Question on Kydex Sheaths?

I am looking for a custom Kydex sheath maker, but is there anyone who builds a sheath so as not to "rub" and dull the blades while they are secured in the sheath?

I get the distinct feeling on some of theses sheaths (supplied, and others) that the removal and returning of the knife adds to making the blade duller through friction against the interior?

I am so far away from even remotely knowing about knives, but I am trying to learn, and adding to the collection and expect field use from them.

Any advise, or builders, would be welcomed.

Thank you,

If your knife is 1095 or any type of stainless, I doubt kydex would effect it. My DPx came factory either a kydex sheath and it's shave sharp to this day

Most of the sheaths that are made won't have full direct contact with the blade edge, and if they do they won't ffor long because the blade will cut it's path.  It should not however dull the blade.

If your knife gets dull from sheathing/unsheathing in Kydex, you need a better knife and your sheath design is bad.

Most Kydex benders put painters tape on their blades before forming.
Either way it takes a hell of alot of in and out sheathing to dull the blade.

Unless you had a super thin wire edge that could fold over "Kydex" isn't hard enough to dull a blade (metal vs plastic).  Rubbing is a different story, Kydex still isn't hard enough but the debris, dust, dirt etc. that gets into your sheath can definitely scratch your blade..,. two totally different issues though since one is just cosmetic.  It really does vary from maker to maker and not all "Kydex" sheaths are equal!  I remember seeing a "kydex guy" boasting about how much detail he was getting in his sheaths and he showed the imprint of the esee logo on the inside of his pancake sheath, it was stupid conclusion to come to... that much detail means there wasn't enough clearance and that imprint will make contact with the knife every time it goes in/out of the sheath so be mindful of the "geniuses", lol.

Kydex fact #27: "Tape" is not enough

There is one famous issue where "kydex" was dulling sheaths and it started a lot of problems/concerns for sheath makers because people started asking about it-the culprit was the material itself and I'm talking about Kabar Knives (Becker).  The BK11 & 14 sheaths had a fiberglass resin and they weren't properly designed to allow enough clearance for a blade to pass through... they still aren't but they solved the problem by replacing the fiberglass material.

Bottom line is there are a bunch of Kydex sheath makers with a lot of "participation trophies", which knife are you looking for a sheath for?  I'm not asking for myself because I only make sheaths for ESEE Knives but I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Tops Tahoma

 
I believe Andy Tran, the designer of the knife,sells kydex sheaths for it. His web site is called innerbark outdoors. For some reason it's not loading for me this morning.
Also check out gideonstactical review of the Tahoma field knife on YouTube. It gives a good look at the optional kydex sheath. Hope this helps.

Ok, that's one I have made sheaths for... they'll be a "regular" item on the site soon but I have to build up "ESEE" inventory before I list them.  Here's some sheaths I've made for the Tahoma-I actually have the knife now so it's much easier now (no need to ship the knife).


These are from Instagram:














This is the first one I made, I changed some "style" points on it afterwords but I love the patch/attachment:





If you're interested let me know, the wait is 10 weeks.


Eli

Just got in a sheath today from Bayou Custom Sheaths.

Took him about 5 days for him to do a sheath for my ZT0121. Doesn't look like he has your knife, but if you mail it to him, he'll get a sheath done quick. He quoted me a turnaround time of about a week, for sure under 2 weeks.

Contact him by email, and he responds very quickly.

For sure going to be my new go to for kydex for my knives.

I like to make my own sheaths/ scabbards when I have the time. I bought my latest batch of kydex from amazon. The only tools you really need are a heat gun, utility knife, eyelet kit (usually have to order eyelets from knifekits.com or amazon because you need .25 inch long eyelets, whereas the Menards kit has shorter ones) a belt sander (hand held is what I use) and some gloves. I like to make multiple sheaths for each of my fixed blades based on how it's to be carried. I sewed my latest on onto my life jacket since I like to be able to wear just swim trunks in case I decide to swim, and when we're on the river in the canoe, I still want to have a good blade with me since we're in pretty remote areas when paddling. I want to be able to switch that knife to another carry method though when I'm not on the water and I can't afford to have tons of knives to stay fixed to all the different things my family and I like to do. The knife pictured is also the one I keep on my "just in case" armor.

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I like the look, but I am pretty particular about my mounts, and attachments, and while I trust tension, I prefer a snap as backup...Still these are very interesting options, and I am considering each thank you for responding.