Noiseless knife retention strap???

[Terry_Dodson]

The thread on the nives for Special Forces got me wondering, is thate a way to make a knife retention strap (or other way) that would be noiseless to release the blade from the sheath? I mean snaps make a poping sound when unsnapped, velcro makes a taering noise, Kydex i beleive can be fairly quiet but havent played with very many, but for thier type of carry even kydex would propably need some type of stap if inverted carry for a large knife. Any ideas?

 

[Mike Hull]

I would say either the old style "Canteen Snap", or the post, and slit, where you have the post mounted to the sheath, and the strap is slit. Bill Moran uses those.
I don't think that's the correct term though.

You'll have to search for the Canteen Snap, but I have seen folks using them in this manner.

 

[ESpy]

Sam Browne stud?

Peter

 

[Will P.]

The BM Nimravus sheath has a sort of extra friction lock that helps when running and and doing combat rolls but releases with a hard jerk. Kydex doesn't need a retention strap for an inverted sheath except for the most extreme circumstances. I would think a rotating leather loop would be best.

I don't know what exactly the requirements are for airborne operations. I think that actually tying the knife into the sheath with a quick release knot might not be unreasonable.

 

[ddavelarsen]

Sam Browne stud?
Peter

Now there's a good idea! Thanks Peter. About the quietest holddown I've seen so far may be what Mike is talking about. I have a Spanish military knife (Aitor) that has a rectangular metal "U" mounted to One end of the strap. The other end has a slot in it that goes over the "U" and a second strap that slides under it to hold everything together. I've always admired that setup, just haven't found a good way to replicate the "U".

 

[J. Neilson]

Rare earth magnets, skip the snap all together.

 

[Terry_Dodson]

i thought about the magnets, but on a kydex sheath they would pull the knife to the sheath and on the one i did that way you could hear the blade sing as it came out.

 

[J. Neilson]

You could make a leather sheath as opposed to kydex or line the kydex with thin leather to act as a "sound barrier".

 

[ddavelarsen]

Or just make a magnetic snap. I have a bunch of little rare earth magnets I've saved from dead hard drives that would be just the right size. Probably not jumpable though.