Mashed Cat Sheaths and Genius carry concepts

[Grandsuave]

Hey Everybody, Eric Lind at Mashed Cat Sheaths

I have been talking with Nathan about knife & sheath carry concepts and we both agree that the TekLok is not cutting it. I was hoping to get a plethora of input from all of you on ideas and concepts you have either used or have seen used. The product needs to be practical and robust and hold up to the EDC lifestyle. It would be great if it could be used on fold-over (taco) and pancake sheaths as well.

Any input would truly be appreciated!

Thanks,
Eric

PS: I'd also ask that nothing obviously proprietary to another sheath maker be used unless permissions were granted.

 

[91bravo]

Some kind of drop loop, to put the pommel of the knife right at or just above the belt line. Tek locks put the handle too high, and it's awkward to draw.

 

[Box_Opener]

I think the main thing about teklocks that I don't like is they shift the balance out from the hip in crossdraw. They are too thick.

Edit: I use IWB loops now. Softer and easier. At least on smaller knives.

 

[Fonedork]

I usually use an IWB loop on one of your sheaths, if the blade size is small enough to allow for IWB carry. I like the Raven Concealment ones best, for what it's worth. Ulti clips, Mummert clips, and those generic discreet carry spring clips are popular additions to your sheaths here too, for smaller knives. For larger and heavier knives like choppers I think a drop loop type system with a two-point setup or frog that you could re-position and cant to taste would be nice.

 

[fatfrog]

I tried using tekloks but they just don't work for me because they carry the knife way too high. For larger knives, I much prefer a drop-loop of some kind for the lower carrying height. I also am not crazy that it 100% requires a loop/belp/strap of some kind to install.

For EDC, I've moved to using Ulticlips. They clip onto basically any edge of fabric, whether it's a belt, pocket, etc., so they're really easy to install/remove.

 

[gunslinger387]

I’m also a fan of ulticlips they are excellent for pocket carry or iwb and are adjustable. I usually use the 3.3 slim but wouldn’t use it on a belt unless it was real thin. Generally speaking they are made for material. They hold tight.

 

[trevitrace]

Here is one I'm a huge fan of on one of yours. It fits most of the taco and pancake sheaths I have (unfortunately, not the ogfk ), mounts nice and snugly against the sheaths, and doesn't have an obnoxious amount of drop.

 

[Connor_MacLeod]

The drop loop that came with my FK2 is just right.

 

[91bravo]

Here is one I'm a huge fan of on one of yours. It fits most of the taco and pancake sheaths I have (unfortunately, not the ogfk ), mounts nice and snugly against the sheaths, and doesn't have an obnoxious amount of drop.

This is perfect! Also an option of swinging, or no swinging. I like my drop loops fixed.

 

[000Robert]

I like the TekLok, but I put mine at an FBI cant. The holes are close but don't line up perfectly.

 

[co556guy]

For pocket carry with a taco sheath, a utili-clip is amazing.

For a belt knife, I really need some drop and some flex in the drop material (like scuba webbing) so that if I sit down the knife can move, yet the material has enough stiffness that it makes removing the knife easy if I press the knife into my hip as I draw (stiffness of webbing helps keep it from flexing in this draw technique.....I use this with the kydex i make for myself, 2 eyelets 2" from top of loop to aid in stiffness and keep the webbing from sliding up around the belt).

 

[bluemax_1]

This is perfect! Also an option of swinging, or no swinging. I like my drop loops fixed.

Yep. Makes it a lot easier to draw the knife one-handed.

 

[co556guy]

 

[hhmoore]

I like the TekLok, but I put mine at an FBI cant.

TekLok works fine for me, too... but I carry inverted. Only problem is I have to wear a belt.

 

[Hard Knocks]

I mostly throw mine in a pack nowadays but if I had a better option that might change. I do like the option that trevitrace posted, somewhat like the sagewood adapters. I'd choose something like that over a teklok if the option were available. Good to see you here Eric Grandsuave

Dave

 

[Gusbuster]

Hey Eric, I put a Mummert clip on a couple of your sheath. They work very well for IWB carry. I also like the 1.5” DCC clips Bud has been using. They can be used for OWB, IWB, and ISP.

Mummert also makes reverse, and slotted Ti clips that can be used with 1” hole spacing so it could be mounted higher up on the opposite side of your pancake sheath.

 

[co556guy]

In regards to the tek lok.

1) yes, it works. It's adaptable. It's sturdy. It's quick to attach and change attachment of.

2) it rides high. This can be good or bad. I don't mind a high ride if it conceals well. See #3

3) it doesn't conceal for crap. It sticks out too much and doesn't move with your body so well. For IWB, I find that an attachment that lets the sheath/holster move a bit is better when you add in wide ranges of movement. Stiff attachments can force the knife to move with my belt rather than just being affixed to it and move with my body (yes, maybe not a tek-lok issue since its owb only....)

4) the larger the knife, the less my list matters. But in the 4-6" range, I've found that the tek-lok doesn't work for me in any way. It rides too high for OC (I prefer the middle of the handle of the knife to be at belt line, but hate ring danglers) and sticks out too much with knives of the size I usually carry (4-6" range).

The other reason I like the drop is that I can wear an untucked shirt while open carrying the knife. With a tek-lok, I can't let my shirt ride between the knife handle and the drop loop.

(Not a criticism of folks who the tek lok works for, just trying to better illustrate what works for me).

 

[mpjustin]

First things first. Eric, your sheaths are awesome!!!

My first preference for an FK2 sized knife or larger is a dangler attachment, preferably with a half circle loop. Second would be a drop loop.

I also like a nylon backing molle strap option for attachments for bags. This particular one also has a belt loop at the top.

 

[Lorien]

the thing about tecloc that is awesome is, well, the product itself is very good- simple, durable, adaptable and generally easy to use. The other thing is the bolt pattern standardization, which makes it easy to come up with alternate, bolt-on solutions where the tecloc buckle is lacking for a given type of knife or user or whatever. Of course, those alternate solutions won't work for everyone, in which case tecloc is a great fallback. Ultimately, a good quality kydex sheath is going to be super serviceable and adaptable- really tough to beat, actually, with leather if I'm being honest, (I am). The sheaths for the DEK1 and HDFK that I have are fuckin excellent and some of the best examples of kydex I've personally used. Not glamorous, but that's what leather is for, if you really want to look fabulous!

I can't think of any one single best method for holding the sheath to a human, although tecloc and the accompanying bolt-on standard seems pretty optimized. I think it varies widely on why the knife is being carried, what size of knife, what kind of knife, how a person dresses, what a person does....etc...The fact that one can take a modular approach- designing a sheath for the knife and designing the attachment system in a more bespoke fashion for a particular person- leaves me wondering sometimes why it would be done any other way. But then I go and do it another way and sometimes that works, too.

 

[kurpak]

For regular hip belt carry the TekLok works fine for me.
But I usually carry all my Carothers cross draw on my belt, even bigger knives like the HDFK.
My favorite attachment method for this is the old EDC with the wide kydex clip. It has a thin profile, is lightweight, but wide enough to be stable on my belt and easy to take on\off. I usually wear a 1.5" thick leather gun belt and this simple clip is the best I've found for that style of carry.