Having fun with Kydex
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:58 pm
We all know a few people who work in kydex, and we know what it takes to get a sheath made. Money and sending off the knife. I decided to see for myself how much trouble it is.
It ain't trouble. It's fun. Inexpensive fun, if you buy your materials right. I bought some scraps of kydex, a few packages of chicago screws, made use of a heat gun I already had (and the oven), and put together my own press out of scrap lumber, using scrap nylon webbing as hinges.
So I present to you my work. Please be kind, I need positives at this point, not criticisms. I'm proudest of the big, bad BK9 sheath. I call this my 'winter campaign sheath' , making it with grey kydex. This was heavy stuff, way heavier than the thickest stuff usually used for sheaths. A whooping 1/8" thick. And as you can see by the pics, I placed a .030 thick section of black kydex where the folded piece comes together. Used the black male ends of the Chicago screws on the outside, used brass female ends on the other. At first I formed a belt loop of heavy black kydex, but with this big knife, it was not comfortable riding up that high. So I used some of the nylon webbing to make a 'hybrid' kydex-nylon job. Hangs nice on the belt. The fit is perfect, very secure and the sheath itself could be used as a dangerous weapon. The knife does slide out easily though. It is far superior to the Becker sheath that came with it.
Showing three others I made in black, thinner kydex. Top is for a big old Boker armed forces folder. I have sinced removed the belt hook and it is not bolted under the dash of my truck.
The black sharpfinger clone sheath is for a friend. Holds the knife very well. I glued the sheath together, using the chicago screws to attach the belt loop. The last one is for a very nice, expensive custom made stiletto I bought at a knife show a few years ago. The leather sheath, as made by the knifemaker, was too big and clunky. this one suits much better, and keeps the knife up high on my belt. I also formed a second boot loop, for sticking it in my swampers during late hunting season.
Kydex is fairly easy to work with, pretty forgiving as well. You can order it from knife supply places, or search locally, it is sometimes used for electronics housings. Frankly, the big grey stuff is too big, try and find .030 or .060, nothing larger than .090.
Have fun.. I am obviously still learning, but I enjoy it, and have some other ideas I wanna try out.
Phil
It ain't trouble. It's fun. Inexpensive fun, if you buy your materials right. I bought some scraps of kydex, a few packages of chicago screws, made use of a heat gun I already had (and the oven), and put together my own press out of scrap lumber, using scrap nylon webbing as hinges.
So I present to you my work. Please be kind, I need positives at this point, not criticisms. I'm proudest of the big, bad BK9 sheath. I call this my 'winter campaign sheath' , making it with grey kydex. This was heavy stuff, way heavier than the thickest stuff usually used for sheaths. A whooping 1/8" thick. And as you can see by the pics, I placed a .030 thick section of black kydex where the folded piece comes together. Used the black male ends of the Chicago screws on the outside, used brass female ends on the other. At first I formed a belt loop of heavy black kydex, but with this big knife, it was not comfortable riding up that high. So I used some of the nylon webbing to make a 'hybrid' kydex-nylon job. Hangs nice on the belt. The fit is perfect, very secure and the sheath itself could be used as a dangerous weapon. The knife does slide out easily though. It is far superior to the Becker sheath that came with it.
Showing three others I made in black, thinner kydex. Top is for a big old Boker armed forces folder. I have sinced removed the belt hook and it is not bolted under the dash of my truck.
The black sharpfinger clone sheath is for a friend. Holds the knife very well. I glued the sheath together, using the chicago screws to attach the belt loop. The last one is for a very nice, expensive custom made stiletto I bought at a knife show a few years ago. The leather sheath, as made by the knifemaker, was too big and clunky. this one suits much better, and keeps the knife up high on my belt. I also formed a second boot loop, for sticking it in my swampers during late hunting season.
Kydex is fairly easy to work with, pretty forgiving as well. You can order it from knife supply places, or search locally, it is sometimes used for electronics housings. Frankly, the big grey stuff is too big, try and find .030 or .060, nothing larger than .090.
Have fun.. I am obviously still learning, but I enjoy it, and have some other ideas I wanna try out.
Phil