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- Aug 4, 2009
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Marion David Poff was nice enough to send me one of his kydex sheaths to try out and review-so here it is. Went on a nice little hike last night before inversion set in, took some decent pictures and tested the sheath.
The knife: Buck 140 Paklite Skinner
* Blade Length: 2 7/8" (7.3 cm)
* Blade Material: 420HC
* Weight: 2.5 oz. (71.2 g)
*Blade Width: Approx. .15 inches
-comes with a stock made-in-China nylon sheath with hard plastic liner. Meant solely for vertical belt carry, though will fit comfortably in pocket. Has a practical snap retention strap, though the sheath itself is much more bulky than it needs to be. The sheath is the one thing that holds up this knife.
US made, with an almost flat hollow grind and approx. 15 degree secondary flat bevel. The knife features a very well skeletonized handle, that is jimped in 10 key spots that offer many effective sturdy grips. There are 100 ways to cleanly wrap the blade. There's a first finger groove, followed by a deep belly with an ever so slight general sweep. The handle is not a full-hand design, though the palm swell allows for an exceptionally sturdy and full grip. The point is effectively centered along the axis of the grip with a steep drop point.
The edge is recurved, though not drastically so-just enough to effectively increase the cutting edge on this small knife. The point is sturdy and capable of camp/wood tasks like bolting, and the recurve is shallow enough to be effectively maintained with a 1 inch arkansas stone. The blade is extremely clean-marked only BUCK KNIVES 140 USA with Buck's typical anvil maker's mark. As you can see it gives the whole package a very aesthetic appeal, and I think the finish in general is as professional or moreso than much higher priced small blades.
In Hand Shots
The sheath, made by Marion David Poff of http://marioncarry.blogspot.com/
General description: very thin, textured folded kydex. All around, the sheath is impressively low profile-I don't notice it at all in my pocket. The edges are rough and squared, but even. 15 minutes with some 320 grit sandpaper is probably necessary to round off the edges a bit-I can feel it scratching my chest right now. This particular sheath is of OD stock, and looks very clean. The OD would look awesome with the black finished Skinner in particular. This blade in particular has a skeletonized hole that is perfect for aiding in the retention of a molded sheath.
There are five mounting holes along the blade edge side (three are cleanly eyeletted), and one at the tip, with a small drilled drain hole. The knife fits tight-I'd say a good 12-15 pounds of pressure are needed to draw the blade from it's sheath. As with any kydex the blade does rattle both side to side AND up and down-though less so than any other kydex sheath I own, and it is not noticeable as I walk (too noisy for hunting or wildlife photography).
I'm trying to figure out an efficient way to safely draw the blade-the first time I pulled my HEST from its sheath, I pushed it off with my forefinger on the blade side and wound up giving myself three stitches right on the inside of my middle finger knuckle. The HEST sheath, however, has ample room to safely use the thumb to pop off the sheath. This one does not. Your options are either use two hands, one on the sheath and one on the blade to draw, or one hand to pop the blade from the sheath along the 'danger' side of the blade.
I am neck carrying today (under shirt) for the sole purpose of this review, and at this point it takes too much force to draw the blade efficiently-the 550 chord I'm using stretches too much and digs into my neck. Over time I'm sure the sheath will loosen up to the point where I can, but the downside to kydex is as the sheath breaks in and loosens up, it is more prone to that typical annoying rattle, and at some point will lose necessary retention. I am 5'10, 180 pounds and generally wear size S-M shirts. The knife is visible wearing a size small teeshirt (hunt at the base of the pecs, the lowest profile place I could find)-I threw a zipup fleece jacket on today, otherwise there's no way I would have left the house with my knife around my neck.
One can horizontally mount the blade on a belt or pack strap using a 550 chord wrap through the eyelets. This is probably how I will utilize this sheath from now on. Again, it's extremely low profile, and is no wider than a 2 inch belt.
The other obvious option is pocket carry, for which this sheath is extremely practical-it's so low profile that you will never notice it, both in mass and volume. Wearing a pair of formal slacks, I can't tell the knife is in the front pocket at all.
All in all, at 15 dollars for the blade, It's a GREAT option for a dayhike companion or fixed blade EDC, and the Marion Carry kydex sheath is a capable multi-carry option. With 5 minutes time spent on finish and some slight tweeks in design, this combo has the potential to be one of the top fixed blade EDC options out there.
As you can see, no way to draw the blade by pushing with the thumb.
entire package
note kydex texture, eyelet placement and drainage hole
The knife: Buck 140 Paklite Skinner
* Blade Length: 2 7/8" (7.3 cm)
* Blade Material: 420HC
* Weight: 2.5 oz. (71.2 g)
*Blade Width: Approx. .15 inches
-comes with a stock made-in-China nylon sheath with hard plastic liner. Meant solely for vertical belt carry, though will fit comfortably in pocket. Has a practical snap retention strap, though the sheath itself is much more bulky than it needs to be. The sheath is the one thing that holds up this knife.
US made, with an almost flat hollow grind and approx. 15 degree secondary flat bevel. The knife features a very well skeletonized handle, that is jimped in 10 key spots that offer many effective sturdy grips. There are 100 ways to cleanly wrap the blade. There's a first finger groove, followed by a deep belly with an ever so slight general sweep. The handle is not a full-hand design, though the palm swell allows for an exceptionally sturdy and full grip. The point is effectively centered along the axis of the grip with a steep drop point.
The edge is recurved, though not drastically so-just enough to effectively increase the cutting edge on this small knife. The point is sturdy and capable of camp/wood tasks like bolting, and the recurve is shallow enough to be effectively maintained with a 1 inch arkansas stone. The blade is extremely clean-marked only BUCK KNIVES 140 USA with Buck's typical anvil maker's mark. As you can see it gives the whole package a very aesthetic appeal, and I think the finish in general is as professional or moreso than much higher priced small blades.
In Hand Shots
The sheath, made by Marion David Poff of http://marioncarry.blogspot.com/
General description: very thin, textured folded kydex. All around, the sheath is impressively low profile-I don't notice it at all in my pocket. The edges are rough and squared, but even. 15 minutes with some 320 grit sandpaper is probably necessary to round off the edges a bit-I can feel it scratching my chest right now. This particular sheath is of OD stock, and looks very clean. The OD would look awesome with the black finished Skinner in particular. This blade in particular has a skeletonized hole that is perfect for aiding in the retention of a molded sheath.
There are five mounting holes along the blade edge side (three are cleanly eyeletted), and one at the tip, with a small drilled drain hole. The knife fits tight-I'd say a good 12-15 pounds of pressure are needed to draw the blade from it's sheath. As with any kydex the blade does rattle both side to side AND up and down-though less so than any other kydex sheath I own, and it is not noticeable as I walk (too noisy for hunting or wildlife photography).
I'm trying to figure out an efficient way to safely draw the blade-the first time I pulled my HEST from its sheath, I pushed it off with my forefinger on the blade side and wound up giving myself three stitches right on the inside of my middle finger knuckle. The HEST sheath, however, has ample room to safely use the thumb to pop off the sheath. This one does not. Your options are either use two hands, one on the sheath and one on the blade to draw, or one hand to pop the blade from the sheath along the 'danger' side of the blade.
I am neck carrying today (under shirt) for the sole purpose of this review, and at this point it takes too much force to draw the blade efficiently-the 550 chord I'm using stretches too much and digs into my neck. Over time I'm sure the sheath will loosen up to the point where I can, but the downside to kydex is as the sheath breaks in and loosens up, it is more prone to that typical annoying rattle, and at some point will lose necessary retention. I am 5'10, 180 pounds and generally wear size S-M shirts. The knife is visible wearing a size small teeshirt (hunt at the base of the pecs, the lowest profile place I could find)-I threw a zipup fleece jacket on today, otherwise there's no way I would have left the house with my knife around my neck.
One can horizontally mount the blade on a belt or pack strap using a 550 chord wrap through the eyelets. This is probably how I will utilize this sheath from now on. Again, it's extremely low profile, and is no wider than a 2 inch belt.
The other obvious option is pocket carry, for which this sheath is extremely practical-it's so low profile that you will never notice it, both in mass and volume. Wearing a pair of formal slacks, I can't tell the knife is in the front pocket at all.
All in all, at 15 dollars for the blade, It's a GREAT option for a dayhike companion or fixed blade EDC, and the Marion Carry kydex sheath is a capable multi-carry option. With 5 minutes time spent on finish and some slight tweeks in design, this combo has the potential to be one of the top fixed blade EDC options out there.
As you can see, no way to draw the blade by pushing with the thumb.
entire package
note kydex texture, eyelet placement and drainage hole
