Looking for kydex sheath help.

[Reaper76USMC]

I tried my hand at making a kydex sheath for a knife I recently bought, but it didn't go too well, and my kydex was basically ruined. I have my own foam, rivets and rivet flares. I will purchase new kydex. What I would like is to find someone not too far from the Buford area that would be willing to make a kydex sheath for me while teaching me how to go through the process. I know I've seen several folks on here that are experienced at making these sheaths, just wondering if anyone would be interested in teaching a rookie.

 

[blackplague14]

I not near Buford or I would be glad to help. But here is a youtube link showing step-by-step on making a holster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wntntfsrfEQ

Give me more details about how your sheath didn't work. What went wrong? I'll try to help. The most important thing with Kydex is the temperature. Do not go by the setting on your oven, it is wrong. By a cheap No Touch thermometer from Harbor Freight and hold it close to the Kydex when you check the temp. I normally pre-heat my oven for 10-15 minutes to let the heat stabilize (temp really spikes when you first turn it on). I check with my thermometer to make sure it doesn't go over 330 degrees. You can let the Kydex "soak" at that temp without worrying about it burning, shrinking and turning shiny.

 

[Reaper76USMC]

It must have been the temp. I'm in an apartment, so I don't have room for any kind of dedicated oven. I bought a toaster oven that is fairly small. When I tried the first piece it shriveled like cheap bacon, so I dropped the temp and tried again. That time I let it sit for a while. It still shrunk some, but not a lot. When I tried to press it, it wouldn't form very well, but I didn't dare go any higher with the temp. Now I need to order new kydex, and I think I will order thinner this time. I was using .093. What thickness do you suggest that is good for most jobs?

 

[blackplague14]

A toaster oven is fine, but it's temperature will spike really high above the set temperature so make sure you preheat it until the temp stabilizes. The no contact thermometer is cheap and you are going to waste your time and Kydex trying to guess the temp. Too hot and it shrinks and gets shiny; too low and you will get crappy definition.

I use .080 for most sheaths and .125 for belt loops. If you put your top two rivets 1" apart, your sheath will be compatible with a small Tek-Lok. 1 1/2" apart for large.

Kydex is easy to work with, but difficult to get a professional end product. It takes a lot of practice and patience. There is a fine line between looking "homemade" and "handmade". Your first half dozen projects are going to look homemade. Figure out what needs to be changed, refine the design and your technique, then throw the old one away and start again.

 

[Reaper76USMC]

Do you sell kydex work? The reason I ask is I would like a professional job for a certain knife, and internet searches have turned up nothing pre made for this particular knife, so if I'm going to have to turn the knife over to the sheath maker, I would much rather make it someone local.

 

[blackplague14]

I am by no means a professional! I'm a sheetmetal worker that likes working with Kydex as a hobby and a little bit of spare change. I don't know where Buford is, but if you are in the area this weekend I'll have a table set up at the Gun Show off Indian Trail.

Here are a few pics of sheaths that I have made:

Multi cam with large Tek-Lok for a Danny Parris Mako:

Getting a nice, blended edge where the two halves meet is part of the art of working with Kydex:

Multi cam with small Tek-Lok for a Jonathan Mcnees PSK:

Black with Malice Clips for Busse Combat Natural Outlaw:

What kind of knife do you have?

 

[Reaper76USMC]

It's a Doug Ritter RSK Mk2; a.k.a. Becker BK12. I have changed the handle scales to the Becker micarta scales, so it looks like this picture I got from the internet...

 

[Vdub5818]

Another thing to think about is the press itself. Alot of guys use the hinged presses, but i find them to be more trouble then they are worth. I made a "book press" since it virtually eliminates the kydex shifting and helps get a better defined mold. YMMV