- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
The Highlander who prefers not to post here asked me if I could get a sheath made for him which did not have karda and chakma or the place in the back of the scabbard for them. Just a straight, simple sheath. I explained that all scabbards are custom made to fit the knife and it would be a problem. So, he did the modificatin himself. It is interesting and educational. Here's how he did it.
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Hi again Bill,
I decided to try altering my AK sheath to the specs I discussed in
my message and am very pleased with the result.
Again I am impressed with the construction of these sheaths , they
may be bullet proof on occasion.
First I removed the frog and then the tacks which hold down the
pointed leather part .
This is easily removed as it is glued and I think is a decorative
part to streamline the rig.
I clipped the stitching at the mouth and then using needle nose
pliers unlaced the (very heavy) thread down 2".
It is easy to remove the wooden wedge which cants the loops for the
Karda and Chakma .
Using the pliers I twisted off the loops for the K and C and saved
them as I thought I would shim the mouth of the sheath to tighten it as
when the blade was sheathed it was quite loose for the first 3" of draw.
With the wedge and loops off the sheath leather is still hard as
iron so I then heated a pan of water and immersed the top of the sheath
for about 5 mins to soften the leather.
There is an inch of excess leather on both sides of the seam and
another inch which extends up where the leather folded over the wedge
and top of the sheath .
Using the thread which I did not cut off from the sheath I tightened and
retied where the start of the now overlapping leather is -where the
bottom of the wedge reached at the back.
The leather still being pliable I overlapped the edges and using tape ,
taped them in place to dry. At the top I removed a little of the
overhanging leather and pushed it down inside the sheath which took away
that slack which was there .
After the rig was dried I removed the tape and using Barge Cement
reglued the leather to the sheath .
It looks great and after regluing the Frog stopper to the sheath the
frog still is usable if required.
Bill these guys make a great sheath and I think that the leather must be
raw when installed as it is rock solid and hard as hell. When I was
heating the rig in the pan I dropped in the loops and the pointed part
and when I removed them the had the consistency of tough rubber and were
quite stretchable but hardened up again so hard a guy could cut himself.
with them.
Total time with the exception of waiting for the sheath leather to
re-dry is about 1/2 hour and will last a lifetime I think ( at least
mine ).
Lastly I think using glue might not even be needed as when the leather
resets dry it is unbelievably hard and inflexible , and of course the
seam could be restitched when wet if no overlap was wanted at the seam.
I guess this means that my AK is going to be tucked in and used more.
Sure hope none of the other guys get jealous and bite me.
Giving more thought to these sheaths , to me they now make more sense
than the usual ones we get with western made knives and can probably be
made quickly when all the tricks are learned. I do nor believe that they
could sew on the skin in place but must push the wooden case in when the
hide is wet. The sheath is a work of art
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
---------------------------------------------
Hi again Bill,
I decided to try altering my AK sheath to the specs I discussed in
my message and am very pleased with the result.
Again I am impressed with the construction of these sheaths , they
may be bullet proof on occasion.
First I removed the frog and then the tacks which hold down the
pointed leather part .
This is easily removed as it is glued and I think is a decorative
part to streamline the rig.
I clipped the stitching at the mouth and then using needle nose
pliers unlaced the (very heavy) thread down 2".
It is easy to remove the wooden wedge which cants the loops for the
Karda and Chakma .
Using the pliers I twisted off the loops for the K and C and saved
them as I thought I would shim the mouth of the sheath to tighten it as
when the blade was sheathed it was quite loose for the first 3" of draw.
With the wedge and loops off the sheath leather is still hard as
iron so I then heated a pan of water and immersed the top of the sheath
for about 5 mins to soften the leather.
There is an inch of excess leather on both sides of the seam and
another inch which extends up where the leather folded over the wedge
and top of the sheath .
Using the thread which I did not cut off from the sheath I tightened and
retied where the start of the now overlapping leather is -where the
bottom of the wedge reached at the back.
The leather still being pliable I overlapped the edges and using tape ,
taped them in place to dry. At the top I removed a little of the
overhanging leather and pushed it down inside the sheath which took away
that slack which was there .
After the rig was dried I removed the tape and using Barge Cement
reglued the leather to the sheath .
It looks great and after regluing the Frog stopper to the sheath the
frog still is usable if required.
Bill these guys make a great sheath and I think that the leather must be
raw when installed as it is rock solid and hard as hell. When I was
heating the rig in the pan I dropped in the loops and the pointed part
and when I removed them the had the consistency of tough rubber and were
quite stretchable but hardened up again so hard a guy could cut himself.
with them.
Total time with the exception of waiting for the sheath leather to
re-dry is about 1/2 hour and will last a lifetime I think ( at least
mine ).
Lastly I think using glue might not even be needed as when the leather
resets dry it is unbelievably hard and inflexible , and of course the
seam could be restitched when wet if no overlap was wanted at the seam.
I guess this means that my AK is going to be tucked in and used more.
Sure hope none of the other guys get jealous and bite me.
Giving more thought to these sheaths , to me they now make more sense
than the usual ones we get with western made knives and can probably be
made quickly when all the tricks are learned. I do nor believe that they
could sew on the skin in place but must push the wooden case in when the
hide is wet. The sheath is a work of art
------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ