Who wants a piggyback ride?

[chiral.grolim]

Man I'm really liking the idea of thick liners on the 10 just to beef up the handle a bit more. I'm having the same issue with getting the right retention on it. I used .093 kydex and it doesn't seem to contour well around the handle. I'm thinking of getting some .080 for the next one.

The .093 is so much stiffer, you need it good and pliable and then a more specific form/mold (e.g. carved wood) to force it to conform to the desired shape - squeezing it with foam and a couple of flat boards ain't enough, the boards themselves need to be able to force the kydex into shape.
Working with .080 is much easier and plenty durable for most uses. Obviously Kiah or Azwelke or Dave Brown, etc. would have more to say on the matter.

 

[Standard78]

The .093 is so much stiffer, you need it good and pliable and then a more specific form/mold (e.g. carved wood) to force it to conform to the desired shape - squeezing it with foam and a couple of flat boards ain't enough, the boards themselves need to be able to force the kydex into shape.
Working with .080 is much easier and plenty durable for most uses. Obviously Kiah or Azwelke or Dave Brown, etc. would have more to say on the matter.

This is exactly what I wanted to hear! I thought I wasn't getting the material hot enough for it to form correctly around the handle but I got it so hot that it was starting to flatten out the textured finish on the kydex.
I'm really hoping the local Plastic supply store carries .080 and some sort of material that I can use for liners.

 

[Hale Storm]

I'll try to take as many photos as possible next time. I basically cheated and watched a few YouTube videos to get the gist of it! The hard part was figuring out which spots I had to make a template for so there weren't any snags as the blade came out. The top of the 10 has that small thumb indentation and the choil had do be filled in also.



Thanks bud I'm a little impressed that it came out halfway decent for my first time. It takes minimal supplies to make one but it can get costly. I ended up throwing together a press out of nice 3/4 plywood but I didn't get the clamping angle quite right. I also used a heat gun to get the kydex hot instead of using an oven where I could control the heat which made it a huge pain. I ended up using a small belt sander to round out the edges.

Here are a few of my hiccup spots.

I should've left more material where the thumb ramp is. Now it's a pain to push off.

Somehow my press made the kydex bend weird at this end.

I mismeasured the eyelet holes so now the belt loop is crooked. The correct eyelet retention locations at the opening are a pain to find.

Your kydex is not bent by the press more than likely. It is probably just tourqed by the pressure the screws and washers are putting on it. I've done a few (hundreds) of piggyback rigs and that is always an issue if the eyelets and spacers are not done with precision. Experiment with loosening/tightening the set of screws to get the edge straighter.

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[Silver Needle]

Great advice from a true master!

Now I'm wondering if you make a kydex attachment to hold a bottle of whisky piggy back???

 

[Hale Storm]

Great advice from a true master!

Now I'm wondering if you make a kydex attachment to hold a bottle of whisky piggy back???

Thanks Silver. Good to see you around.

....and the answer is YES!!! I CAN build it to hold a whiskey bottle. LOL. My motto (after years of practice and buckets full of scrap kydex) is: "If you can dream it, I can build it"

 

[Hale Storm]

The .093 is so much stiffer, you need it good and pliable and then a more specific form/mold (e.g. carved wood) to force it to conform to the desired shape - squeezing it with foam and a couple of flat boards ain't enough, the boards themselves need to be able to force the kydex into shape.
Working with .080 is much easier and plenty durable for most uses. Obviously Kiah or Azwelke or Dave Brown, etc. would have more to say on the matter.

There is nothing wrong with .093 if you want to use it. It is overkill for sheaths IMHO. Standard heavy duty .080 is fine for just about everything in sheaths and is easier to work with. The .093 can be molded to whatever you like with most normal presses. The key is getting a slow heat that is uniform throughout the piece of kydex, then the press needs to have heavy pressure to get good definition in that thick kydex. I had trouble at first with .093 but eventually built my own presses (2x8 lumber and standard 1" foam) and learned that a good slow heat works best. Now I even mold the super thick .125 kydex for some custom pieces. Just my $.02.

 

[Hard Knocks]

Ronnie, those piggybacks look great! I see one piggyback-pouch setup above. Do you make a standard piggyback pouch setup that uses the esee pouch? I don't see eyelets on the pouch above.

 

[Standard78]

Thank you for all the info Hale Storm! I'm pretty sure I'll have to make a sturdier press eventually because it came out bent like that before I even drilled the holes and set the rivets. I'm not sure if I had the kydex hot enough or if the clamps were tight enough. If I ever get around to doing another one, I think I'll use .080 and heat it up with a proper oven. Thanks again for you insight!

 

[Hale Storm]

Ronnie, those piggybacks look great! I see one piggyback-pouch setup above. Do you make a standard piggyback pouch setup that uses the esee pouch? I don't see eyelets on the pouch above.

Thanks HK. All of my rigs are custom made to customer specs. Because there are so many variations on what can be done when you start piggybacking other knives and gear to a large sheath.

I only use the ESEE pouches. I've never seen any others but I tend to buy my ESEE pouches from authorized dealers and get the ones made by ESEE in the U.S. The eyelets are there juts not visible in that pic. I also only use Black Oxide Stainless screws so they are hard to see when inserted in the black eyelets on the ESEE pouch.

 

[Hale Storm]

Thank you for all the info Hale Storm! I'm pretty sure I'll have to make a sturdier press eventually because it came out bent like that before I even drilled the holes and set the rivets. I'm not sure if I had the kydex hot enough or if the clamps were tight enough. If I ever get around to doing another one, I think I'll use .080 and heat it up with a proper oven. Thanks again for you insight!

You're welcome. Sounds like it was one of two things you mentioned. I use 2X8 boards (heavy 4" door hinges) when building my presses and 100lb. carpenters clamps. I also add an angle to the press so I have to clamp really hard to bring it back to flush (if that makes sense). Lots of pressure and great definition on the kydex.
For heating the kydex uniformly (VERY important) I actually use a Europro convection toaster oven and the fan that circulates the air around makes sure the kydex heats evenly. As I'm checking the pliability of the kydex, I rotate the pieces in the oven to give me the best possible chance at an even heat.

Hope this helps. PM me if you like or send an email. I'll be glad to help if I can. Those big name kydex makers probably have more and better info than I do but I have more time since I only do custom work from time to time and this is not my living.

Storm

 

[Hard Knocks]

Thanks HK. All of my rigs are custom made to customer specs. Because there are so many variations on what can be done when you start piggybacking other knives and gear to a large sheath.

I only use the ESEE pouches. I've never seen any others but I tend to buy my ESEE pouches from authorized dealers and get the ones made by ESEE in the U.S. The eyelets are there juts not visible in that pic. I also only use Black Oxide Stainless screws so they are hard to see when inserted in the black eyelets on the ESEE pouch.

I will definitely be hitting you up at some point. I need to decide what combos to put together once the starter knives come in. Thanks for the response.

David

 

[Standard78]

You're welcome. Sounds like it was one of two things you mentioned. I use 2X8 boards (heavy 4" door hinges) when building my presses and 100lb. carpenters clamps. I also add an angle to the press so I have to clamp really hard to bring it back to flush (if that makes sense). Lots of pressure and great definition on the kydex.
For heating the kydex uniformly (VERY important) I actually use a Europro convection toaster oven and the fan that circulates the air around makes sure the kydex heats evenly. As I'm checking the pliability of the kydex, I rotate the pieces in the oven to give me the best possible chance at an even heat.

Hope this helps. PM me if you like or send an email. I'll be glad to help if I can. Those big name kydex makers probably have more and better info than I do but I have more time since I only do custom work from time to time and this is not my living.

Storm

Thanks for the info! I made the mistake of being in a hurry and throwing together a 3/4" plywood press. It was good stuff but it flexed under pressure. I think I'll hit up Target to see if they carry a decent oven.

 

[Hale Storm]

Thanks for the info! I made the mistake of being in a hurry and throwing together a 3/4" plywood press. It was good stuff but it flexed under pressure. I think I'll hit up Target to see if they carry a decent oven.

If you're going to spend the money on an oven, try to find one that has "convection". Basically a little fan inside that swirls the hot air around. Makes for easy and consistent heating of the kydex pieces in the oven.