Need Help With Sheath Idea

[Shooter McGavin]

Had a good friend ask me to make him a sheath for his Fox NERO knife.

I've only done a couple of simple sheaths before, and am lost on ideas for this one.

He would like to carry it with his belt line just about where the grips end at, and would like some sort of positive retention since the grips are longer than the blade.

Any ideas or direction would be appreciated!

http://www.knifecenter.com/item/FOXNR05TT/FOX-NERO-Fixed-4-18-inch-Plain-Blade-G10-Handles-Black-Lined-Cordura-Sheath

[mlapaglia]

for retention mold a bump where the grip narrows so you have to pull it past that point to release the knife. Kind of like the retention on a trigger guard. It means the hilt would be in the sheath but it would work. Just an idea.

[Dwight]

Different customer, . . . but same idea.

Here's what I did for him, . . . it's suede outside, . . . rawhide inside, . . . the hilt has a bump area to be pulled through, . . . will not fall out if held upside down.

He loves it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[supercub]

I'd do it a little differently. It looks like a tanto style with a sharp or false edge on the top. If so, it ought to have a solid welt against both edges of the blade. The welt should be only as thick as the blade so as to keep the knife from moving ( and slicing through). If you try to make it like a pouch, it will be a little difficult to accommodate the hilt and still keep the blade tight to the sheath.

I've had a lot better luck making pouch sheaths for drop point knives (with small guards) rather than with two edge or tanto style blades. A conventional style sheath (like a Randall Heiser type) would be my choice for this knife. A conventional transverse strap across the finger groove area should do an adequate job of securing it. Just make sure that the strap is away from the blade when the knife is drawn. On second thought, looks like you could put the retention strap on the front side of the knife ( across the thumb groove) and put the snap on the face of the sheath. I'd post a photo, but this IPad won't let me. Google Randall knives Heiser sheaths and click on the image links. Lots of good examples there. Heiser sheaths were some of the best ever made.

Edited January 9, 2014 by supercub

[chiefjason]

A buddy of mine makes custom knives and he said guys are starting to use magnets in the sheath on some of these more unusual blades. I want to try one like that soon.

The one I bought from him did not have a hilt so I had to put a tight wrap and kind of offset it so it wrapped at an angle to grip the handle. Worked pretty well. I would have preferred to not have the strap on the edge side, but I wanted a cross draw sheath for camping and wanted to use my thumb to unsnap so no way around it. And since it's mine I didn't complain to myself and demand a refund. lol

On a serious note, I found that putting the snap on the body of the sheath allowed me to get a much tighter wrap than trying to but the snaps centered over the handle. I did a strap with snaps centered on the handle and the knife falls out with it still snapped.

[supercub]

I've used the magnetic vinyl like that on vehicle signs as an inner layer and it sorta worked, but most custom knives that I work with are stainless alloys that don't stick that well to magnets. They stick, but not like regular carbon steel.

I'm attaching a couple of photos I dragged off the internet to illustrate my previous post on retention straps on Randall knives. One sheath appears to be a Heiser and the others are not - don't know who's, but they are fine work.

[Shooter McGavin]

Thanks! I really hate doing sheaths!

[Colt W Knight]

I would think you want to use some serious magnets like those used to hold cabinet drawers or jewelry boxes together. I use to use them in my wood working to hold heavy wooden box lids together. You can get them in the size of dimes and quarters.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Colt W Knight

[Shooter McGavin]

So heres what I came up with.

[camano ridge]

Looks good shooter.

[supercub]

Excellent! Safe, secure and looks great. Customer should be very happy.

[EvadCarpenter]

Nice work shooter!

[Treed]

you hit it out of the ball park

[Josh Ashman]

Nice job Shooter!

[harley45]

Winner!!

[Shooter McGavin]

Thanks everyone, my buddy was very happy with it. Im still not a fan of sheath building though lol!