Sheath scratches......why are they occuring?

wire edge

wire edge

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I was curious if anyone else has a sheath that scratches the finish on their Strider. When I got my TKa, it had a few shiny scratches on the left hand side of the blade, and it was new from TAD. I don't really care, Striders are meant for use. However, it seems that the more I carry it, the more scratches I am getting in the same area. Now, I know the obvious thing is, "you must have sand in the sheath and it is abbrading the surface".

I always wash Kydex sheaths out with hot, soapy water when I first get them. Second, I am never in a dirty, gritty environment.

So, does Kydex actually scratch metal if it has a raised portion of the material inside of the sheath? I just can't seem to figure this out.
 
Unless the kydex is lined with a softer material then they will always scratch the blade. They are rare occasions where you get one that does not scratch but that is rare in my experience. Hope this helps.
 
Kydex shouldn't scratch hardened steel. One thing that can happen however is that when the kydex is being finished and sanded or later when the knife is used, some grit can get into the sheath and will become imbedded in the kydex. Once that happens, you'll scratch the blade most everytime you withdraw the knife. Since the grit is imbedded into the kydex, it's not easily remedied. I had this happen once, and grit from the sandpaper actually scratched through a Titanium Nitride coating.

On a using knife, it shouldn't matter though. Once you get a few more scratches on the blade, they'll all blend together.
 
wire edge,

I have had my Strider EB-LT now for about a month and a half. I noticed the same scarring on the blade small scrathing on the tip and down the left side of the blade. I seem to have found a solution though. I sprayed the blade down with Break Free CLP which I use for my handgus and rifels. It stoped further scatching and seems to have helped the current scatches appear less pronounced. Like you said though "its a STRIDER" and by this time next year I am sure my EB-LT will be very used. Strange but my Model BT shows very little signs of this marking from the sheath?
 
Thanks for the replies, guys!

At least I know I'm not going completely crazy. This Kydex sheath is my first "fixed blade" sheath. I have several rigs of Kydex or Concealex for folders, but have never noticed the darn things scratching the finish.

I'm not concerned on this particular knife, but if it were a mirror polished presentation piece, I'd be mad as hell.

Thanks
 
Wire Edge,

There was a long thread about this topic quite a while back on this forum in which Mick addressed this issue. To the best of my recollection he stated that the sheaths are designed for a secure fit and in the process of making the sheaths and fitting the knives to the sheaths, the scratches occur. Also, since the sheaths are made for a secure fit this would account for the continued scratches.

As I said, this is what I recall of Mick's explanation. You may want to do a search to locate this thread.
 
With all due respect to Mr. Hossom, in my experience, kydex does scratch hardened steel and hard chrome. I own many hard chromed blades along with bare steel, and all of them have kydex scratches along the side of the blade. My Mad Dog Saxon had scratches along one side of the hard chromed blade due to the Kydex.

Tim
 
Tim, it's not the kydex thats scratching your blades, but tiny bits of debris in the sheath. Kydex is way softer than hardened steel, so it's impossible for it to scratch it. Listen to Hossom, he is about as knowledgable as anyone in this field. Kydex MAY scratch a finish on a blade (like the scale that makes up the stripes) though, I think.

As for prevention of finish scratching, I usually loosen up my Strider sheaths a little with a hair dryer. Then I coat the blade with Renaissance Wax. The surface may scuff a bit, but it stops the scratching. The wax protects the blade from corrosion as well.
 
Kumdo,
You hit the nail on the head. I also use Renaissance wax for coating so that the removal of blade from a snugly fitted kydex sheath is smoother and less chance of scratch, as it protects a fair amount from friction,Friction is the usual cause of scrathes from kydex sheath, especially scratches on those tiger stripe patterns or perthaps other coatings and even sandblasting.
I have yet to use a hair dryer to expand the kydex sheaths in question, although I have thought of it. I do agreed with you as the above two methods should be a great combination for those concerned about scratches,
Thanks
Oliver
 
Any knife shop is probably covered with steel dust. Perhaps this gets trapped in the Kydex and makes for some fine sand paper. It could happen.
 
We are always very careful to ship the things with no scratches.
Sometimes we may miss one. But usually not.
In the past, we didn?t give a damn. We understand now that a lot of people want their gear to stay ?as new?. We do our best to keep them clean.

That being said,
If you take your knife in and out of a kydex sheath, it will scratch. It isn?t the plastic, it is TINY particles of crap that get stuck in there.
During the manufacture of the sheath, we blow the thing out with compressed air after every step.
Then we wash it with water (this kills the static electricity as well) then blow it dry. When they leave the shop. They are crap free.

We have played around with lined kydex. It is actually worse.

Talk to you soon

Mick
 
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