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Kydex

I posted this pic in "Knives of the Great Outdoors" recently since it is a new knife and a new (to me) steel [CPM-3V, PHT (Peters' Heat Treating) hardened]. The Knife is a Survive Knives GSO-7/7 (surviveknives.com) and is made in Gettysburg, PA. Peters' Heat Treating is out in Erie, PA.

Kydex: The retention system on this molded Kydex sheath works great, but what can I do to make this sheath useful? Similar to the Kydex sheaths I have seen and own, it came with a Kydex belt attachment. This belt attachment is fine for a little knife, but this Survive Knives knife has a blade length of about 7" and an OAL of about 11 1/2" which means that 5 1/4" of the knife sits above the belt, and it feel as though the butt is resting in my armpit - a totally useless arrangement.

Yes, I can carry it inverted on the shoulder strap of my field pack or battle harness, but I can't think of a civilian situation where this would be advisable, and even wandering around the woods I am unlikely to wear a pack or harness as I venture out from a cabin base, and SHTF hasn't happened yet.

I will make-do with a Spec Ops (specopsbrand.com) Combat Master sheath, which is a generic nylon sheath with a generic (not molded to the knife) Kydex liner that carries the knife below the belt in a more useful position.

What I really need is a nylon sheath platform that I can lace this Kydex sheath to or sandwich the Kydex sheath between two layers of tactical nylon with rivet holes, lacing through the front - the Kydex rivet holes - and the back nylon, allowing the inclusion of a pouch on the front to carry sharpening stones, etc. - a la Spec Ops Combat Master sheath (below).

That way I could get the utility of the Kydex sheath's retention system that was molded to my knife, and its weather resistance, as well as adding an accessory pouch. Other than making this myself, from scratch, does anyone know of someone who has figured out a way to get some use out of these seemingly useless Kydex sheaths for long knives? I noticed that Ka-Bar and ESEE have seen the same problem and offer the kind of sheath I am talking about (dropping the knife down to a useable level), but the Kydex is molded to specific knives.

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Permalink Reply by John McDowell on October 21, 2013 at 13:31

i love kydex,hate nylon with plastic insert,to much rattle.great kydex in your pic.

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Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on October 21, 2013 at 14:25

John,

I like the idea of Kydex, but dropping a big knife down on your leg (gunslinger style, if you will) with a piece of Kydex bolted to the molded Kydex sheath seems too stiff a platform for practical application (sitting/squating, standing up, moving around), and some kind of softer medium like nylon is needed for freedom of movement. Like this Ka-Bar Kydex/Nylon mix:

But the ad says that it fits specific Ka-bar knives (1211, 1212, 1215, 1217, 1218, 1220, 1241, 1242, 1243, 9105, 9106, 9108, 9109, and 9110)

John McDowell said:

i love kydex,hate nylon with plastic insert,to much rattle.great kydex in your pic.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 21, 2013 at 14:41

Kydex is good but I agree Howard, that stiffness is never taken into consideration until the first time you actually have to do something. I guarantee it becomes all you are aware of and all you are fighting with to constantly adjust so the whole thing isn't grinding into your ribs. And if you ride a horse, perish the thought ...you might have to just take the knife off to ride!

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Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on October 21, 2013 at 14:45

Amen, brother. LOL.

Steve Hanner said:

Kydex is good but I agree Howard, that stiffness is never taken into consideration until the first time you actually have to do something. I guarantee it becomes all you are aware of and all you are fighting with to constantly adjust so the whole thing isn't grinding into your ribs. And if you ride a horse, perish the thought ...you might have to just take the knife off to ride!