- Joined
- Apr 26, 2014
- Messages
- 29
Are the differences between the two purely based on aesthetic reasons or are there areas where the two compare and contrast? Please help me out I am deciding what to get for my BK2.
I see Kydex as a utilitarian material like g10 scales. That's not to say that it can't be stunning, in the right hands it sure can be. Its main benefits are that it is impervious to most common substances, and it can also be made very low profile and lightweight.
Leather, I see as a luxurious material, more likely coupled with burl wood scales, damascus and the like. Its main benefits are that it's soft, warm, quiet, it usually smells good and, done correctly, very durable.
A lot of the above is subjective, preferences vary from person to person. What cannot be argued is that Kydex will hold up better in crappy conditions. Similarly, it cannot be argued that leather isn't just plain better.
+1My experience with leather has been that it bleeds stain when it gets hot and wet, holds moisture against metal encouraging corrosion, and stretches. Leather also traps dust and dirt which can scratch a blade just as badly as kydex.
"Kydex scratches" are minimized with proper design and construction of the sheath (I make the blade float in the sheath, which grabs onto the handle material instead). Water drains out around the blade, minimizing rust. I have 10 year old kydex sheaths, used constantly, that look like they did when new.
I see no reason, other than nostalgia, to use leather for anything but boots.