- Joined
- Apr 17, 2007
- Messages
- 181
Since getting my RC-4 I've been slowly working towards making a mini survival kit based around the knife. I do some hiking, backpacking, and camping and I wanted something that I would always have on me that would have a few necessities "just in case". A big part of my needs was for the finished product not to affect my ability to wear the waist belt of my pack. To this end I got the MOLLE back. Since it is not designed to be a drop sheath by itself I knew I would have to rig something up. I ended up getting an Omega Drop Leg Extender from Blackhawk. It had a quick release buckle I didn't need and which was in the way, so I ended up having to pull out all the stitching holding the buckle in. Let me tell you, these things are sewn TOUGH!! After about an hour and a half (first time doing this) I had removed all the stitching and the buckle, leaving me with a loop with a pretty good size velcro closure. This loop fits perfectly in the ring on top of the MOLLE back. I use it with the velcro-opening side against my waistband so it can't open accidentally, but it can still be removed without taking off my belt.
My next requirement was to be able to carry a small PSK. After the RC-5/6 pouches were announced I knew they would be perfect as long as they fit on the sheath. I held off on this purchase until about a month ago until I saw a picture of one mounted to an RC-4 (and a 3 for good measure). After seeing some pictures that Marion Poff posted showing his kydex/concealex handiwork I decided that I wanted him to make me a firesteel loop which would also mount on the sheath. I emailed him what I wanted and after working everything out (and him putting in all the hard work
) I had a beautifully made firesteel loop sized to fit the LMF Army model. I lock the firesteel into the loop for both safety's sake and because it gives me a way to keep my striker attached to the steel, but the loop is sized perfectly and the lock won't be needed for quite a while. I will have to wear down much more of the steel before it threatens to fall out. You can see how it's held in by the paracord at the bottom of this post.
Here's the loop installed:
Here's how the firesteel looks after being removed:
And here it is ready for use after pulling out the striker:
The pouch and firesteel loop covered almost all of my bases, but I think it's always a good idea to carry some extra cordage. I took about 20ft of paracord and tied it in a coil "knot". I got REALLY lucky and it ended up being sized perfectly the very first time! I then used the split rings and clip that came with my Izula kit and attached the cord to the sheath, with a Nite Ize S-Biner holding the bottom from flopping around. I then had another issue. With the knife being dropped down fairly low on my thigh and having the extra weight I added, it banged around pretty good on my leg. I solved that with a smart little leg tie down using a piece of paracord and a cord lock. It's much better than tying it every time, much faster and easier on and off. Here's how it works, step by step.
Step 1: pull a loop from the front of the sheath and wrap the cord around your leg (there's a knot tied behind the left-most hole, the cord starts here)
Step 2: slip the cord lock through the loop
Step 3: pull the loop tight and cinch down the cord lock. Done.
It's way easier and quicker than this makes it look. Super simple and easy to use.
And here's the whole package.
I hope you enjoyed my little write-up. With this kit on me I feel pretty confident that I could weather a couple nights in the wild with nothing else. It's not a comprehensive survival kit, but it has a lot of basics and I believe it would take me a very long way. My thanks to Marion for his great work on the loop, as far as I'm concerned it brought the whole thing together and I would buy 100 more from him if I had enough sheaths to put them on. It really looks like it came with the sheath.
I also have some pics of what's inside the tin. If you guys are interested just let me know.
My next requirement was to be able to carry a small PSK. After the RC-5/6 pouches were announced I knew they would be perfect as long as they fit on the sheath. I held off on this purchase until about a month ago until I saw a picture of one mounted to an RC-4 (and a 3 for good measure). After seeing some pictures that Marion Poff posted showing his kydex/concealex handiwork I decided that I wanted him to make me a firesteel loop which would also mount on the sheath. I emailed him what I wanted and after working everything out (and him putting in all the hard work
) I had a beautifully made firesteel loop sized to fit the LMF Army model. I lock the firesteel into the loop for both safety's sake and because it gives me a way to keep my striker attached to the steel, but the loop is sized perfectly and the lock won't be needed for quite a while. I will have to wear down much more of the steel before it threatens to fall out. You can see how it's held in by the paracord at the bottom of this post.Here's the loop installed:
Here's how the firesteel looks after being removed:
And here it is ready for use after pulling out the striker:
The pouch and firesteel loop covered almost all of my bases, but I think it's always a good idea to carry some extra cordage. I took about 20ft of paracord and tied it in a coil "knot". I got REALLY lucky and it ended up being sized perfectly the very first time! I then used the split rings and clip that came with my Izula kit and attached the cord to the sheath, with a Nite Ize S-Biner holding the bottom from flopping around. I then had another issue. With the knife being dropped down fairly low on my thigh and having the extra weight I added, it banged around pretty good on my leg. I solved that with a smart little leg tie down using a piece of paracord and a cord lock. It's much better than tying it every time, much faster and easier on and off. Here's how it works, step by step.
Step 1: pull a loop from the front of the sheath and wrap the cord around your leg (there's a knot tied behind the left-most hole, the cord starts here)
Step 2: slip the cord lock through the loop
Step 3: pull the loop tight and cinch down the cord lock. Done.
It's way easier and quicker than this makes it look. Super simple and easy to use.
And here's the whole package.
I hope you enjoyed my little write-up. With this kit on me I feel pretty confident that I could weather a couple nights in the wild with nothing else. It's not a comprehensive survival kit, but it has a lot of basics and I believe it would take me a very long way. My thanks to Marion for his great work on the loop, as far as I'm concerned it brought the whole thing together and I would buy 100 more from him if I had enough sheaths to put them on. It really looks like it came with the sheath.
I also have some pics of what's inside the tin. If you guys are interested just let me know.
