Protruding Nail Fix

[Svashtar]

Hey guys! Someone the other day mentioned a problem they had with these little nails inside the holes for the karda and chakma. I ran into it for the first time over the weekend when I got a new blade and pushed both little knives down into their holders and really scratched the horn. (I think part of the problem is that these particular holes were very tight fitting as well.) I'm sure I'll be able to fix the scratches OK, but the nails bugged me. I laid the sheath flat and used a nail set and hammer to knock them down, with no luck. Then went at them with a small swiss file, but they still scratched a bit and I just tore up the leather inside. Thought about using tape to cover them, but knew that wouldn't stay on for long.

Finally, I got the idea of coating them with some of that liquid electrical tape, which is really just a paint on liquid plastic. I have several colors so just doped the nail heads up with the black, and let it sit for 10 minutes. I laid the sheath on the side so the stuff self-leveled, and it did a great job and blended in perfectly with the existing colors. It is literally impossible to tell it's there, and if you goof and apply too much, it will just run down into the little hole. It also covered and protected the scratched leather from where the file scraped it. I put enough layers on until the nail heads were out of sight and covered with a good layer. Now the karda and chakma slide in and out pretty slick with no scraping. Maybe in time with enough inserting and removing the little blades I'll have to recoat, but the stuff is easy to apply so that won't be a big deal. I think it will last quite a while and solves the problem nicely.

Anyway, give it a try if you have the same problem. Should work for you as well, although I think it does help if you can flatten the nail heads at least a little before applying the stuff.

Regards,

Norm

 

[clearblue]

Do you have a brand name for the liquid tape and where did you find it?
thanks

 

[Daniel Koster]

You can pick it up in the paint dept. at Home Depot, etc. Neat stuff. Great tip!

 

[Yvsa]

That sounds like one of the better ideas I've seen. So far I've had good luck glueing a small piece of Morrocan Goat leather over the nails, but I'm about out of it.
Does the rubber stay somewhat flexible and is it glossy or flat?

 

[mrostov]

I've found a couple of solutions. The best yet is to take the original leather pieces that were in the karda and chakma holsters and glue them back in with black Permatex Super Automotive Weatherstripping Adhesive.

If you've lost those pieces the fuzzy side of velcro strips work well. Lacking weatherstripping adhesive, the fuzzy velcro with the sticky backs works pretty decently and is a very good quick fix.

 

[Daniel Koster]

leather bandaids, Yvsa?

 

[fenryr]

Someone the other day mentioned a problem they had with these little nails inside the holes for the karda and chakma.

That would be me, unfortunately. I was getting scratched on the bolster by the nail point that was bent over and upon pushing it deeper into the khuk. wood caused it to strike the karda / chakma.

I did a little of what everyone suggested and so far so good. Burnished the nail heads & points down with a Dremel, seated the nails deeper with a needle nose vise grip then placed a patch over the khuk side of the sheath. Found some thin leather from a belt which matched the grain of the scabbard pretty close.

Definately something I'll check before seating the knives deeper into the pockets.

 

[Svashtar]

That sounds like one of the better ideas I've seen. So far I've had good luck glueing a small piece of Morrocan Goat leather over the nails, but I'm about out of it.
Does the rubber stay somewhat flexible and is it glossy or flat?

Yvsa, the rubber does seem to stay flexible, and looks like a semi-gloss. With the black all around the sheath area anyway, you really have to feel it with the tip of your finger to know its there. For pure durability, I would have to say that leather bonded in would work better, but my concern was that I would be making an already tight fit even tighter by adding leather. This seems to work OK without taking up much of the inside space. If I had the room, then a small piece of matching leather would probably be better.

Regards,

Norm