Re-fitting a kydex sheath?

E

esotericvue

Joined
Nov 14, 2011
Messages
63
So recently the retention on the kydex sheath (azwelke) for my 14 has been getting loose. I did happen to get the sheath second hand, so it's probably had some good use in it before I had it. Is there any way to make this sheath tighter like a newer sheath? I can imagine popping the sheath in the oven to soften the material, then clamping it on the sheathed knife would do? Any tips or advice?

knife/sheath in question:
EUzUXxQ.jpg

hKIHGCM.jpg


Cheers.
 
The retention for that knife in that sheath is on the little nub between the sharpening notch and the choil, place the knife in the sheath and aim a hair dryer at it until that area is kind of soft, then pinch it so there is added retention and let it cool.

If you don't feel comfortable with doing that yourself, I would glady do it for you for free if you cover round trip shipping.
 
Sounds easy enough. I shoul have a heat gun in the garage somewhere. I'm sure I can set it to low and do the same. Thanks for the input!
 
Yup, Wider hit the nail on the head. Make sure to pinch not at the edge though but directly on that "nib".
 
Thanks, gents. Gonna grab the heat gun from my bro and probably gonna throw this thing in the vice with some cardboard around it to get a good fit.
 
esotericvue said:
Thanks, gents. Gonna grab the heat gun from my bro and probably gonna throw this thing in the vice with some cardboard around it to get a good fit.
Click to expand...

Just don't crush it to hard.

When I am make small finish adjustments to a sheath I just set the heat gun on the bench and hold the sheath in front of it heating up the area and then I bend it a little bit and hold it as I blow on it to cool it enough to stay and then test fit the knife and repeat if needed.
 
Ah ok, so you do it by hand? I figured I could warm up the sheath, insert blade, then place in the bench vice and sandwich it?
 
esotericvue said:
Ah ok, so you do it by hand? I figured I could warm up the sheath, insert blade, then place in the bench vice and sandwich it?
Click to expand...

Yes I do it by hand, it doesn't much. Also you are not really reforming the whole sheath, just tightening it up a bit.
 
esotericvue said:
Ah ok, so you do it by hand? I figured I could warm up the sheath, insert blade, then place in the bench vice and sandwich it?
Click to expand...

no, don't re-heat the whole sheath or you'll lose the tight fit unless you have a kydex foam to re-mold it again. do as the other posters already said but i'll add to wrap the rest of the sheath with a wet towel or something to keep the heat only on that tiny area you want to work on.
 
Just finished it up. Man this kydex bending isn't the easiest thing to do. I'm sure it gets easy with practice. But yeah, tightened the nub area and the retention is nice and tight now. Took a bunch of trial and error, and I actually bent some of the sheath out of place, but as far as function goes, it's all good now. Thanks everyone for the tips. Cheers.
 
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