Why are kydex makers so slow?

L

Larry Turko

Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
1,007
The post yesterday regarding the status of Mike Sastre, got me wondering as to how long it should reasonably take to receive a sheath after paying for it,
By the way what happened to that posting? I responded to it and I would have thought it would be of interest to quite a few people. I feel sorry for the guy who sent Sastre a knife back in Dec. and now can't raise him.

I actually did successfully manage to purchase a sheath from Sastre and then attempted to buy another one. After somewhere between 2 and 3 months I still haven't heard from him.
In any case, almost 8 weeks ago I paid for a sheath from another maker and still have not received it. The sheath I paid for was on a long list of sheaths the maker's website stated he offered. I thought that if a sheath maker offers a sheath for sale, it means he has the appropriate knife to make that sheath ,or he has some kind of pattern, allowing him to make as many sheaths as ordered.
I'm not a handy guy and I really don't know how long it takes to make a kydex sheath. However almost 8 weeks seems a long time to wait [ and who knows how much longer I need to wait, as the sheathmaker is not responding to my e-mail asking that question] for an item that the seller advertises as a stock item.
 
Some variables can be personal/family situations, emergencies and the like.
Or that person may have a full time job, and does Kydex stuff as a hobby or as income supplementation.
Material inavailability could be another viable explanation
Those would be my top 3 guesses.
 
I would get grumpy if a maker did not ship for weeks, and did not respond to communications. Would have to start a good/bad/ugly thread. Its one thing to be slow - or even very slow - as long as the maker responds to an email, but its not groovy to neither ship the product nor respond to email.

I have received kydex from makers in as short as a couple of weeks (mashedcat.com, or Eric at onscenetactical for example), so its possible. It does take time to bake and bend a sheath, but going weeks without communication is not acceptable IMO.

Consider sending another email, or calling if thats an option, and then stirring the pot with a G/B/U thread. You would also be helping the rest of us out, by telling us who to avoid. JMO. :thumbup:
 
Never really had a problems with the sheaths I have ordered. Both makers stayed in good communication. Perhaps it is time to take your orders elseware
 
Hi Larry -

I am with powernoodle on this one -

I am lucky to have only dealt with people from this board that are great communicators, people who keep me in the loop on every step of the construction.

It does not take too much extra time to take a picture and send an email - I can typically do that with one hand while the other is holding a frosty cold barley-pop. Seems like it should be easy.

If the maker is inundated with work, then make it simple - take a picture of all the WIPs and just send the same pic to everyone.

A little communication can go a LONG way in keeping people happy.

My dealings with Noah Legal from Wasteland Leatherwork, for instance, he emailed me nightly or every other night with pictures of my sheath and belts.

I would, as 'noodle suggested, email the maker again and explain that you will have to start the GBU thread if they do not at the very least send a brief explanation. You do have a right to be in the loop.

Good luck, and

best regards -

mqqn
 
Larry Turko said:
The post yesterday regarding the status of Mike Sastre, got me wondering as to how long it should reasonably take to receive a sheath after paying for it,
By the way what happened to that posting? I responded to it and I would have thought it would be of interest to quite a few people. I feel sorry for the guy who sent Sastre a knife back in Dec. and now can't raise him.

I actually did successfully manage to purchase a sheath from Sastre and then attempted to buy another one. After somewhere between 2 and 3 months I still haven't heard from him.
In any case, almost 8 weeks ago I paid for a sheath from another maker and still have not received it. The sheath I paid for was on a long list of sheaths the maker's website stated he offered. I thought that if a sheath maker offers a sheath for sale, it means he has the appropriate knife to make that sheath ,or he has some kind of pattern, allowing him to make as many sheaths as ordered.
I'm not a handy guy and I really don't know how long it takes to make a kydex sheath. However almost 8 weeks seems a long time to wait [ and who knows how much longer I need to wait, as the sheathmaker is not responding to my e-mail asking that question] for an item that the seller advertises as a stock item.
Click to expand...

My experience on this same topic was that the better known shops with well known quality products are in very high demand. Military personnel and first responders are often the ones to get top priority, for good reason. I was waiting for 3 months for a particularly sheath maker for my duplex sheath when he pretty much told me the queue wasn't getting any shorter and he was already six weeks behind schedule for military personnel orders.

I took my business elsewhere, had a decent experience, but the design had to be simplified for the sheath maker since they could not build me what I originally designed given the complexity required.

There are many, many makers out there, you may end up having to wait will they figure out a design they have not done before. A reasonable expectation should be a month for a simple job with a heavy workload or a part time gig. More than six weeks if it's complicated under otherwise similar conditions. If you push 2 months, it's time to negotiate with the maker and get them to level with you if they can get it done at all.

I was tempting to buy the equipment to make my own, but I lack the time or patience to master the skills with as much as I have going on. It's not rocket science, but it does take practice to become proficient (as with anything else).

-E
 
I had the same experience a few months back from a prominent maker off the JDF. Another maker stepped up and made the sheath in a day or two for exactly the knife I wanted(CRKT Polkowski/Casper Companion, which by the way I think for anyone wanting to carry a f.b. for s.d. this knife can't be beat). Any how ordered the sheath I think on Fri and rec. it like Wed or Tues of the next week. Soft belt loop, and iwb sheath that is SUPERB.

So I have only ordered knives from Sastre and he has been very prompt in communication and filling the order and shipping. That's it, keepem sharp
 
Thanks for your helpful comments. I'm not a totally unreasonable guy and ,as a couple of you said, if the sheath maker had e-mailed me and let me know he's having some kind of problem which is holding things up,I'd be fine with that. The truth is, I don't 'need' this sheath, I want it, so I could certainly wait longer without feeling resentfull if there's a good reason for the delay.

If my sheath doesn't arrive soon, or the sheath maker doesn't respond to my e-mail in the next little while, I'll certainly identify him. The odd thing is, I told this guy that he offered a number of sheaths that I was interested in ordering, so you'd think he'd might want to treat me with at least a modicum of consideration as I'd be a good repeat customer.
Well maybe the guys in the hospital in which case everything is forgiven.
 
Larry Turko said:
Thanks for your helpful comments. I'm not a totally unreasonable guy and ,as a couple of you said, if the sheath maker had e-mailed me and let me know he's having some kind of problem which is holding things up,I'd be fine with that. The truth is, I don't 'need' this sheath, I want it, so I could certainly wait longer without feeling resentfull if there's a good reason for the delay.

If my sheath doesn't arrive soon, or the sheath maker doesn't respond to my e-mail in the next little while, I'll certainly identify him. The odd thing is, I told this guy that he offered a number of sheaths that I was interested in ordering, so you'd think he'd might want to treat me with at least a modicum of consideration as I'd be a good repeat customer.
Well maybe the guys in the hospital in which case everything is forgiven.
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Did you have to send your knives? I gave the guidance on reasonable time if they are holding what could be a thousand dollars worth of knife (assuming a couple of custom jobs, or a semi-custom Busse for example). For every hundred dollars worth of knife, demand an update every week at least.

Factory knives that cost a bit less, at least the popular models, should have a mock up built so that you don't have to send your knives in at all. A maker holding the goods knows damn well they have someone else's property. Make it clear you need a call/email immediately to know what going on. In a worst case scenario, you may have to go the legal route if they have gone totally radio dark. I haven't had it happen, but I know of some who have. There a reason people tend to stick with the well beaten paths when it comes to sheath makers.

-E
 
No I didn't have to send in my knife which is why I was attracted to this maker in the first place. If worse came to worst I would just lose the price of the sheath.
I'm still hoping this will have a happy ending but if it doesn't, I'll be only too happy to reveal the name.
I just checked a few minutes ago and his website is still up in all it's glory but I'm not sure if that means anything.
 
The same thing happened to me with a different maker. My experience with Mike was great. Hopefully he'll come through in the end.

I don't like waiting, especially when I have a new knife that I can't use because I don't have a proper sheath for it. I made my own kydex press and have done maybe a dozen sheaths now. They aren't quite as good as the ones I bought, but I enjoy making them, and I'm about at the point where I've recouped my initial investment (vs. buying them from other people).

Anyway, depending on how many fixed blades you have, you could consider making a press. The only tools I use are an oven, a heat gun, aviation snips, and a vice, all of which I had anyway. There are lots of threads on this forum to get you started, if you end up going that way.

Take care,

Stephen
 
JohnQTaxpayer said:
Try Okuden! I haven't heard much about his sheaths here, but his work is awesome! I have 3 sheaths from him and am very satisfied. Not only is he a great sheath maker, but he runs a tight business. Be warned, it may take 3-4 weeks to get your knife and sheath back, but the wait is definitely worthwhile. See my post @ http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=736539
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Off topic, sorry, but JohnQTaxpayer...i just sent you a visitor message.
 
I've never understood why this type of customer service is tolerated by the gun/knife/gear crowd....anywhere else, and buyers would be off in a heartbeat to a different provider...
 
All custom orders on anything take longer than anticipated. In the case of Kydex, however I don't get it based on my limited knowledge of the subject. Here is the link to a video of Peter Atwood making one and it seems like it should only take an hour or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lczZWgN4Kg

I know it's probably more complex, but it's not like we're talking about carving the statue of David out of a piece of marble.
 
Larry Turko said:
The post yesterday regarding the status of Mike Sastre, got me wondering as to how long it should reasonably take to receive a sheath after paying for it,
By the way what happened to that posting? I responded to it and I would have thought it would be of interest to quite a few people.
Click to expand...

Here it is in FEEDBACK: Mike from River City Sheaths
I have moved this from General Knife Discussion to Sheaths & Such.
 
we keep it pretty simple, at 2 Munkeez - you do NOT pay for a sheath UNTIL it's ready to ship, period.

if fact, there are people on this site that can tell you they received their sheath BEFORE they sent us payment. this is not a common practice, but does happen from time to time.

the way we look at it is: we (normally) already have your knife, we don't need to be holding your money too. when the sheath is complete, we let you know, you send payment, we send sheath.

edit to add - right now, we are a little backed up and i'll let all inquiring parties know that it could be as much as 6 weeks to complete their sheath. this is because a valued client just ordered a handful of specialty items and his order will be taken care of before any others are and (like others said) i have a full time job, kids, and a Harley that gets grumpy if i don't ride it to bars :D
 
godot said:
All custom orders on anything take longer than anticipated. In the case of Kydex, however I don't get it based on my limited knowledge of the subject. Here is the link to a video of Peter Atwood making one and it seems like it should only take an hour or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lczZWgN4Kg

I know it's probably more complex, but it's not like we're talking about carving the statue of David out of a piece of marble.
Click to expand...

Bolding mine.

I didn't really wanna get into this thread, but saw this and felt the need to respond. Peter Atwood is a fantastic knife maker and his tools are some of the coolest things out there. With all due respect though, he's not a kydex sheathmaker.

Most knifemakers who dabble in Kydex (and some sheathmakers for that matter) follow the steps as they're shown in that vid. It's quick, easy, and kinda works. However, I couldn't begin to count the number of sheaths that ship with knives that I replace or get asked to fix. Making a kydex sheath is easy. Making a really good one takes time and know how. Not trying to toot a horn or anything like that, and like I said I have nothing but respect for Mr. Atwood, but comparing the time Mike puts into his sheaths to what's in that vid is silly at best.
 
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