Thoughts On Cold Steel's Secure Ex Sheaths?

C

CStreet_Butcher

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Aug 3, 2011
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I own the Cold Steel Safe Keeper III, Cold Steel Double Agent II, and the new version of the Cold Steel Mini Tac Tanto. That being said I have had negative experiences with the Secure Ex Sheaths. All 3 of these blades with this particular type of sheath consistently dulls my blades ( a careful draw has been practiced :) ). Is it just me or anyone else had the same experience with these suckers?
 
Hmmm... while I do consider their sheaths to be pretty poor quality, I gotta say I've never had that issue with them. I only use one, though - an older Recon Tanto. The knife always seems to draw straight out, without cutting at the plastic.
 
I've actually had nothing but positive experiences with their Secure-Ex sheaths. I've heard of this problem with polymer sheaths from every manufacturer though.
 
All CS fixed blades I get are with their secure-ex sheaths. To me, they're even better than kydex. I've never had a blade rattle in them and never got my edge dulled. Retention has always been fantastic. I wish I had secure-ex sheaths on all my non CS knives too.

Another thing I like of secure-ex sheaths are the belt attachments. A typical kydex and teclock set up still rides too high on my hip. I hate it when the handle digs into my side, and always prefer a lower riding option if available. CS for some reason has been smart enough to incorporate this into most of their secure-ex set ups.
 
TEFL0N_D0N_81 said:
All CS fixed blades I get are with their secure-ex sheaths. To me, they're even better than kydex. I've never had a blade rattle in them and never got my edge dulled. Retention has always been fantastic. I wish I had secure-ex sheaths on all my non CS knives too.

Another thing I like of secure-ex sheaths are the belt attachments. A typical kydex and teclock set up still rides too high on my hip. I hate it when the handle digs into my side, and always prefer a lower riding option if available. CS for some reason has been smart enough to incorporate this into most of their secure-ex set ups.
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I agree about the whole - slap a tec lok on it, south of the hilt thing. I think its a lazy way to make sheaths. Don't write off all custom kydex rigs, though, not all of us do that. I've built different attachment options on some that place the loop up towards the middle of the handle where its actually comforrtable to carry :-)
 
My Safe Keeper II rattles in the sheath, my Super Edge does but only slightly, and my Peacekeeper I does not. That's the extent of my experience with Secure-Ex sheaths. For the prices I paid for the knives in question ($15-120ish) Secure-Ex is perfectly adequate. For anything approaching $200 however, I would expect and prefer a well-fitted kydex sheath.

As for dulling the blades I couldn't tell you. I'm not exactly EDCing my push-dagger and 13" double-edged Peacekeeper ;)
 
I can say with absolute certainty that Cold Steel Secure-ex sheaths DO DULL EDGES. I have a CS Gurkha Kukri (SK-5) and a CS ODA (and others, but not with Secure-ex). Both knives go into the sheaths wicked sharp, but come out with a portion of the edges completely dull. Life sux. If anyone learns or figures out a solution, please advise. Thanks.

P.S. I just emailed Cold Steel to let them know of the problem. Let's face it... when concerned about a product, it's best to contact the manufacturer. I'll post the response when I get it.

P.S.S. Okay, I finally received an email response from Cold Steel. I was told to keep pressure on the spine side, and with the Kukri, draw along the curve of the blade. I was also told that if the problem persists, send the knives and sheaths in for inspection. That's pretty good customer service! There's another similar thread leaning more toward Ka-Bars... and one guy said to draw the knives a bunch of times to wear a trough into the sheath... and that'll take care of the problem. I guess I'll try anything.
 
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I don't have a problem with the retention or dulling of the blade. But the flimsy nylon belt loops make it hard for me to draw the knife when wearing it on my belt. I prefer to go with a high ride home made belt loop. Mostly though I prefer the leather or heavy nylon sheath options when I buy a cold steel knife.
 
ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
I don't have a problem with the retention or dulling of the blade. But the flimsy nylon belt loops make it hard for me to draw the knife when wearing it on my belt. I prefer to go with a high ride home made belt loop. Mostly though I prefer the leather or heavy nylon sheath options when I buy a cold steel knife.
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I tried the whole "high ride" and find it uncomfortable. My guess is, a lower riding sheath system is friendlier to fatter people like me and Lynn Thompson.
And no, I'm no where near as fat as Lynn Thompson, but I'm fat.
 
I don't have a CS knife that came with a Secure-Ex sheath, but I do own some CS knives. If I'm not mistaken, the CS sheaths are imbedded/mixed with glass or something like that and that's what actually dulls your blade. A few other companies that I know of had this same problem, some are changing their sheaths because of this problem, but there is still alot out there. I could be wrong about Cold Steel being one of them, but I'm almost 100% positive CS is one of the companies that mixed glass/fiberglass in with the plastic on their sheaths. Supposed to make the sheath stronger, but ends up dulling the blade aswell.
 
I took an SRK-C sheath and found a completely unnecessary flat lip/tab that sits right up against and perpendicular to the entire blade edge. It's a pretty snug fit so I suspect that due to inevitable variations some knives will cut into the Secure-Ex more than others. Overengineering at its finest, someone must have thought that it needed an insert like a leather sheath instead of a nice V-shape that protects the edge like a Kydex sheath.
Recorded on phone and uploaded to YouTube:
Cold Steel SRK-C Sheath Fix Part-1 of 3. Inside of sheath.
Cold Steel SRK-C Sheath Fix Part-2 of 3. Lip removed.
Cold Steel SRK-C Sheath Fix Part-3 of 3. Back together, still held securely no more contact.
 
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