Laredo -- a great bowie to carry

Buffalohump

Buffalohump

Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
6,159
Hey all,

I'm one of these nuts who likes to carry a bowie, and I find it's surprisingly easy to do so. IF you have the right knife and, even more importantly, the right sheaths!

The Laredo is a great choice if you want to carry a big fighting fixed blade. There are a few versions of these around, as you probably know, and it took me a while to find the combo I wanted.

But eventually things came together and I got the O-1 and micarta version. This is the best version, IMO, if you can't find the San Mai one. The San Mai is a little less work because its stainless but I really like carbon steel in a big blade and you can get O-1 wicked sharp. The micarta handle, while slick, is also very nice. I plan to add some Talon Grip tape to the flats of the handle to improve the grip.

So now I had the blade I wanted but I still needed a good sheath for it. The sheath they come with (Secure-Ex) ain't all that. After a bit of hunting around I got a local knifemaker who is an absolute pro with bowies to make me a sheath (well, actually, his wife made it, she's the sheath expert). It came out really great and he even turned a custom frog for it. The standard buttons you can get aren't really big enough so that's a major bonus. His name is Stuart Smith and you can see his work on FB. He makes some incredible knives!

So I had one good sheath and now the knife is very easy and surprisingly comfortable to carry, IWB.

But then out of the blue, a good friend said he was going to gift me a kydex sheath by the guys at Panther Concealment. This is no small thing. They make awesome kydex sheaths and most importantly, are students of Mike Sastre, who a lot of you probably know is the guy who came up with the Southern Comfort. Probably the best sheath there is for a big bowie.

So now I have two excellent sheaths for this awesome knife... and trust me when I say that the Laredo is probably the best production bowie out there, practically speaking. In some ways the Natchez is even more awesome (and I have one of those too) but the Laredo is a much easier knife to carry.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my story.... hope you enjoy the pics!

https://imgur.com/a/0Xd2VsV
 
The kydex looks good, but looks unreasonably wide? Easily 1/4" less, slightly more possible.
I have a Southern Comfort from Mike and its as narrow as possible.

I regret selling my Laredo :(
 
Can't say for sure if it would make a whole lot of difference either way. Comfortable enough inside the waistband.

I actually have a Southern Comfort for my Natchez and that's also pretty wide. But then so's the blade! ;)

I would say the SC from Mike is a very slick piece of work. The Panther Concealment one is a perfectly functional but they could have rounded the edges a bit.

https://imgur.com/a/1CSoqE1
 
Where can I get something like these sheaths made presently? For a Natchez particularly. I don’t think Mike makes these any longer
I really want a slim leather SoCo style sheath with a few holes for attaching C Clips and mounting IWB. I do this already with the SecureEx but it is not easy to draw from. Leather would be 1,000 times better. No dulling issues that I’ve seen on the new 3V but I bet it will eventually wear it down going into and out of the SecureEx sheath. So that’s another reason for leather. Thanks if you can provide any help
 
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EveryDayIsHalloween said:
Where can I get something like these sheaths made presently? For a Natchez particularly. I don’t think Mike makes these any longer
I really want a slim leather SoCo style sheath with a few holes for attaching C Clips and mounting IWB. I do this already with the SecureEx but it is not easy to draw from. Leather would be 1,000 times better. No dulling issues that I’ve seen on the new 3V but I bet it will eventually wear it down going into and out of the SecureEx sheath. So that’s another reason for leather. Thanks if you can provide any help
Click to expand...
For a smooth draw with the factory sheath try grabbing the handle with four fingers then push against the top of the sheath with your thumb.
 
EveryDayIsHalloween said:
Where can I get something like these sheaths made presently? For a Natchez particularly. I don’t think Mike makes these any longer
I really want a slim leather SoCo style sheath with a few holes for attaching C Clips and mounting IWB. I do this already with the SecureEx but it is not easy to draw from. Leather would be 1,000 times better. No dulling issues that I’ve seen on the new 3V but I bet it will eventually wear it down going into and out of the SecureEx sheath. So that’s another reason for leather. Thanks if you can provide any help
Click to expand...
Panther Concealment make their version of the Southern Comfort in kydex and that does the job for sure. Kydex has its own issues, the main one being it can scratch the blade up if grit gets inside it. If you want leather then you can go to a variety of places. But it won't be slim I can tell you that. Leather adds bulk and weight. So for a knife the size of the Natchez I would personally opt for the Panther Concealment option. Mike doesn't make sheaths any more.
 
Try to get Kydex. If it's made right it shouldn't scratch the blade that bad. I can't carry a large fixed blade. The law says concealed. That Laredo looks uncomfortable after a few hours. I'm just thinking aloud
 
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