need help with Kydex

LX_Emergency

LX_Emergency

Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
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Allright. I have a knife that I need to make a Kydex sheath for. But for far my experiments with Kydex haven't been very successfull.

Does anyone know of a good (really good) tutorial with Kydex? Everytime I mold something it either doesn't retain the blade or won't allow reinsertion into the sheath.
 
Are you putting any duct tape on the blade before you mold it?
Some knives depending on how they are made do not have anything for the kydex to lock onto.
I made a sheath for my BIL,the knife was very old and made from a thin file with stag handles.Only way I got it to lock in was to heat the kydex very hot and come further up on the scales.With the extra heat it allowed the kydex to form tighter around the area where the scales ans blade meet allowing it to retain the knife.Took three tries to get it to work.
 
Mike Sastre post on here from time to time and he's got a video/tutorial on making Kydex sheaths. I haven't seen it but from what I understand he actuall walks/takes you through steps to make a couple different designs in the video.


Eli
 
I found one on You tube when I bought my stuff that helped a lot as far as the molding went.I could not find one on the measuring and setting of the eyelets.That was-is trial and error with me.I did just finish one for my BATAC and really took my time on the measuring and eyelet placement.IMO it is the best one I have done yet.Fit is perfect on it.I did not want the kydex to wear the coating but also did not want it to rattle.From others I have done depending on the knife one layer of duct tape makes for a tight enough fit to have some worry about scratching and 2 layers gave some rattle.On this one I used one layer on duct tape with one layer of blue painters tape.The blade inserts with out rubbing the kydex but is close enough not to rattle.
View attachment 259923View attachment 259924
 
That's Tracy Mickley who actually sells everything you'd need for making Kydex sheaths too, good link.... I'll watch it later. Sheaths look good.


Eli
 
Thank You! Mike
A real honor coming from you.

Hope to see you a another gun show in Knoxville soon.
 
Form the sheath and warm it until it is very soft and flexible (use some gloves). Put it into the open press and close immediately. keep it pressed for several minutes then remove. Use a heat gun to modify the sheath for your retention needs...usually it is to work the opening or some other part of the sheath to make it look better. Not being able to re insert means the sheath mouth needs to opened or the area of the blade has closed more than the width of the blade. Try that.

Tracey is a good guy and helpful sometimes...I hate the voice to text thing though...lol...
 
u812 said:
Thank You! Mike
A real honor coming from you.

Hope to see you a another gun show in Knoxville soon.
Click to expand...

Haven't been there in a while because of conflicts with other shows. Hope to get down there again - one of my favorite areas of the country for many reasons. You can always catch me at the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot, though the spring shoot has been canceled to repair the bridge over the creek. Fall show is a go.
 
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