Why does CS go on with the crappy Secure-ex sheaths?

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May 23, 2005
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I want to buy a Cold Steel Master tanto in San Mai. But I find tons of threads and plenty of videos showing how bad the Secure-ex sheaths are. It seems that the glass reinforced sheath dulls your knife very quickly. This is going on for years now. There was an official CS statement that they improved the Secure-ex sheath and that the problems belong to the past, but the sheath still seems to be crap.
I can't believe that CS doesn't change this or at least gives the option for ordering a leather sheath. What would be the reason?
 
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Money.

A good quality leather (like the Tanto/Magnum/Master Tanto series came with in the past) or a good Kydex sheath would add maybe $40-50.00 to the price.

My Kobun purchased in 1999 came with a Kydex sheath and cost $70.00 at the time from a discount seller, and the MSRP was $90.00 IIRC. Part of this was probably due to being made in Japan but I'm sure the Kydex also figured in to the price.

The Secure-Ex sheath is good enough for most people and is modular so they can be carried in multiple ways unlike typical leather or nylon sheaths. Most nylon sheaths I've had were either too big and bulky or basically just a case for the knife. Even some good knife companies make bad ones.

CS probably figured that people will buy according to the price and those wanting an upgrade on the sheath will get a custom.
 
It's definitely the cost as Benjamin mentioned. Good Kydex or just decent leather would probably add $35 - 75 on a decent sized knife. The Secure-ex looks way more refined and fits better than the cordura socks that a lot of mid priced companies have gone to, so it's a best of the worse type of thing. Sheaths have always been the bane of mid priced knife companies, there one of first things that get cut when a company is looking to stay at a certain price point.
 
If you take just a little bit of care, you can avoid dulling your knife when sheathing/unsheathing. In the very rare moment you need to draw your knife quickly, one pass is not going to make any difference.

The secure ex sheaths are functional in every sense except for this gripe about glass fibers.
 
believe it or not, some folks like the crap ex sheaths. I dont personally, but some do. seen them here in the past.

in the end they got to be cheaper than other versions that are better....and that's why we get stuck with them.
 
They work well enough and a little strope if your worried about dulling a pull the knife in and out when used. My only CS knives that have them are CS Marauders and they seem to work great with them. My others are folders and I'm not getting kydex sheaths for them, I use my pockets.
 
I do not worry at all if I should dull the blade pulling the knife in and out in a kydex sheath because that will never happen that I buy a Cold Steel with a Kydex or cordura sheath. For me, it is a shame to make a wonderful blade in San Mai and put it in a Kydex/cordura sheath but obviously it can be done because people buy it so...
 
Why change now? They've ignored this issue for years.

The fact that some models suffer more from this indicates that adjustments could be made.
In my experience,the DF models don't have this problem but the Recon Tanto and SRK (SK5), are definitely effected by this issue.
No matter how I unsheath them, the edge is dulled. This issue isn't user error in my case. The double edged Leatherneck neck knife has this issue. I know of no way to draw on the spine side when there are 2 edges to consider. Regardless of the fact that some people don't have a problem with this issue or choose to accept it, there are enough complaints to warrant the company addressing this problem.

I've replaced the sheaths on some but I shouldn't have to do that unless I like an aftermarket sheath better, custom or otherwise.
If I remember correctly, Kabar made some changes on some of their models because of the dulling issue.

All this being said, it may not be much of a problem anymore for me anyway.
My GSM Steel purchases will probably be very limited in the future.
That's if I don't drop the line altogether.
My fanboy days are done.
 
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I understand CS wants to continue their Secure-ex sheaths, it's a question of money. But why don't they improve these sheats so they don't dull the edges from the knives no more? I understand it's the glass reinforcement which causes this. Can't they use other material?
 
According to the old CS mod, the sheaths were tweaked a ways back to fix the problem, but given production variances, was probably hit and miss.

Review - 3V Mini Pendleton and Secure-ex sheath dulling nightmare...

My expectations were low, but still... I am very disappointed. Long story short, I took razor sharp Mini Pendleton in 3V and decided to use it as EDC for a day instead of Boker GoBag. Lucky for me, I put my GoBag in my backpack just in case. So, I pull my knife out and I'm about to cut a zip...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
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I never understood why the tweaking would have been too difficult. It wasn't that people had a problem with they being made of polymer, but that it was a glass fiber/plastic mix that would dull the blade. I always imagined that the polymer choice could easily be changed out for another that would not be harsh on the cutting edge. And yet, somehow the problem seemed to linger. I could never wrap my head around that.
I didn't know that it had been tweaked in some way, but know the dulling complaints seemed to have continued.
Things that make you go hmmm?
 
I suspect that most users don't know the sheath is dulling their knives. If it was a big problem there would be lots of ready-made aftermarket Kydex sheaths on the market and there aren't. Couldn't find one for a Taipan or Magnum Tanto IX.
 
Is it whining to point out an issue with the sheaths?
I find it hard to believe that someone wouldn't notice a dull knife.
If the sheaths aren't causing you any problems, good for you.
I'm not imagining this issue. Several people have had this problem.
I don't think it's an isolated issue. If it isn't an issue on some models it should be a fixable problem for all models.
 
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