much looseness.

:o
 
If removing the coating caused the knife to fall out then the sheath was not properly made in the first place. If you are careful you can use a heat gun or an electric stove element (judiciously) to tighten the mouth up. Cover the parts you don't want to get soft with some luan or something like that. Sometimes when Flaring the mouths I will use wet paper towel stuffed inside the sheath to avoid overheating as well. Do not use a microwave and do not use boiling water. Post a pic and I might be able to help with a specific recommendation.

Good Luck!
 
Concerning your sheath --- is it a friction retention (blade retention) sheath? If so, sometimes you can tighten it significantly just by cranking down on the screws holding your tec-lock (just to the point where the rubber washers bulge a bit. You might give that a try...
 
I have used a hair dryer to tighten up kydex. Take care not to overheat though. Heat just a little while, and compress the sheath. Test. If it didn't take, heat a little more, compress, and then test. Last thing you want to do is wind up with a sheath that is too tight for the knife.
 
only compress it at the handle area and the cutting edge area. do not make it tighter on the spine or blade flats. it won't take much and only heat the kydex to where it barely starts to shine, that will be plenty hot.




.
 
I had the same issue recently w/ my BB/HD sheath, the blade isn't stripped, but the smoothed coating made the fit unreliable.

Actually had it fall out of the sheath, I was upside down :eek: at the time.

I sent it back to David Brown, he tightened it up and got it back for me for my trip.

BB rocks :thumbup:

I figured I could screw it up really good, if I took enough time, so I sought professional help ;)
 
idahoskunk said:
only compress it at the handle area and the cutting edge area. do not make it tighter on the spine or blade flats. it won't take much and only heat the kydex to where it barely starts to shine, that will be plenty hot.


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Click to expand...

I should mention that in addition to removing the coating I also reprofiled the edge. Perhaps removing both the coating and some steel from the edge can account for the loosness. The sheath maker knows his stuff so I am sure it is something I did. I will try some of the suggestions above. Carefully. :)
 
I guess it is a matter of personal preference, but whenever possible I make the retention of the knife at the choil/guard/handle areas. I intentionally leave the blade section a little loose so that any grit that finds its way into the sheath doesnt scratch up the blade or coating as well as because blade friction is not as reliable (as you have found).

Sorry about the HRLM pic, I shot it sloppy figuring on fixing the black highlights in raw but my camera was full and didnt store them. I think you can still get the point though.
EDIT:My Diamondtron CRT is tired from years of 24/7 use, so It may actually look fine on your screen...:foot:

retentionnimravuskb1.jpg
retentionhrlmag5.jpg
 
idahoskunk said:
only compress it at the handle area and the cutting edge area. do not make it tighter on the spine or blade flats. it won't take much and only heat the kydex to where it barely starts to shine, that will be plenty hot.

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Click to expand...

Skunk: You da man! I put the handle area over an open flame on my gas stove being careful not to get too close as to do damage. As soon as the handle area was soft I compressed it to achieve a tight fit. Thanks a bunch Skunk.

I guess this piglet just leaned one more useful skill. And thanks to everyone else who chimed in here. It's what makes this place so cool. :thumbup::D:thumbup:
 
Hi Everybody.

Sorry I am late to the game Skunk gave some great advise.

If anyone ever has any problems with any of my sheaths please send it back & I will fix it or replace it & make it right.

Buy Brown has the same warranty as Busse ............Forever! :D
 
David Brown said:
Hi Everybody.

Sorry I am late to the game Skunk gave some great advise.

If anyone ever has any problems with any of my sheaths please send it back & I will fix it or replace it & make it right.

Buy Brown has the same warranty as Busse ............Forever! :D
Click to expand...

Your stuff is top notch Dave. And you can't help it when WE do mods on our blades. The original fit was solid. You literally make them fit like a glove. I comprimised it when I removed the coating and reprofiled the blade. My fault. But it's all fixed now.

Great warranty BTW. :thumbup::thumbup: And shouldn't you be throwing your AK into a retaining wall or something.:p :D
 
David Brown said:
...Buy Brown has the same warranty as Busse ............Forever! :D
Click to expand...

That is good to know, as i have one of your sheaths and was planning on shooting it with a 30-06 and trying to hack apart a metal chair with it, but did not do it as i was worried about warranty service... but now i feel free to make it a user and see how much it can take :)
 
Ironballs said:
That is good to know, as i have one of your sheaths and was planning on shooting it with a 30-06 and trying to hack apart a metal chair with it, but did not do it as i was worried about warranty service... but now i feel free to make it a user and see how much it can take :)
Click to expand...

You forgot to say unintentionally!

Seriously, these type "fix it" threads bring some good info out for folks who really use their hardware.
 
Tyrkon Lawson said:
Skunk: You da man! I put the handle area over an open flame on my gas stove being careful not to get too close as to do damage. As soon as the handle area was soft I compressed it to achieve a tight fit. Thanks a bunch Skunk.
Click to expand...
happy it worked for you, i got that info from dave a while back.






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I want to do the same with my Spec-Ops insert to make it fit my Ratmandu better... anyone tried this, I was going to follow Skunk's advice and gently heat it up while pinching the kydex tube on the blade side to tighten it up, and hopefully widen the top so the handle can sit half an inch or so inside the kydex. Anything I need to know ?
 
mckrob said:
I want to do the same with my Spec-Ops insert to make it fit my Ratmandu better... anyone tried this, I was going to follow Skunk's advice and gently heat it up while pinching the kydex tube on the blade side to tighten it up, and hopefully widen the top so the handle can sit half an inch or so inside the kydex. Anything I need to know ?
Click to expand...

I had the same thought. I have a tan Spec-Ops Combat Master I was going to put to use for the muddy Ratmandu.
 
I fixed my Spec-Ops sheath just as they advised. Please take the liner out of the sheath before heating it (The liner that is):D
 
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