Sheath Fit Problems

D

DeathDancer

Joined
Dec 20, 2000
Messages
578
Dear Craig or Whomever,

I mentioned that I purchase a GH 20 inch Sirupati from Knife Outlet, and I have been extremely happy with this blade. However, the sheath was originally tight and seems to be getting tighter.

I am trying the old trick of soaking a wooden wedge in water, pushing it into the opening as far as it will go, and letting it dry overnight. I hope that this works, but I am worried that it will separate the wood from protecting the blade (I already see that it has separated the wood a bit), and more important, from protecting my fingers.

If this doesn't work, what would you advise? This knife and sheath have not been abused or even used much, but it has gotten progressively more difficult to remove the knife, and I have often had to push the blade back in while resting the end on the ground.

Hope you can help. By the way, I tried to contact you at GH via the help email, but my note was returned as undeliverable.

------------------
DeathDancer
 
DD, I hope others will reply and give their insight, as it may be lots better than what I have to offer.

Sounds like this is a chronic problem that won't get better on its own. I've had success by locating the sticking point and taking it from there. If the blade is a little thicker in a place, this can be seen on the steel where a fresh coat of oil is wiped off in the sheath. The spot where the wood catches will also turn a darker color from rubbing and getting saturated with oil. Once visualized with a bright light, the tip of a file may reach it to scrape the area (taping the part of the file that would scrape the leather or other unwanted places is a good idea). There are probably better tools (a file was just handy), and I've used stuff like coarse sandpaper taped on a the end of flat stick or a stout metal ruler. Frequently resheathing the khukuri gauges the progress and will tell where else to work. The process takes some time, but has worked for me.

The idea came out of the uncontrollable urge to scratch itches in a cast. It's really unsafe to stick sharp things down there, as the resulting wound infections go undetected. Figuring that arthroscopy, sinus surgery and bronchoscopy technology has solved working in tight places so well, there is always a way to get in there. My answer was to use the rough side of a stiff leather belt, being both flexible and rigid enough. In some way, this way of thinking works in a khukuri scabbard, too.

I think Craig is on vacation until January 3rd. I've also had e-mail problems in the past, so you might try all those addresses listed, and there's always phone mail.

Hoping all goes well....Dan

 
Thanks, Dan.

I just checked the fit this morning, and while better, it still sticks. It does seem to be a thick place on the blade, since it only seems to catch at the beginning. Once the elbow enters the mouth of the sheath, the blade passes freely.

Normally I wouldn't let it bother me, but I am afraid of the edge cutting through the sheath.

Again, thanks for the help.

------------------
DeathDancer
 
DD and forumites, I wonder if it's a bad idea to lift up the leather at the sheath opening, file the wood down just so, then contact-cement the leather back? Maybe another glue is better? (That is, if that's truly the sticking point.)

Am I getting this right? -- Dan
 
Dan/DD,

I've never performed any surgery on my Khuk sheaths, so I really can't speak with any expertise on that subject. But, if the binding was at the top of the sheath opening I think I'd be tempted to try a small grinding or sanding bit on my dremel.

When it comes to cementing things back together I'd like to suggest Patex contact cement (made by 3M if I recall correctly). It has the consistancy of thick honey and, if used properly, bonds materials together better than anything else I've ever used.

The secret is to apply a thin layer to both surfaces to be bonded, allow it to dry until it's no longer tacky before mating the materials together, then apply a constant pressure to the bond for about 30 seconds. Allow another hour or so for complete curing after that. Remember, a thin layer. In this case, less is more....

We used it for years on flooring and panels in aircraft galley and lav areas. Also worked great on those shoe soles that started to seperate and flap in the breeze. The stuff is truly amazing. I believe it's available at Home Depot or your friendly local hardware store.
 
Many thanks for the contact cement tip. they aren't all the same, that's for big sure. There used to be a great one in the '70's that never seemed to fail, but alas, the formula got changed...something about a hazardous chemical, and I haven't found one comparable since. (I disremembered the name, but no matter.)

This one is gonna go down on the "good glue list". I don't know all the glues that react poorly with laha, so I haven't tried many. Hmmm, another interesting topic.
 
Hi DD
When I got my Reiger #2 it had a real tight area in the throat of the sheath.
I soaked the top 8" or so of the sheath in real hot water. I made a wedge shaped like the blade only thicker and tapering.. After the leather was good and soft, I slowly forced it down into the sheath. Putting something in the two small blade openings is also a good idea, as these will get compressed if you don't. After the sheath had dried I took out the wedge and inspected the results. It had worked perfectly, nice smooth draw now. When I looked down into the sheath I could see where the wood had been seperated in the stretching process. Not wanting the sheath to be able to retighten after time I mixed some epoxy and carefully filled the void between the two pieces of wood. Then placed the wedge back in till the epoxy had cured. ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO CONTACT BETWEEN THE WEDGE AND THE EPOXY. This fix took a couple of days total, but the sheath fit is perfect now.
After all this water on the sheath it is good to keep the blade out of it for a week or so. Rust and all. Then I mixed some black shoe polish with saddle soap and went about the process of getting the sheath nice and new looking. Hope this idea can be of help to you. It worked well for me. Take Care All!!
 
AA, what a great and well thought out idea of using the epoxy. To me, this is the missing piece of the soak-and-wedge technique.

I have used a syringe with a short piece of stiff tubing or a large bore (18ga) spinal needle to apply epoxy to a spot on the spine side of the sheath where the tip of the khukuri was sticking into the scabbard when resheathing. The area was first cleaned out out with the tip of a file to remove exposed splinters and get down to bare wood. Care was taken to position the sheath so gravity would keep the epoxy in place while drying. The MJ moves as slick as you could want now.

Thanks for the tip, as I just might need it someday. Being far from buying my last GH khukuri....Dan
 
Finally got this thing to fit. What it took was gradually extending the wood wedge past the friction point in the sheath and multiple applications of this technique the entire width of the opening.

So after about a week of overnight wedging and drying, my Sirupati fits snugly while drawing very smoothly. And I still have wood and leather under the blade edge.

Thanks all for your help.

------------------
Watakushi Wa Shinajin Desu
DeathDancer
 
Death: Be careful - although I've never had a khukuri cut through the sheath, it can happen, and you don't want your fingers anywhere NEAR the bottom (blade) edge of the sheath. I've used the shims you buy at Home Depot and they work quite well.



------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top