scratches from kydex

[Hesparus]

I made my first kydex sheath about two weeks ago and I am very pleased with it on the whole. The biggest drawback, however, is that it scratches my knife every time it goes in or out of the sheath. The scratches are mostly concentrated in one spot on one side, but recently I've started noticing other scratches on the other side of the blade in random places. Is it the kydex that's doing it or is there something stuck on the inside of the sheath? Either way what do I do about it?

- Chris

 

[raker]

Since it is your first sheath, what is scratching the blade is debris that is in the sheath. Kydex is hard but not actually hard enough to scratch steel. When you make a sheath for a knife, if it fits tight, it will hold the dust and particles that scratch your blade imbedded in the Kydex.
What I do it put several layers of masking tape on each side of the blade when forming it to the blade. If it rattles, heat a small spot on the back and while the knife is in the sheath, use a pencil eraser to indent the back to the blade. That will put tension on the blade in one small spot and it will be loose enough that the "debris" will not get between the Kydex and the blade to scratch it. That is one reason that Kydex is mostly used for using knives that will sustain some scratches anyway.
I hope this helps some.

 

[Jason Cutter]

Raker's reply is spot on. Its not the Kydex, its what stuck in the Kydex. I wouldn't bother trying to "clean" the spot. There'll be more to come.

My alternative solution is to build a sheath that has a blade channel that is preformed well oversized. I use various pine mouldings to mould the blade channel first, and then mould the shape on the handle area for the retention. I am now building Kydex sheaths that are totally open at the bottom for complete drainage and easy cleaning.

Regardless, the knife will manifest scratches - whether on the blade or the handle. As mentioned, if its a using knife anyway ... Cheers. Jason.