Here's a question for those of you that have kydex sheaths, or make them for SY knives. Is the knife held in by friction on the handle material, and if so, does it cause rub spots? And in time, do those rub spots cause the friction grip to lessen? I have always been a leather type of guy, but the appeal of kydex in harsh environments and it overall toughness appeals to me... I need to get some pants for my SY knives, and I can't decide to just go with leather, or get kydex....

Any suggestions.... I am all ears...err.. eyes as it were...

Doc

Welcome to the Yard. We have a great group of sheath makers here, can't go wrong!

Welcome yup--

DocS--I'm interested in the answers to your questions too. Thanks for bringing that up

Here are a couple of shots...

this is a smashed cat kydex sheath... as the knife goes in, there's pressure between the back of the mudder (right most arrow below) and the guard (leftmost)... once the sheath has been opened a bit, you get a bit of pressure on the middle arrow.


When pulling it out, it appears to "press out" where the purple line is here:


I've only had a res-c grip for a couple of days, I can't tell you about long term wear. It IS a bit more shiny where it would appear to rub, but it doesn't look like it'll be a lot of wear. Then again, I've only had it a little while and I don't know how res-c works over time.

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It depends. Some sheaths grip at the top. Some grip the blade itself. The later tend to be harder on a coated finish. Best bet is to ask a given sheath maker which style he uses.

Welcome to the Yard, yupitsnuge.

Welcome to the Yard! I have sheaths from a few makers and all have been gret so far. I have sheaths from David Brown, Savage, Chuddy Bear, Steelnut, and hopefully soon from Rainwalker. I would say look to David Brown or Rainwalker for kydex since you plan to use your knife the way it is meant to--not sitting in a safe!

I do focus on handle retention now.

I never used to tape the blades with more than one layer of tape if any tape at all.

Now I put 2 layers of tape on every blade & it works perfect.

The blade does not rattle in the sheath, & it does not rub on the inside,it works perfect.

The key to any sheath klydex, leather, nylon, or silky rabbit fur lined sheaths is to keep dirt out as best you can, and if you get dirt in the sheath clean it out. That is where kydex has an edge on the others, you can wash it with soap & water.

Hope this helps.

Thank you to all of you that gave me complements. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And this is where open spine sheaths really excel... (the ones made by the original, not some guy who decided to steel the idea)

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