Leather Sheaths w/ production knives.

[jayjayhooks]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to purchase a new fixed blade knife and my main criteria is actually that it has to come with a quality leather sheath. I couldn't find a list of knives by this criteria so I thought I would ask your input. I'm not too choosy about specs of the knife but I would prefer a production knife so I can find reviews and would be able to purchase locally rather than online.

Thanks guys,
- Jay

 

[jimh0220]

Condor has beautiful leather sheaths with most knives. Buck has leather sheaths, as does KABAR, tough you might have to order the leather sheath separate, as some come with Kydex as the standard sheath. Otherwise, just look at most makers and you'll find at least some with leather sheaths.
If you narrow it down with some info on the type of knife, folks will be able to make more suggestions.

 

[Lawrence Helm]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to purchase a new fixed blade knife and my main criteria is actually that it has to come with a quality leather sheath. I couldn't find a list of knives by this criteria so I thought I would ask your input. I'm not too choosy about specs of the knife but I would prefer a production knife so I can find reviews and would be able to purchase locally rather than online.

Thanks guys,
- Jay

Yeah, Buck has some leather sheaths but I've never liked them. It offends my Marine Corps training that the knives rattle around in them -- at least the ones I have. I carry a fixed-bladed knife on hikes and since I have a lot of knives I change off depending upon my mood. I ask "how long," because while I have a USMC Ka-Bar fighting knife, the actual model used in WWII, it is rather long. Also, since I don't go on hikes to fight it has never seemed ideal. On the other hand the Ka-Bar downsized versions of the Ka-Bar fighting knife seem almost ideal. [The cutting edge of the blade on the USMC fighting knife is 6 1/2 inches long. The cutting edges of the blades on the smaller versions are 5 inches long.] The sheaths are superb with one exception: there is a rivet going from the inside of the sheath out the back. It is located about an inch below where the bolster rides on the outside of the sheath. What this rivet is for escapes me. I liked this little modl so much that I bought two of them, one with the same sort of leather handle as the USMC fighting knife; the other with a black handle made out of a soft material which is actually more comfortable to use; although once the varnish (or whatever) wears off the leather on the other one, maybe it will be okay as well.

The offending rivet on both knives is jagged such that if it were to ride against your trousers it could snag them. I notice there is a similar rivet on the USMC fighting knife but I never paid any attention to it and it is smooth and not jagged. I removed the rivet on the Ka-Bar that is a small replica of the USMC fighting knife but left it on the Black version. It is located in a slight curve on the back of the sheath; so maybe it won't snag anything and I'm being paranoid.

I used Neat's Foot Oil on both these sheaths and they do seem of excellent quality. There's no reason IMO why they shouldn't last indefinitely.

Lawrence