Why did the 6 get plastic, not kydex?

L

Lover of Blades

Joined
Nov 9, 2010
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197
I've been wondering, and if the 6 is ESEE's flagship model, with their best balance and do-everything capabilities, why'd they give it a plastic sheath and not kydex? The Junglas, the 5, and the 4 get kydex, but why does the 6 get the shaft?

I do not mean to be negative, although I realize my wording could be taken that way, I'm merely curious as to why the 6 has plastic, when most other models have kydex.
 
I'd argue that the injection molded sheath of the 6 is an upgrade, not a hindrance to the sheathing system of that blade. Given the amount of R&D and tooling involved in making as great a form-fitting sheath as the 6's injection molded sheath is, I'm sure you can guess what ESEE's answer might be to your inquiry.
 
the 3, 6, and izula have injection molded plastic. good sheaths, better cold/heat resistance than kydex, quieter, and cheaper to produce now that the molds are built. there are plenty of kydex benders out there who could make you a sheath if you prefer.
 
I don't know how the Kydex of the 5 is (Got mine with an Eagle sheath) but the Kydex on the ones I do have is more noisy then the plastic sheaths. I think quieter is better. Although I much prefer Kydex on the Junglas, I would keep the plastic for the 6.
 
I believe it's been mentioned the injection molded plastic was requested by military personnel. The plastic sheaths are not as affected by extreme temperatures (hot or cold) like the kydex sheaths.
 
Molded sheaths are tougher than Kydex sheaths. The only reason all of our sheaths are not molded is because of mold costs. About 6 - 8 grand per mold.
 
Jeff, so what your saying is the Junglas and the 4 and 5 would be better if they had plastic? If so, when do you think a plastic model sheath might be an option on them?
 
I can personally attest to the heat problem. Here in az i was doing some yard work and set my esee4 down for about 10 min in the grass. The temp was about 105 that day. Not near our highs and the mouth of the sheath deformed. Had to reheat it in a little boiling water and remold it. I could only imagine the problems one could have with black kydex on a vest in iraq. If i was still in and over there my kydex would be covered so the sun couldnt hit it. The plastic would not do anything like this. Ive since switched to leather for summer use though.
 
I haven't seen any problems with any of my molded sheaths... I've also had good luck with kydex ones but I would take the environmental advice here into consideration.
 
R.A.T. said:
Molded sheaths are tougher than Kydex sheaths. The only reason all of our sheaths are not molded is because of mold costs. About 6 - 8 grand per mold.
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I've heard that the military prefers the molded sheaths because they're tougher and quiter. Which has always made me wonder, why doesn't the SERE designed ESEE 5 have the molded sheath then? Especially since it's one of the top sellers. I suppose folks would then whine about it not coming with kydex.
 
StoneColdChuckTX said:
I've heard that the military prefers the molded sheaths because they're tougher and quiter. Which has always made me wonder, why doesn't the SERE designed ESEE 5 have the molded sheath then? Especially since it's one of the top sellers. I suppose folks would then whine about it not coming with kydex.
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Already answered that question: mold costs. They simply designed the knife. We asked them what type of sheath they wanted and told them costs. They went with Kydex.

I doubt the Junglas or any of the rest will have molded sheaths anytime soon unless the price goes way up to amortize the costs ;)
 
R.A.T. said:
Already answered that question: mold costs. They simply designed the knife. We asked them what type of sheath they wanted and told them costs. They went with Kydex.

I doubt the Junglas or any of the rest will have molded sheaths anytime soon unless the price goes way up to amortize the costs ;)
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That's what I figured. I simply thought it was odd they'd go with kydex if they supposedly prefer molded. Must have been the ruttin' bean counters doing.
 
It should also be noted that the ESEE-5 was NOT an official government project. It was severel SERE instructors that got together and wanted a better knife than what they were issued. That sort of started a fad with the thing. Anyway, it caused a shit storm and we got calls from brass at the base, SERE instructors got in trouble, etc. It all smoothed out after the truth was known (that none of the instructors were doing anything on behalf of USG, etc.). And once the brass told us that the problems started from another knife company getting pissed about our project. Then it all made sense. :) We removed the SERE designation not because of these issues but because Al Mar knives has it trademarked. We didn't know it at the time and did a trademark search and found it registered to Al Mar Knives. We immediately called Gary Fadden, a good friend of ours, and apologized. Anyway, the 5 is still a big "underground" success with SERE instructors on two bases now. They secretly ditch their "bolt" knives they're issued and use our shit. I love it. That's the short version of the ESEE-5's birth.
 
I like the plastic sheeths that ESEE uses. I think a lot of thought went into the sheeth system supplied by ESEE.
 
Funny how when people realize that the molded plastic is better, now they want it, lol
Seems to just be a natural reaction
 
When the RC-6 came out, mine came with the molded sheath. It rode too hide on my belt, so I took a chance and ordered a short Spec-Ops Navigator sheath that was on sale at EM Gear. I didn't want a long one. I removed the liner and observed where the tip of the blade went. It missed the screw, so I was good to go with a perfect fitting sheath.
Navigator002.jpg

Navigator004.jpg

I later got the belt clip back for my molded sheath. It attaches just right to my Maxpedition Jumbo shoulder bag. It even matches pretty well.
RC-6010.jpg

RC-6007-1.jpg
 
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