Want to make kydex sheaths

B

BennettS.

Joined
Sep 19, 2015
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69
As the title indicates, I'm looking into making kydex sheaths for my knives. What all do I need to do this? Where can I get it? Is there a good starter kit that has everything included?
 
Check the tutorial sticky for a great guide.

KnifeKits has kits with material, eyelets, ect, but as far as tools you'll probably just have to compile a list. Nothing is set in stone and there's different ways to do most things. Read that guide and then post up any specifics you're hung up on.
 
I'm in much the same boat as you; thinking about making my first kydex sheath. This is pretty much the list I've got so far to do it as simply as I think I can:

To buy

Kydex (duh). From what I gather, .08 is probably the best bet for sheaths.

1/4 inch eyelets, I think they're 8-8 (so much of this stuff is from the US. Slowly wrapping my head around the awkwardness of Imperial measurements!)

Eyelet dies to suit (and probably a guide),

Chicago screws at same width (still working out what length depending on what attachment I go with)

Drill bit with a pilot point, also to match.

Molding foam (or use bits of old camping mat, but it sounds like the real stuff works a lot better)

To make

Press. Plenty of examples on the interwebz of presses made with various combinations of scrap wood, hinges and clamps.

Wife who will let me use the oven (also looking forward to what she says when she sees/smells me tempering my first blade in a couple of days...)

Other stuff (already own)

Drill

Hammer

Saws (figuring on using hacksaw and/or coping saw. Maybe a jigsaw, depending on how I find the material behaves. Don't have anything fancier that would work)

Sander/sandpaper

Oven (don't tell my wife) to heat the kydex

Heat gun (spot fixing/molding)

Rule or measuring tape, straight edge, etc.

Marker


I think that's about it. There's also about a billion videos on youtube, although there's a lot of contradictory ideas regarding the order in which to do stuff, the relative merits of heat guns and ovens, checking/ensuring retention, etc. My plan is to muck around with a few cheapo/beater knives that often get taken to BBQs or camping while I work out what's going on and how to do stuff before I try to do anything too complicated.

Being that I don't even qualify as a beginner yet, I'd also appreciate feedback from those with experience regarding my tentative shopping list.

Ta.
 
Gentlemen, are you able to search? If not, spend the minimum here and get a paid membership to support these forums. THEY ARE A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE!
A Basic membership is a measly 10 bucks. You'll gain that back in know-how.
 
Feoh, sounds good to me. Most of us started out with similar tools or less. Two things. The Chicago posts you want are 3/16" with 8-32 threads. If you end up with posts the same width as your eyelets (1/4"), they won't fit since both measurements are outside diameter. Also, for "marker", grab one of those metallic silver ones. Anything else is hard to see on black.

For reference, yes registered users can search. We don't get enough traffic in our little corner to worry too much about questions being repeated though. No worries.
 
Check out Aaron Gough you tube channel he has some good videos, also another thing to use beside the oven is an electric flat griddle. I started using one and like it better than the toaster oven.
 
Kiah said:
Feoh, sounds good to me. Most of us started out with similar tools or less. Two things. The Chicago posts you want are 3/16" with 8-32 threads. If you end up with posts the same width as your eyelets (1/4"), they won't fit since both measurements are outside diameter. Also, for "marker", grab one of those metallic silver ones. Anything else is hard to see on black.

For reference, yes registered users can search. We don't get enough traffic in our little corner to worry too much about questions being repeated though. No worries.
Click to expand...

I also just use a cheapo BIC mechanical pencil. It allows me to mark the kydex when building customs to keep everything aligned. A good quality WHITE eraser will remove the pencil marks and if you rub LIGHTLY, it won't damage the kydex finish. Play around with a scrap piece before you mess up a sheath you're half way finished with.
 
A few VERY IMPORTANT items not on your list, and maybe some sound advice.

1. Proper gloves. Heated kydex will be several hundred degrees. It WILL burn you.
2. Safety Glasses. Terrible feeling to have a small shard of kydex pop into your eye when drilling or sanding.
3. It is not recommended to use your home oven. Fumes ARE TOXIC when heating kydex. Plus, the gases will leave the smell in the oven and it will make baking and broiling a no go in the future. When I started, I used a small convection toaster oven I bought at a garage sale for 20 bucks and it was in the garage with fans around for ventilation. And small pieces can be heated with the heat gun. If you can find one, get a convection model toaster oven. It has a small fan that circulates the air inside and will give you more uniform heating of your kydex pieces. Euro-Pro makes a nice one with a timer that will shut off automatically if you forget (like when you're making kydex sheaths and get excited that it's all coming together so nicely)
 
Thanks for the tips, Hale Storm. From what I'd read/seen, I was under the impression that it was okay to use the oven as long as the kydex isn't overheated (ie that it didn't start emitting fumes until it got too hot to be useful anyway). But you're right: better not to take the chance either way. It would take a loooong time to it live down if I made our fairly-new oven useless for cooking :-) So I'll keep my eye out for a toaster oven and oven thermometer while I get my gear together.

A few people, including Justin (above) have mentioned using a hotplate/griddle. There's a hotplate on my gas BBQ, but considering what it can do to a sausage even on the 'low' temperature setting, I think it would be too easy to melt the kydex! Maybe I'll also look out for a cheapy electric one.
 
Feoh said:
Thanks for the tips, Hale Storm. From what I'd read/seen, I was under the impression that it was okay to use the oven as long as the kydex isn't overheated (ie that it didn't start emitting fumes until it got too hot to be useful anyway). But you're right: better not to take the chance either way. It would take a loooong time to it live down if I made our fairly-new oven useless for cooking :-) So I'll keep my eye out for a toaster oven and oven thermometer while I get my gear together.

A few people, including Justin (above) have mentioned using a hotplate/griddle. There's a hotplate on my gas BBQ, but considering what it can do to a sausage even on the 'low' temperature setting, I think it would be too easy to melt the kydex! Maybe I'll also look out for a cheapy electric one.
Click to expand...

Personal experience: Used a kitchen oven for bigger pieces with a cookie sheet and foil when I used a toaster oven for small stuff and never had an issue. Of course YMMV and nobody was around to yell at me about it. Still have that toaster oven in the shop. Use it to cook sausages.

Yep, an electric griddle is very good for Kydex. A bit of advice, get the "Presto" brand if you get one. I think they're like $19. Used other ones that ruined the Kydex, but the "Presto's" coating works very well for it. Also great for eggs. Now I'm craving eggs.
 
Thanks again. Really appreciate you guys making the effort to help people just starting out :-)
 
Feoh, stick around and post up some pics and let us know how it goes. It takes practice so don't worry about mistakes.
There are a lot of people here that are willing to help and offer honest feedback. It will only make you better.
Kiah is a Kydex Mad Scientist, resident expert, and the Mod here so you have resources.

You can always PM me or shoot me an email if you have more questions. I'm no expert but I'll help any way I can. Good luck.

I think you'll like what you find here on BF. I've never met a better group of people anywhere.
 
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