Kydex Leather hybrid..

[just_a_hunter]

I made this knife for my good buddy and rancher. He supplies me with rasps and antler and I made him this knife in trade.

He wanted the sheath to be leather cross draw and I wanted the sheath to have 100% retention for those "western" moments he faces but I wanted him to still be able to get to it in those "western" moments he faces.      

You hand a cowboy a plastic sheath he'll likely gag a little.

I'm not the originator of this idea but this is what I came up with. The leather and kydex are glued and I stitched it just like I would a leather sheath. the knife snaps in way nice and tight and I know when it turns rodeo time on the ranch the knife is going to stay put and not stab anything.

The knife is an L6 TCK #1 with lined and dyed elk antler.

   

   

   

   

   

I etched his name in the tang but got some extra pitting. I practiced on softer steel and the only thing I can think of is this being heat treated made changed things just enough to make it different. He loves it the way it is but more practice with the etcher is needed for sure.

         

Anyway, thanks for looking and happy hunting,

Todd

[Thadbow]

Very nice!

[Izzy]

Way cool! I myself made a kydex/leather sheath just today.They make a lot of sense. Your looks fine!

[Lin Rhea]

Nice work. I really like the hybrid idea.

[Track]

Great idea, and work. Gotta try one of these.

[just_a_hunter]

Thanks all. I just molded the kydex and wet formed the leather to the kydex. I waited for the leather to dry before glueing it. Then found where the upper stitch needed to be for good retention and that is where I started the stitch line.

Todd

[tippit]

Todd,
I like it!  Couple of questions...

So the Kydex is just molded without any eyelets closing the open edge?  The open side of the Kydex is on the cutting edge of the Knife?  Are you stitching through the Kydex?  If so are you drilling your stitch holes through the Kydex?  

I use a folded piece of Kydex for my kitchen knives but leave the open edge on the spine of the knife.  Something like this...tippit

     

   

[just_a_hunter]

Hey Doc,

I do form it with the cutting edge to the open on the kydex but I form it further up on the handle so the handle shape actually holds the kydex in place. It is impossible for the blade to move to the open end of the fold. I apply a couple layers of masking tape on both sides of the blade before I form it to add a few thousands of an inch  on both sides of the blade. There is actually little to no blade contact in the sheath.

I formed it just like in this photo.
 

I use a pretty stiff foam to get good definition and keep the knife cool so it cools the kydex rather fast.

I formed the kydex first and sanded it to the shape I wanted then wet formed the leather to the intire shape of the kydex, that way I could see where to trim the leather at the cutting edgte part of the sheath. Once the leather was dry I I wrapped the kydex with it and glued it in place then trimmed it to the kydex. Then, just used a stitch groover and stich marker and started the stitch line where I could feel it holding the knife really well. I drilled the holes with a drill one size bigger than my needles. So the stiching does set the retention tightness but doesn't really hold the knife in the sheath. I then fit the belt loop and used the sheath holes to align the belt loop. Beveled and burnished the corners and used black "edge kote" to paint the edges to match the kydex.

I can see on your knives, just coming up the handle a little will really help lock your knife into place but it will scuff your handle over time. It's all give and take.

I thought the kydex edges might be hard on the thread but the leather actually holds the thread off of the kydex holes.

This knife will see extreme use and every day carry on a ranch so I hope to give a report after several months of hard horse duty.

Todd

[tippit]

Nice work Todd!  Thanks for the detailed description.

[Bobby Urban]

very nicely done and certainly bridges the gap between nostalgic and water resistant.  With a carbon knife that is going to spend the majority of its life in a sheath after hard use riding on someones hip, I cannot imagine a much better material than kydex or a much more appealing material than leather.  You nailed it with both.

[Izzy]

I see that you are starting to develop your own style, unique and useable looking. Did you dye the stag on the ranchers knife?

[just_a_hunter]

Thanks again all. Yes I dyed it. It was hard white. I have a truck load of hard white elk antler and I have to find a way to use it. I think it's okay but not quite the color I'm after. The search continues.

Todd

[ron w]

 Very nice knife

[DesertDude]

Very nice

[Bodork]

Nice knife! I like the black and yellow liners.

[Canadian Idle]

Great job!!!!    
Just wondering what type of glue you use to bond the Kydex to the leather and any special preparation to either material.
Thanx,...Lloyd

[just_a_hunter]

I just used Tanners Bond contact cement. I did clean the kydex with acetone before coating it with glue. With contact cement, coat both surfaces you want bonded and let the glue get almost dry then stick the two surfaces together.

Again, thank you all very much!

Todd