Should a sheath mar the knife?

mr_wilson

mr_wilson

Joined
Jan 18, 2002
Messages
136
Recently purchased a knife and sheath from a company store around here, placed the knife in the sheath a few times and now I find that the the sheath has "altered" the finish on the knife, not all over but, definately marked it, in a couple places on each side of the blade.

Many years ago I purchased #240 of 500 limited edition "Flight of the Intruder" Cold Steel Trailmaster w/ John Milas inspired mycarta handle. I made the mistake of placing it into it's black leather sheath and due to an uncovered snap button now own a nice blued finish collector's knife with a scar from tip to guard on one side of the nice blued finish.

What is the consensous opinion around here?

Should the sheath purchased specifically with or for a particular knife mess up the finish on the knife?

Does sheath contruction material have a bearing on this question? say kydex vs leather...

Thanks for your comments,
 
I read a post a little while back on this subject.The person was having the same problem.I have a couple fixed blades and none of mine do this.I would send it back ASAP.It should not happen.Could be the knife/sheath mating or a problem with the rivets hitting the knife.Surely send it back!

MPE
 
Some finishes are more "fragile" than others. Some sheaths are more snug than others (friction-hold kydex). Both situations result in scratched knives.

IMHO, a sheath is for holding a knive ready to be used. ergo, minor scratches or buffing is par for the course since using the knife will DEFINITELY cause minor scratches or buffing...

Cases, on the other hand are for protecting a mint condition object and keeping it in mint condition.

If you want a more detailed answer, many here will need to know the knife, the steel, the finish, the sheath material and design.

my $.02 J-
 
HomeBru said:
If you want a more detailed answer, many here will need to know the knife, the steel, the finish, the sheath material and design.
my $.02 J-
Click to expand...

Much obliged for your comments.

The CS LE Intruder is "blued" CarbonV and sheath is leather, the first knife is a standard SwampRat M6, black crinkle coat w/ BB kydex in which the knife fits very tightly.

Please, not bashing SW or BB here, did call CS years back on the Intruder issue which resulted in no action on CS's part other than I was just SOL; just wondered what others thought about this question......
 
The kydex sheath always mar the finish of any blade.So someone prefer leather sheath to preserve rare blade,or you may have your custom sheath.
if you prefer kydex,there must be some soft material support inside the kydex
 
I have Kydex on my Doziers and no issues.They fit super tight and if there was a problem,I bet Bob would take care of it.

MPE
 
In most cases, the only way to ensure a knife never gets a scratch is to never use it and never put it in the sheath. There's nothing wrong with keeping a knife pristine if that's what is desired. But my personal viewpoint is that the sheath is made to protect your body first, and the blade from major damage (if dropped for instance) second, but it's not really meant to be a safe-keeper.
 
mr_wilson said:
Recently purchased a knife and sheath from a company store around here, placed the knife in the sheath a few times and now I find that the the sheath has "altered" the finish on the knife, not all over but, definately marked it, in a couple places on each side of the blade.

Should the sheath purchased specifically with or for a particular knife mess up the finish on the knife?

Does sheath contruction material have a bearing on this question? say kydex vs leather...
Click to expand...

Mr_Wilson, your post is not really specific. I can't tell if you are seeing scratches or discoloration of the blade. The issue of scratches by the sheath has been handled in other responses. I will address possible discoloration of the blade.

You do not say what the blade steel it is. Some steels are more susceptible to discoloration than others. Non-stainless steels are very susceptible. Lower chromium content stainless steels are also more susceptible than steels such as 440A or 420. This is especially true when using a leather sheath. The chemical compounds used to tan the leather can cause staining or very minor corrosion of such blades. I do not believe that kydex has this issue, but you can have moisture issues within a Kydex sheath which can also cause minor corrosion/staining. Such staining does occur with a sheath made for a particular knife.

As a general recommendation I would say that you should not store knives in sheaths, but use the sheath only when you are actually carrying the knife (on your person or during travel).
 
Yes, if you repeatedly remove and insert a knife into a sheath most knives will get some "carry" or "handling" wear. If you want to keep the knife in mint condition, store it out of the sheath.

-Bob
 
mr_wilson said:
The CS LE Intruder is "blued" CarbonV and sheath is leather, the first knife is a standard SwampRat M6, black crinkle coat w/ BB kydex in which the knife fits very tightly.
Click to expand...

Is the Intruder hot-blued (I notice you had blued in quotes) or blued-like finish? A good hot-blue finish can handle a little bit of friction, but I've scratched my gun barrels on thorns before...

The Black crinkle coat I would expect to get some carry/use wear especially in a tight kydex sheath.

A custom sheath would help prevent "damage", but if you want to use a blade and keep it real purty-like, I'd stick with a high-quality stainless blade and a leather sheath. You can always buff the little use scratches out if they bug you!:D

I've always liked the look of the more exotic blade finishes (especially Busse's!) but they tend to show wear and are just about impossible to bring back to showroom quality at home. I'm very particular to bead/sand blasted blades, but they get polished in the sheath and loose that nice matte finish quickly.

J-
 
mr_wilson said:
Recently purchased a knife and sheath from a company store around here, placed the knife in the sheath a few times and now I find that the the sheath has "altered" the finish on the knife, not all over but, definately marked it, in a couple places on each side of the blade.

Many years ago I purchased #240 of 500 limited edition "Flight of the Intruder" Cold Steel Trailmaster w/ John Milas inspired mycarta handle. I made the mistake of placing it into it's black leather sheath and due to an uncovered snap button now own a nice blued finish collector's knife with a scar from tip to guard on one side of the nice blued finish.

What is the consensous opinion around here?

Should the sheath purchased specifically with or for a particular knife mess up the finish on the knife?

Does sheath contruction material have a bearing on this question? say kydex vs leather...

Thanks for your comments,
Click to expand...


is it the color blue or actual bluing? If its actual bluing they sell a touchup bluing called cold bluing it comes in a bottle used on firearms, u may be able to use that to touch it up.
 
A sheath should NEVER mar the finish on a knife. I do have many FB's with Kydex sheaths, and the sheaths do NOT adversely affect the finish of ANY of my knives.
 
Kydex sheaths will always mar the finish on knives. Especially acid etched and bead blasted finishes. Unless you have it lined with a thin leather kydex will always "damage" the knifes finish and thats a fact!
 
Hey Guys...


TorzJohnson said:
In most cases, the only way to ensure a knife never gets a scratch is to never use it and never put it in the sheath. There's nothing wrong with keeping a knife pristine if that's what is desired. But my personal viewpoint is that the sheath is made to protect your body first, and the blade from major damage (if dropped for instance) second, but it's not really meant to be a safe-keeper.
Click to expand...


What Torz said is 100% Accurate...

My Absolute first objective is safety for the user...
Secondly if the knife is a User,, then some minor scratching is secondary...

I make Absolutely ever effort to control scratching, however it happens...

If you have a Safe queen,,don't let it near Any sheaths, and get a Lexan box for it...

Simple said:
there must be some soft material support inside the kydex
Click to expand...

This just isn't the case...

Even if you line the sheath with the fluff from a Duckling's Ass,,or silky smooth Astroglide,, scratches will occure at some point..

Lining a sheath with ANYTHING is just a bad idea,, plain and simple...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Hey Moose..

moosemaster said:
Kydex sheaths will always mar the finish on knives. Especially acid etched and bead blasted finishes. Unless you have it lined with a thin leather kydex will always "damage" the knifes finish and thats a fact!
Click to expand...

Please read my above post..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Any knife you purchase for carry & use will get scratched up. It's only a matter of time. Not scratching the finish on a blade is not what sheaths were designed for.

If you don't want scratches on your knife, put it in a soft-lined drawer. Other than that, consider getting a loose-fitting, after-market sheath.
 
Sheaths are not meant for long-term storage, especially leather ones. However, it does sound to me like a snap that drags on the blade is a design flaw or quality control problem.
 
I never personally lined any of my kydex sheaths, but i know peter jensen offered it. I think he used a really thin leather which was glued or barge cemented to the kydex. The main function was noise but it deffinatly helped with scratching. I prefer a friction pouch style leather sheath and find that doesn't harm the finishes.
 
Hey Moose...

Yaaa I know the concept sounds good,, but unless you can keep dirt out of the sheath it will make cleaning the sheath Almost impossible...

Lets say for instance you get a single grain of sand caught inside there.. How is it possible to romove the grain of sand??

You can't wash it out,, an air hose will more than likely just move it to another location......


Have you ever walked through a windy parking lot and get hit in the face from the dust storm that is whipped up...Sure as shit at least one piece of crap is going to wind up in your sheath..

Not to mention if the material inside gets cut or unbonds from the kydex,and bunches up inside the sheath..

I have had a couple from the same maker who used felt inside the sheath...The felt came aprt and bunched up inside the sheath like a cheeleaders panties on prom night on the floor of her fathers Oldsmobile...

An unlined sheath is easily washed with warm soapy water.. A lined sheath can only be blown out...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
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