Long-term durability of Kydex sheaths?

M

miguel_SF

Joined
Jan 3, 2002
Messages
127
Hello All:

I've been reading these forums for a few months now and appreciate all the info provided by my fellow forumites. I've picked up a few folders in the last few months (favorites include my Benchmade MDP Griptilian, Willian Henry carbon-fiber Kestrel, small classic Sebenza) as well as a couple of fixed blades with Kydex sheaths (Gerber Yari, Camillus CQB2), which leads me to my question:

Some of the fixed blades I hope to get in the near future have the option of a leather or Kydex sheath. I know that a good leather sheath will provide many years of use for a fixed blade, but I don't know what to expect from Kydex. Will good-quality Kydex sheaths like those on my Yari and CQB2 handle a lifetime of blade insertion and removal, or should I expect to see some cracking around the top rivets or other significant deterioration?

Thanks...miguel
 
Kydex has a long lifetime for flexing (years) unless it is subjected to extreme temperatures, in which case it can deform or shatter, in that respect it is far inferior to leather.

-Cliff
 
Personally, I love leather sheaths and prefer them for my knives (especially custom knives that I won't use very often). However, leather can deteriorate fairly quickly under wet weather conditions. Thus, when I am considering a survival knife (as I am right now), I will probably get a kydex or more likely a high-quality nylon sheath (with an insert).
 
Cliff, what do you consider "extreme" temperatures? I have a kydex sheath for my truck knife right now. It sits it my truck winter thru summer, though it is protected from exposure to the sun.
Thanks, Mongo
 
It doesn't get hot enough around here to effect kydex, but some net searching will turn up cases where Kydex sheaths have deformed when left out in the sun. In regards to cold, when the temp drops it doesn't take much of an impact to break them. It depends on the way they are made though as well as how thick the kydex. Wrap around sheaths are far more durable for example then the one side ones that are common for production knives. My Battle Mistress sheath is full of cracks from just minor impacts during winter use at -20 and below, minor in the sense that I never noticed any of them just see the cracks pile up. Just take a production one and put it in the freezer and see how easy they are to break, I have seen several just shatter under the weight of the knife if dropped from a few feet on something hard like rock or concrete.

-Cliff
 
As far as I know, Zytel has been tested down to at least -48 °C / -54 °F without showing severe decrease of impact strength.
Is it therefore advisable to prefer Zytel to Kydex?
 
I've made some sheaths, for my own use, out of polyethylene plastic (PE or HDPE). While I haven't particularly tested PE in extreme temperatures, hot or cold, I think that PE would stand up well to extremes of temperature, particularly cold, better than kydex. This is sort of an educated conjecture, just based on my use of PE. I've also worked a little with polycarbonate plastic (lexan), and it works well also. Has anyone else used PE or lexan, or other plastics besides kydex?
 
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