Promised Pics - Spyderco Bushcraft w/Sheath

[John G]

Looks great! I'd love to take that knife for a test drive, though I'm not sure about the hole I the blade either. It's just for looks then?

 

[Hartsell]

I like the looks of this knife. it's hard to tell from a photo, but the ergonomics seem to be there for extended use.

 

[Vic303]

I'd love to afford one, but it's not gonna happen for a while. Beautiful knife there, folks. Nicely done!

 

[myright]

Cool looking knife. Is it me or does the leather look wrinkled in that second to last picture near the top where the belt loop is.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Dang, I missed this thread! Hope no one minds me digging it out to add a few comments

The sheath is a compromise in many ways and I realise that that will put some folk off. In the end though, I aimed for as much functionality as I could. It would have been easy to have just copied the original Woodlore sheath, or something like that. Apart from then suffering the slings and arrows of all the forum members for “cloning” an existing, albeit functional and popular, design, I really wanted to try to offer something different. The original Woodlore sheath came in three versions, left or right belt, and baldric style. This Spyderco sheath was intended to fulfil all those roles, and more, in one package.

Firstly, the sheath is meant to be ambidextrous. Over at BCUK there are several members of the moderating crew who are lefties and they all petitioned very hard for us to make an effort to have a sheath that could accommodate the 10% or so of the population who are similarly afflicted It also appealed since Spyderco are more usually known for plastic or Kydex, which is frequently ambidextrous.

I fully expected that a fire steel loop would be demanded by the people I talked with. I personally have never had such a sheath and have but rarely wished it were otherwise. Certainly there can be advantages, but I have seen ferrocerium rods make a horrid mess of leather when they have got wet. The rods can corrode and leave a lot of gunk on the sheath. It surprised me when pretty much all the other mods I talked to, along with expedition leaders and instructors in outdoor skills said that a firesteel loop was a low priority. We expanded on that by deciding that we should concentrate on designing something which was just a sheath. If we started adding to it we would soon have it festooned with pouches and loops for all sorts of other “essential” gear … at double the original price

I had seen Rivets used with great effect on Gfeller work (Chris Reeve) and on the JRE sheaths and experimented with them on the prototype sheaths that I played with.

In cold climates it can be handy if one hangs the knife around ones neck, tucking it just inside the outer layer or so of clothing. Sheaths can have a tendency to twist and spin if a cord is just run through the belt loop, so the top set of eyelets allow for a more stable hanging arrangement.

Using the first and second eyelets allow the sheath to hang at an angle so that it can be carried under the arm with the handle facing forward. This is another carry that a number of outdoorsmen and instructors I know seem to like.

To prevent the knife flapping around when one bends forward, a short length of braided paraccord, or something with a monkey’s fist on the end, can be attached to the bottom holes and tucked under the belt.

I thought about how to add a dangler, another popular mode of carry, but decided that the added complication and cost was probably more than we wanted to do. From a merely functional point of view rigging a dangler through the existing loop, or even just with cord to the eyelets, should not be too much of a problem.

My personal preference for carrying a knife is horizontal front cross draw and while this was not something that my prototype was able to do, the first prototype that Sal sent me could be rigged with 4mm accessory cord to ride quite securely in this position. The sheath held the knife very securely and I had no concerns about it coming loose. Obviously this security can change over time as a sheath loosens up with use.

Regarding the depth of the pouch, it is my belief, looking at those pictures, that the knife has not always been fully inserted into the sheath. On the manufactured prototype that I handled there was a noticeable tightening of the sheath about an inch before the handle was fully home. I expect that this will ease some with use.

The use of rivets for holding the belt loop down is a knotty problem. I didn’t find any problem with catching the tip of the knife on the rivets but there could be a problem with the rivets catching on the handle. However, a similar situation could also arise if stitching is left proud. One very well known maker in the UK says he has seen so many sheaths where a stitched down belt loop has come loose because the stitching has worn through, or been cut, that he now takes his loop down to the welt before stitching it down. We could have done something like that too, but apart from looking even odder, rivets seemed like they were worth a try for simplicity.

Many thanks to Sal for persevering with leather when plastic would have been an easier option for them, and thanks also for trying a sheath that looked so different from the norm.

 

[Stormdrane]

I like the look of the knife and the sheath.

 

[caine]

Like to see it with a trad. Spyderco FRN handle

 

[hollowdweller]

I ordered one of these but the date of delivery keeps getting pushed back.

Anybody know when they are going to start shipping these out to dealers??

 

[Marion David Poff]

The sheath is a compromise in many ways and I realise that that will put some folk off. In the end though, I aimed for as much functionality as I could. It would have been easy to have just copied the original Woodlore sheath, or something like that. Apart from then suffering the slings and arrows of all the forum members for “cloning” an existing, albeit functional and popular, design, I really wanted to try to offer something different. The original Woodlore sheath came in three versions, left or right belt, and baldric style. This Spyderco sheath was intended to fulfil all those roles, and more, in one package.

Firstly, the sheath is meant to be ambidextrous. Over at BCUK there are several members of the moderating crew who are lefties and they all petitioned very hard for us to make an effort to have a sheath that could accommodate the 10% or so of the population who are similarly afflicted It also appealed since Spyderco are more usually known for plastic or Kydex, which is frequently ambidextrous.

I think you will see people copying this sheath, honestly.

I fully expected that a fire steel loop would be demanded by the people I talked with. I personally have never had such a sheath and have but rarely wished it were otherwise. Certainly there can be advantages, but I have seen ferrocerium rods make a horrid mess of leather when they have got wet. The rods can corrode and leave a lot of gunk on the sheath. It surprised me when pretty much all the other mods I talked to, along with expedition leaders and instructors in outdoor skills said that a firesteel loop was a low priority. We expanded on that by deciding that we should concentrate on designing something which was just a sheath. If we started adding to it we would soon have it festooned with pouches and loops for all sorts of other “essential” gear … at double the original price

And I agree about the FireSteel holder, I dislike them.

In cold climates it can be handy if one hangs the knife around ones neck, tucking it just inside the outer layer or so of clothing. Sheaths can have a tendency to twist and spin if a cord is just run through the belt loop, so the top set of eyelets allow for a more stable hanging arrangement.

Using the first and second eyelets allow the sheath to hang at an angle so that it can be carried under the arm with the handle facing forward. This is another carry that a number of outdoorsmen and instructors I know seem to like.

To prevent the knife flapping around when one bends forward, a short length of braided paraccord, or something with a monkey’s fist on the end, can be attached to the bottom holes and tucked under the belt.

I thought about how to add a dangler, another popular mode of carry, but decided that the added complication and cost was probably more than we wanted to do. From a merely functional point of view rigging a dangler through the existing loop, or even just with cord to the eyelets, should not be too much of a problem.

My personal preference for carrying a knife is horizontal front cross draw and while this was not something that my prototype was able to do, the first prototype that Sal sent me could be rigged with 4mm accessory cord to ride quite securely in this position. The sheath held the knife very securely and I had no concerns about it coming loose. Obviously this security can change over time as a sheath loosens up with use.

I really like the various carry options made available by the rivets. I think it brings one of the best parts of thermo-fit sheaths to this leather sheath.

Regarding the depth of the pouch, it is my belief, looking at those pictures, that the knife has not always been fully inserted into the sheath. On the manufactured prototype that I handled there was a noticeable tightening of the sheath about an inch before the handle was fully home. I expect that this will ease some with use.

I think you are right, if you look at the third image of the series, you can see the 'lump' of the front of the scale, and it is not down as far as the handle channel extends.

Marion