TDI Sheath retention

EricV

EricV

Basic Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
2,673
Hey,
any of you guys know if there is a way to get some better retention out of the small TDI sheath? I picked one up for a budy on mine for his duty gear, but in checking it before boxing it up its fairly easy to pop it out of the sheath, maybe only a pound or two of pressure to pull it out. Its a molded sheath so I don't think the heatgun and rebend solution I use for kydex will work out well...

Thanks guys!
 
I lost a TDI in a river because of the lax retention. I'll be watching for any answers to assist me in the future.
 
I intend on making a retention clip/strap out of some spare kydex I have kicking around, using the original bolts that attach the clip to mount it. Once I get time to bend it I'll get some pics up. Seems like it'll work well enough.
 
what I noticed is the sheath opens up at the top of the seam where the two pieces mate up when withdrawing the knife. going to put a drop of glue to hold it closed and see what happens.
 
It's probably just fine for it's intended purpose...on a cops duty belt. But you could always go kydex. Maybe talk to Godspeed. A sheath that size would be relatively inexpensive, and he could set it up for the TDI clip. If I recall his size/price list, should be $20.
 
C_Tanner you are correct. On my duty belt I have never had an issue. It sits nicely behind my mag pouch and never comes out unless I want it to. The only times I have any trouble is off duty. I like carrying it weak side on my normal belt and it wants to come out sometimes. Silly of me but I hadn't thought about getting a kydex sheath for it yet. Great idea thanks.
 
Thanks for the mention! I like the TDI for a Kydex sheath setup but I'm still waiting for someone to order one "Horizontal" I think that's where the clip would really "shine" and there's plenty of room... I think I'll make one up and post pics of it here. I've made a couple for vertical carry and I've moved the knife down as far as possible to get it "out of the way" and as always anywhere I can the sheath is as small as possible. Kydex is definitely the way to go, I made a setup recently for one that has Kydex straps that hold a leathermen sheath on the front and it has space for a pen, lighter etc. came out pretty cool but I'm waiting for finished pictures of the setup.


DSC04883-1.jpg


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You can still add options to it like a Mini-Bic holder too:

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This is a bad picture (dirty lens) but same setup:

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Hope this helps,

Eli
 
Well my friend is back in town today so I figured I'd get off my rear and take care of this.

I didn't have enough kydex to make a full sheath for him and I really do think that retention aside its a nice sheath. I did come up with a few different retention boosting clips though. One that locks the blade in the sheath unless you push on a thumb tab when drawing, and another that just beefed up the stock sheath's retention.

I ended up using the simplest solution, simply boosting the stock sheath's retention:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/73808460@N08/7427622090/ by esrvdb88, on Flickr


http://www.flickr.com/photos/73808460@N08/7427627346/ by esrvdb88, on Flickr


http://www.flickr.com/photos/73808460@N08/7427624484/ by esrvdb88, on Flickr


Pretty easy to make, mine got slightly warped in my drill press clamp. but its essentially just a strip of kydex that keeps the spine side of the sheath from opening up as easily.

This one never got finished, but worked very well, just wasn't ambidextrous enough:


4 by esrvdb88, on Flickr
 
So funny thing: As I'm packing this thing up, I notice if you pull the kydex "strap" up towards the handle, it clicks off the mouth of the sheath and its impossible to take the blade out until you push it back in place with your thumb. So I accidently made a level 1 retention setup.

Pretty happy with how this turned out, and it is really easy to make.
 
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