Kydex Questions about making my first kydex sheath

[tryppyr]

As noted in the Talon knife thread, I'm going to make a kydex sheath for that knife. I've bought the materials and a toaster oven. And then it occurred to me I have two questions.

How hot do I have to get the material before it become flexible enough?

Bearing in mind that the knife has a PolyPearl handle, will the heat of the kydex harm/cloud the handle?

Thanks!

 

[KnuckleDownKnives]

I've read a lot of different temps all over the interwebs. I've found the best thing to do is heat it and check it as you go seeing how flexible it gets. I use an electric griddle and keep flipping it like a pancake until its the desires flexibility. I set my griddle right above 200*. If you have enough material, take a test piece and check your oven as they can be not very accurate.

 

[Josh Rider]

I put mine in a toaster oven at around 200 degrees and slowly raise it to 300, checking frequently with a thermometer gun. Then raise it to around 315 -325, then it's very pliable. This gives me consistent results.
If you raise temperature too fast you'll shock it and it will shrink and have lines in it. I also rotate it in the toaster oven.

 

[tryppyr]

Sounds way too hot for PolyPearl. I may have to figure out how to make a casting of the knife and handle to use instead of using the real knife.

 

[Josh Rider]

It cools fast, not sure what polypearl is, but I've probably made 100+ sheaths and never had an issue with handle material.

 

[Busto]

When you tape the blade do a couple extra layers on the area of the handle that will contact the Kydex this will serve as a buffer to help eliminate transfer of heat. Kydex cools pretty quick and I follow the same procedure as Josh described above.

 

[kuraki]

I set my t-shirt press to 305 and slam it in there. Takes about 10 seconds to hit temp.

 

[tryppyr]

Thanks, guys. I'll tape it up and hope for the best.

 

[Josh Rider]

I set my t-shirt press to 305 and slam it in there. Takes about 10 seconds to hit temp.

Show off

 

[kuraki]

It was worth the $100. I hate doing kydex. Anything that makes it easier is worth it. Plus now I can make T-shirts. I haven't figured it out yet. I put the cloth in there and let it bake but it still just comes out as cloth.

 

[tryppyr]

Follow up...

I remained concerned that the heat of the Kydex might cause the PolyPearl handle to change appearance (i.e. get cloudy). So today I ran a test to set my mind at ease. I cut off a small corner of the PolyPearl handle material and heated up a small bit of the Kydex, then pressed it on to the little PolyPearl piece. I left it in the press for 10 minutes then removed it. No obvious discoloration, so hopefully the same will hold true when I make the real sheath this weekend.

So now I added a dowel to the tip of the blade and put three layers of tape on the blade... I think I'm ready. Fingers crossed.

 

[tryppyr]

This morning before the sun came up I made the sheath. As expected, it did not damage the PolyPearl handle, and for that I was pleased. I was also pleased with the way the blood red grommets look against the sheath. And I like the way the knife clicks in and out of the sheath.

I was not so pleased to see that some of the digital camo coloration got ruined. Nor was I pleased with the placement of the rivet holes. And if I'm honest, I think the dowel I used to make the drain hole was too large. All that said, I have more of the pink camo kydex left, and I'll probably make a second sheath to try to address the problems.

 

[Josh Rider]

I was not so pleased to see that some of the digital camo coloration got ruined. Nor was I pleased with the placement of the rivet holes.

What happened to the camo?
I usually keep the rivet holes as far out as the furthest one. Like how where your ricasso rivet is, bring that middle one down, especially on a hawkbill or curved blade.

Oh I think I see what you mean about the camo, was it touching an element?
You can put ceramic tiles in your toaster oven shelf to eliminate hot spots and add more mass to the inside your of the oven.

 

[tryppyr]

I heated the material on a flat tray held about 2 - 3 inches above the element, so I don't think that was the problem.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[tryppyr]

Attempt #2. Much better, but still not perfect. In this case, however, I think it will be good enough. Very little discoloration of the pink pattern.

 

[lanternnate]

Rivet spacing on round two looks much better. I'm not sure there really is a perfect with kydex, at least I've never accomplished such but I think that came out nice and she'll be real happy with it.

 

[Frank Niro]

Definitely one for a lady. I'll bet she will love it! Good for you!
Frank

 

[JTknives]

I do mine a tad different. I hate messing with 2 floppy hot sheets of kydrx so I do the taco type method. The material is so cheep I don't really care that I waste some. I have a book style press and lay a thin cloth from a bed sheet over the foam. This helps alow the kydex to move as you press it. I heat the kydex and lay it in the book press that is open facing up. I then center the knife where I want it and clamp it shut. The nice thing about this is the kydex is one piece so it's easy to lay it out and drill. You don't have to worry about the 2 halfs slipping out of aliment. I think I have a few pics on my phone. This might not be advise you where looking for but I thought I would share what I could.

I first cover the blade with tape or usps "heavy" sticker. Then trim around the blade.

Here it is right after pressing. You can see the cloth.

I then lay out the sheath profile and where the eyelet holes are.

Next I drill the holes for all the eyelets.

Then I use the band saw and cut along my profile lines. This now gives me a a front and a back. I debur the holes and edges and then put some temporary eyelets in that I don't role over and I profile the sheath on the grinder. After that I take it apart and clean it and set all the eyelets. I then do one last sand and polish around the profile to make the seam disappear and then it's good to go.

Hope that helps you out.

 

[tryppyr]

Thanks. I'm always open to suggestions. I was just telling my wife now that I know how to do this I might as well make sheaths for some of the knives I made years ago and have left them naked since then. What a terrible knife daddy I've been. I'll try your method on the next one.

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

I use a griddle to heat my kydex and like it a lot more than the oven. Using that in conjunction with a infrared thermometer makes it real easy to do things exact. I heat kydex to 300f iirc or maybe a little higher.