I recently purchased a NO-E from Shomer Tec (my first Busse). It's an unbelievably awesome knife (but then, I guess I'm preaching to the choir as far as that goes). Anyway, the cordura sheath that it came with is fine but makes the knife seem entirely too big worn on my belt. I am a boatbuilder and want to wear my knife to work on a daily basis. Wearing the sheath I have makes me look way too much like Rambo! I know thare are an overwhelming number of sheath makers out there and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a particular NO-E sheath that would be smaller and much more discrete than the production sheath. I plan to put it to a lot of use in a somewhat messy environment, so I definitely don't want anything expensive or fancy. It also doesn't need to be super tough because I've got the cordura sheath for bushwacking. The sooner I can get my paws on a small sheath the sooner I can put my NO-E to work in the boatyard. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
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NO-E question...
- Thread starter JRB
- Start date
Thanks for the fast reply. I have looked at the Busse sheath pages. I guess what I really want to know is which of those makers offers the smallest/most discrete carry NO-E sheath. It's kind of hard to tell from the pics I've seen because they don't show the sheaths on the belt for size comparison. On/Scene Tactical seems to offer the best prices for kydex but they also seem a bit wide. Does anyone have any experience with them and their concealability?
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JRB-
Rocketman suggested a great place to start. I'm sure that all of those makers have their own NO-E or a blank to use so you don't have to send yours away. No one should have to part with their first Busse.
Let us know if you prefer kydex or moo-dex
(leather). Since you'll be carrying at work in the boatyard, I'd guess that leather might blend in better.
Horz.(small-of-back), Vert. (high, mid or low ride) or canted carry (cross-draw)? Pouch or blade-only style? Keeper strap or pin-lock?
All of the makers are great guys to deal with and will work with you so you get exactly what fits your needs.
Let us know what you like. If you can't find pics of what your looking for, let us know and one of the Hogs will likely have an example that they can post.
~Drew
Rocketman suggested a great place to start. I'm sure that all of those makers have their own NO-E or a blank to use so you don't have to send yours away. No one should have to part with their first Busse.
Let us know if you prefer kydex or moo-dex
(leather). Since you'll be carrying at work in the boatyard, I'd guess that leather might blend in better.Horz.(small-of-back), Vert. (high, mid or low ride) or canted carry (cross-draw)? Pouch or blade-only style? Keeper strap or pin-lock?
All of the makers are great guys to deal with and will work with you so you get exactly what fits your needs.
Let us know what you like. If you can't find pics of what your looking for, let us know and one of the Hogs will likely have an example that they can post.
~Drew
Probably kydex for it's light weight. Also, if kydex is a kind of plastic, epoxy won't adhere to it (a plus in a boat shop). I'm not against leather, however.RVO3VOM said:
Horizontal carry would be good but the NO-E is fairly long for that. I generally like verticle carry with a low ride because I seldom wear my shirt tucked in. I've never tried a canted carry sheath before so I can't really say if I'd like it.
I think blade-only style would be best for discrete carry as long as it holds the knife securely. Having my heavy NO-E fall out onto the freshly varnished sole of a $100,000 boat would be a bad thing.
We definitely don't need any heart attacks in the shop!I'm not really sure what a pin lock is. I do like keeper straps, though. I rarely if ever need to quick draw a knife. I'd rather have the extra security.
I think I prefer outside waisband carry. I've never used Tec-loc, however. Is it a type of clip? Forgive my ignorance. I've never really carried a fixed blade knife on a regular basis. I normally just carry my Rat Trap folder.
I would imagine that at least some kydex sheaths offer several methods of carry. I like adjustability.All of the makers are great guys to deal with and will work with you so you get exactly what fits your needs.
I hope this info is helpful. Thanks a lot for your assistance.
Cheers,
Jay
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As much as I love leather, it sounds like kydex would suit your needs better. I recently traded for an Okuden NO-E sheath and it is very minimalist as far as adding bulk or size to the knife. Much smaller than the factory or a leather sheath.
The Tec-Lok is a type of clip that attaches with 2 screws to the sheath. The back has like 9 holes in it so many carry angles from horizontal to vertical can be achieved. Get the angle you want, line up the holes and put in the screws. You can also do strong or weak side carry.
Good luck in the hunt.
Rob
The Tec-Lok is a type of clip that attaches with 2 screws to the sheath. The back has like 9 holes in it so many carry angles from horizontal to vertical can be achieved. Get the angle you want, line up the holes and put in the screws. You can also do strong or weak side carry.
Good luck in the hunt.
Rob
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Sounds like kydex is what you need. Best bet is to get a hold of the kydex benders listed on the Busse site, tell them what you want, they may already have a model that will fit the bill and they could send you a pic of it or two.
Also the clam shell style would probaby provide you the lowest amount of extra sheath material over all, since it folds over the blade and the grommets are placed along the cutting edge of the blade.
Also the clam shell style would probaby provide you the lowest amount of extra sheath material over all, since it folds over the blade and the grommets are placed along the cutting edge of the blade.
I have a kydex sheath made by Dave Brown. It is awesome. It is not very wide, and it is very discreet because it rides very high on the belt. And the retention is just right. It took a few weeks to "break in" but now it is just awesome. Highly recomended.
www.buybrownholsters.com
Oh, and where else can you get many different kinds of camo, chocolat brown, olive drab, black or clear kydex?
www.buybrownholsters.com
Oh, and where else can you get many different kinds of camo, chocolat brown, olive drab, black or clear kydex?
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Jay,
I'll second what Progunner said. Kydex sounds right for you.
Here's a link to a pic of some pin-lock sheaths by Leatherman. The pin sits in the choil area at the base of the blade. It eliminates the chance of cutting your keeper strap.
http://www.armoralleather.com/images/busse_swamprat/Tan_Pin_Locks.jpg
I'm not sure if the pic is of a BA, NO and SH; or a NO, SH and BM.
I'll second what Progunner said. Kydex sounds right for you.
Here's a link to a pic of some pin-lock sheaths by Leatherman. The pin sits in the choil area at the base of the blade. It eliminates the chance of cutting your keeper strap.
http://www.armoralleather.com/images/busse_swamprat/Tan_Pin_Locks.jpg
I'm not sure if the pic is of a BA, NO and SH; or a NO, SH and BM.
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JRB, Nice snag man.
I believe Shomer-Tec had some of the early thicker NO-e's mixed in their inventory. I'd seen a couple that people got that were beefier. You might want to check the thickness.
If a maker has a regular 1/4", and yours is in fact thicker, might make for some tight fit issues.
Mike
I believe Shomer-Tec had some of the early thicker NO-e's mixed in their inventory. I'd seen a couple that people got that were beefier. You might want to check the thickness.
If a maker has a regular 1/4", and yours is in fact thicker, might make for some tight fit issues.
Mike
Thanks for the info. My NO-E is a 1/4" thick so sheath fit shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to contact a sheath maker or two this week. Hopefully, I'll have some new pants for my Busse very soon. I'm itching to put that bad boy to work in the shop. It's also going to make a great hiking companion.
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I have to go against the grain ( 
) and say leather might be a better bet - simply because Leatherman and Gundy (some of the local forumites) cooked up a discrete carry rig built around the NO-E. I'm not sure where the project ended up, or if it would be possible to do a similar design in kydex. If your #1 priority is discrete carry, I would start there first.
Congrats on the purchase, and double congrats on taking it to work! My fusion NO just sits in a drawer and nips me from the factory tactical cardboard. If I took her to work, best possible outcome would be stern words from the Boss, worst would be SWAT team. I know she's itching to get out and work - hopefully a new sheath will appease the bloodlust for a while.
If you can, post some pics. It would be great seeing a world-class knife working on a world-class boat!
) and say leather might be a better bet - simply because Leatherman and Gundy (some of the local forumites) cooked up a discrete carry rig built around the NO-E. I'm not sure where the project ended up, or if it would be possible to do a similar design in kydex. If your #1 priority is discrete carry, I would start there first. Congrats on the purchase, and double congrats on taking it to work! My fusion NO just sits in a drawer and nips me from the factory tactical cardboard. If I took her to work, best possible outcome would be stern words from the Boss, worst would be SWAT team. I know she's itching to get out and work - hopefully a new sheath will appease the bloodlust for a while.
If you can, post some pics. It would be great seeing a world-class knife working on a world-class boat!
I'd love to see pics of those discrete carry leather sheaths. I'm definitely not totally sold on kydex. It just seems to be the smallest, lighest choice. When I get a chance, I'll get some pics of my Busse at the boatshop. For now I can at least post a pic of one of our 24ft. launches...
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As featured in the July '03 issue of Smithsonian magazine...
