Making a kydex sheath

[Currawong]

I made my first kydex sheath!!

For those of you on here who make your own - and particularly for the pros like Buy Brown, Azwelke and Mashed Cat - I have a whole new level of respect for the art and craft of kydex sheath making! To do this stuff properly - I found out - it ain't easy!!

My good friend, custom maker Michael at Katchi Blades, showed me how, lent me his workshop, and did the hard bits --- but I'm willing to call it mine.


Thought I would show some pics of the process of making it....

Three layers of masking tape go all over both sides of the blade (and spine) to create a small space inside the sheath to prevent rubbing and scratching

Sitting on the press, ready for the hot kydex

Both pieces of kydex get heated for a few minutes (until they are soft enough to be floppy) at about 100 degrees C (about 210 F).

Then quickly put the first piece of kydex on the foam, then the knife on top, then the second kydex on top of that, and clamp the top of the press down tight as fast as possible. The kydex cools and stiffens quickly! Leave it for five minutes until the kydex is cool and stiff.

The result

I got it wrong the first time. There isn't enough room below the blade edge for the rivets, so I had to do it again.

What it look like on the inside

Cont....

 

[Currawong]

Ready to drill the rivet holes

Putting the rivets in. This tool (can't remember what to call it) clamps both sides of the rivet onto the kydex and squashes them together into a single piece

Rivets complete

Shaping the kydex on a belt grinder, so it follows the curving line of the rivets

Heating it up with a heat gun to shape it so it locks tightly over the handle

Lots of fiddling around with the heat gun: bending the kydex a bit, more heat, more bending... until it is just right

Cont...

 

[Currawong]

Creating the bridge: Cut the bridge to shape, then heat it in the oven until soft. Then it goes over a wooden jig (hidden under the kydex here), with two more bits of wood either side, all clamped down as quick as possible. Leave it to cool.

The result

Then drill more holes, put in rivets, attach it to the sheath and put on a tek lok

Using a bridge lets me use three screws for a super secure attachment. The bridge also helps the sheath sit out a bit from your belt so the handle doesn't dig into your side.

The finished product

I had a lot of fun making it !!!

 

[WatermanChris]

To bend kydex well, it takes a hefty investment of time and money. The guys you mentioned we have here on the forum are awesome! We are very lucky to have all this talent in one place that is open to all.

Thanks BF!

 

[duramax]

Very very nice !!! I really like the bridge for Tec lock. Great job and great pics and write up
Thanks for sharing

 

[Chrisinzky]

Both the pictures of the process and the final product look pretty cool. Thanks for taking the time to share with us

 

[WatermanChris]

Currawong - I love your write-ups and pics! First class stuff! Thank you for always doing this!

 

[JACKMANDU]

Thanks for all the pics! Good job man, sheath looks great. I would love to have the opportunity to make a sheath in Dave or Al’s shop! Kinda like how the kids do builda Bear. What a cool field trip that would be. Thanks for sharing some of the secrets of the pros!

 

[blackhat]

Well done! Thank you for sharing with us. I learned a thing or two.

 

[David Brown]

looking good man, great write up.

 

[zombieassassin]

That is awesome!

 

[MattinLA]

Really nice work!

I like the orange part that allows you to keep the tek-lok centered

 

[pease]

That’s a great job on the sheath, I really like the bridge piece to space it out a little more thanks for taking the time to post all the pictures.

 

[OnceBitten]

Really great post, but, left me wondering:

Do you always use a Tek Lok in this manner - hinge down or do you carry tip up?

I've had a couple of times where it opened and the only reason my knife didn't fall off is because the hinge was on the top edge of my belt.

 

[Private Klink]

Great work and nice tutorial!

 

[Currawong]

Thanks everyone .

My mate suggested trying the bridge, I haven't used one before. I really like it.

looking good man, great write up.

Kind words from the master . I'm not quite at your level yet.

Do you always use a Tek Lok in this manner - hinge down or do you carry tip up?

This is for carry tip down in the normal way. I find it easier to take on and off this way. I just engage the lock to ensure it doesn't open.