Recommendation? Scratches from kydex

T

Ten_Mile_Knives

Joined
Feb 9, 2018
Messages
100
Recently I made a custom fixed blade bowie for a customer, and a kydex sheath to go with it. The flats have a 600 grit polish going parallel to the spine, and the bevels have a 400 grit belt finish perpendicular to the edge. after giving him the knife he brought it back with light scratches on the bevels parallel to the edge. They really stood out because they were a different direction to the grind pattern. They are coming from the kydex sheath, and I'm stumped about how it's happening, it's just a show knife for him so he hasn't used it on anything and the finish is really important. I tried cleaning out the sheath as best as possible so I don't think there's any grit inside, and there's no way plastic can scratch hardened Elmax right!? has anyone else had this problem, and if so how did you deal with it?
 
It is grit, it gets embedded in the Kydex. I will remake a sheath if I see this happen, not worth messing with.
 
It happens with grit and will get worse the first time he actually uses it. It’s a trade off for kydex.
I have made a perfectly fitting kydex sheath before. Used it one time , which caused the blade to pick up grit(sand,dirt) and the very next time I drew it out it was scratched..
The only way to stop it or slow it down is to make sure the sheath locks more around the bolster area than the blade and I use three layers of painters tape. That and a lateral scratch pattern on blade or a heavy coating...
I use kydex for my B&T knives personally because I wade fish wearing them and just accept that scratches come from use.
 
Also depends where the retention is. Once the blade starts coming out does it rub the retention spot or can it if slight lateral pressure is applied? That’s the trickiest trick about Kydex which can be difficult with some blades
 
for use with kydex i would go with a finish the follows the direction in which the scratches will naturally occur, so they will blend in and not stand out so much. even if you line your kydex with some really carefully glued thin leather or cork, eventually something will get in there and scratch the blade.
 
I'm by NO MEANS a professional... but this is my process. I've found it reduces the internal scratching of a blade. Notice I say reduce and not "eliminate."

To attempt to reduce scratches I'll:
  1. 00:30 Put 1-2 layers of tape on each side of the blade to give the blade a little space in the finished sheath
  2. 01:10 Make sure to install a drain hole so the sheath can easily be flushed
  3. 03:55 Work with the sheath (grind, shape,etc) without the eyelets fully installed. This will give you the ability to take the sheath apart and clean it before final assembly.

 
J. Keeton said:
I'm by NO MEANS a professional... but this is my process. I've found it reduces the internal scratching of a blade. Notice I say reduce and not "eliminate."

To attempt to reduce scratches I'll:
  1. 00:30 Put 1-2 layers of tape on each side of the blade to give the blade a little space in the finished sheath
  2. 01:10 Make sure to install a drain hole so the sheath can easily be flushed
  3. 03:55 Work with the sheath (grind, shape,etc) without the eyelets fully installed. This will give you the ability to take the sheath apart and clean it before final assembly.

Click to expand...

Perfect process! Before I install eyelets I wash each sheath 2-3 times.
 
Last edited:
J. Keeton said:
I'm by NO MEANS a professional... but this is my process. I've found it reduces the internal scratching of a blade. Notice I say reduce and not "eliminate."

To attempt to reduce scratches I'll:
  1. 00:30 Put 1-2 layers of tape on each side of the blade to give the blade a little space in the finished sheath
  2. 01:10 Make sure to install a drain hole so the sheath can easily be flushed
  3. 03:55 Work with the sheath (grind, shape,etc) without the eyelets fully installed. This will give you the ability to take the sheath apart and clean it before final assembly.

Click to expand...
This is my exact process as well! Made a world of difference and no more scratches.. also on mine the tip about an inch or so only gets 1 layer of tape on both sides but the rest gets 2 each side. This I found helps prevent blade wobble edge to spine.
 
I put three layers of tape on my sheaths. I finish my sheaths by keeping rivets taped(not set/flared), then remove them, and wash the inside of the sheath thoroughly before setting the rivets. I actually have a set of rivets for this use specifically. They’re beat up and worn. When I wash out the inside of the sheath(I only do two piece, non-taco style sheaths), I use Dawn dish soap and a scotchbrite pad. I wash and scrub the hell out of the inside. Afterwords, I wash with a cotton rag and more dawn dish soap to remove any scotchbrite material. Lastly, I inspect the entire sheath under bright light and remove any particles that aren’t supposed to be there. I still get scratches.

I’ve come to the point that I AM very happy with the function of my sheaths, but am resigned to the fact that scratches are a part of life with kydex. So, I inform my customers of this and tell them that I can do a leather sheath for them instead. But that leather won’t have the functionality or retention(without a strap/snap) that a kydex sheath will have. I find that, most of the time, they’ll choose kydex if it’s a sub-$500 knife that they plan on using. If it’s a highly embellished knife over $500, then they want leather.

When doing kydex, I clean as mentioned above. Then, once everything is together, I test fit. Nine times out of ten, it’s great and doesn’t need more work with the heat gun. Therefore I don’t need to be jamming it in and out of the sheath, causing potential scratches. So I ship it out and let the customer scratch it up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top