Kydex sheaths and sweet knives...

[sloth357]

Nope, no pictures yet.

My reasoning for this post is in the past and moreso lately, I've seen a bunch of sweet fixed blades... Many of which I'd love to own and fondle, some to use like a dirty uhm dog. The problem is the damned ugly arse BIG and sloppy sheaths that come with many of them. And the worst part IMO is that the owner had the sweet knife and decided to make a kydex sheath for it. Like a HUGE paddle style or a really loose fitting and just plain ugly sheath.

Sure I could trim down the ugly oversized ones, sometimes. Some are just huge with so many rivets you can't trim it down. I don't bend kydex, so for me, when I see a sweet knife with an ugly kydex, it just ruins it for me. Most of the guys selling these knives don't discount the knife due to the huge kydex. I've offered a few of you a reduced price on your knife as I told you straight up I don't want the sheath, I'll just have a real one made... Nope doesn't work, they want that extra 30 or so bucks.

STOP MAKING UGLY HUGE LOOSE KYDEX SHEATHS! It turns, I believe, many buyers away. You'll often have to drop pricing anyway in order to sell the knife, the kydex doesn't add any value other than a way to ship and store the knife.. But to wear, no way.

Hmm perhaps this is a GBU thread, so move it if necessary. Thanks and don't devalue your knife setup by pairing it with some HUGE plastic paddle.

I'll try to get some pics up of some of my bad purchases with their huge kydex. Please post up your ugly kydex

 

[X_shooter]

I'll post picks on a couple that could be made a little smaller later. I do like when makers give you the choice.

On kydex - i Personally think kydex sheaths properly made offer versatility of carry if you need that. You could do it with one sheath and a tec-lok. Some knives just don't need that when a vertical leather one will work every time. Kydex tends to get caught on things for me so i use it on shorter blades. It doesn't give like leather, but it won't loosen up either. If you have a sloppy kydex sheath it wasn't make right imho. It should be snug at the top and the blade should almost float without rubbing. The double rivets can make for a wide paddle. I made a sheath for a wide blade and i am thinking about making another clamshell type to skinny it down. However, I wanted right and left hand along with cross draw at angles so until I decide, I will live with a wide paddle on my hip.

On leather - I have had leather that flops around and leather that stays tight to the hip. Either will give If you bump into something with it. I like it for long blade knives. It certainly looks better on some knives too. If that belt loop is not made to fit my belt it drive me crazy. Retention is another issue I have experienced that diminishes with use. I don't like snaps and straps so I am dealing with that.

 

[Jastab]

I can agree. I attempted my first kydex sheath last fri. Like you said, its ugly and paddle shaped. But I will continue to improve my process for better outcomes. And if someone I sell to wants no sheath, they'll get no sheath. Just one less thing to do before its out the door.

 

[NeverMore1701]

Even decent kydex is unmatched in simplicity and versatility. Sadly decent seems to be beyond the capability of many.

 

[cbach8tw]

Some good looking knives with good kydex sheaths include those from Big Chris.

 

[FTR-14c]

You wanted to see some Kydex sheaths and sweet knives...

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I will agree with much of what you said. There is nothing worse than a poorly made Kydex sheath.
These are all from Mashed Cat and they are awesome. They work well for me.
I have several more from other makers that are fine but I stay away from unknown benders.

The ESEE 5/6 clip is nice on small to medium Kydex. They put the clip about half way up the handle. You just have to get a little creative to fit them.
I don't do Tek-locs, Mashed Cat does a great drop loop for the larger sheaths.

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