Bill, Other than the standard HI sheath, the fast draw type is all I know, with one exception. Ive had another companys KLO for a long time. It came with a sheath just like Steves Kami Fund sheaths. I used it as a model for my first sheath, which I put together a while back. It works very well, so I stuck with the style. The exception to this style is the SecureEx sheath from that same KLO company. It is an awesome sheath, but impossible to replicate without $6,000 plastic molds, as far as I can tell.
I do plan on making a pouch style sheath for my 12.5 GRS/BC. It will be rectangular in shape. I havent worked out all the design bugs, but have created a rough paper model. The model even has a retaining flap which folds over the handle, much like a flap holster for a revolver. I wanted this sheath to hold and protect the khuk while strapped to a pack. I also wanted it to conceal the khuk some what, so sheeple wouldnt immediately recognize it on the trail as a large blade. I think the design will work well with a small khuk. It would be huge and require a lot of leather to make this for my M-43 or similar khuk.
I went with a larger retaining strap/flap on this M-43 sheath. My older WWII/CAK sheath just used a strap which was about an inch wide. I figured this flap would be more secure and possibly protect the blade more. You could pretty much cover the entire slit with a flap. That would keep out most debris and allow a much smaller top opening than a pouch style. Im trying figure out a way to make a secondary retention system for the flap. Im thinking something simple like a leather loop on the flap and a corresponding loop on the sheath body. I could run a short length of 550 cord through both and secure it with a spring lock device, or a simple knot. That should work well and be easy to use. That would allow peace of mind if I strapped this sheath to a pack, or traveled through thick brush.
Speaking of strapping the sheath to stuff, that was the idea behind all the D-rings. The top set are for a baldric setup also. I did the same on my first sheath and it seemed to make sense. The only problem is, after I put this last sheath together with the stainless shackle, it looked a bit too much like some sort of bondage implement
. I guess theres no way around that with all that leather and steel. I tried something a little different with the D-ring attachment straps. On my first sheath, I just sewed them to the outside. That looked a little sloppy to me. Of course, it could be my sloppy craftsmanship! This time I used a relatively thick cow hide sheath lining instead of pig suede. I cut notches in the lining which correspond to the straps. You end up with straps which appear to come out of the lining. It has a cleaner look and should be just as strong. Ideally, I would have used rivets at these points, but Ive never used rivets. I looked at some at Tandy and realized Id have to buy a 100 pack or so just to use a couple and decided against it at this point.
Ill try to get some detailed photos up as soon as possible, even though I hate to do it before I fix those jagged edges. Everything said and done, Im very happy with this sheath. I wasnt sure about making a dangler, especially with that big shackle, but it turned out very comfortable. I tried to find a shackle like the one from the forum member Farm knife sheath and Pugs Tamang sheath, but Lowes had just one which was large enough to use. Its a little more circular than U shaped, but its growing on me. The good thing is it has a 2,000 pound load rating, so I can add about 1,997 pounds of stuff to the sheath and still be safe!
Man in Black, I picked up my shackle at Lowes. It was the biggest stainless shackle they had. As I said earlier, Ive never used rivets, but I assume they would add a nice level of strength. I used waxed artificial sinew and it seems very strong. Im not worried about it breaking. The only bad thing about the sinew is that it doesnt tie well. I make knots at the end of the stitch and this didnt make very secure knots. But, I run the stitch back through several holes, so it should be plenty secure even if the knots comes loose.
Snow and Steel, I figure that as long as folks have been using leather to hold stuff, theres probably nothing we could dream up that hasnt been done a million times! I cannibalized like crazy for the two sheaths Ive made. Im very new to sheath making, so I try to let someone else go through the learning curve first
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Cpl, that is a beautiful sheath setup! I really like the tooling and knife sheath attached to the strap.
Take care.
