Kydex Options
Below are the most frequently requested options. However, there are literally hundreds more, including custom prints. If you’d like to browse other available options, please visit my suppliers’ websites: KnifeKits, Index Thermoplastics, and HolsterBuilder.
Solid
Patterned
Textured
Premium Options
Leather over Kydex
The sheath world is essentially divided into two classes; leather and kydex. Many leather fans dislike kydex and many kydex fans dislike leather. In all truth, both materials have their advantages and disadvantages. For me, kydex is a better practical option and serves my needs, but I happen to be a fan of leather as well, especially where the aesthetic is concerned. So I’ve taken the time to learn how to work with leather, how to build leather sheaths, and how to bond leather onto kydex so that you get the practical advantages of kydex with the aesthetic of leather. I use only high quality, full-grain vegetable tanned leather. Every piece of leather I put on a sheath is cut, dyed, bonded, tooled, waterproofed, and sewn by hand in my shop.
Fabric over Kydex
There are a wide variety of colors and prints available in cordura nylon fabric which has been bonded to sheets of Kydex by the material manufacturers. I regularly buy these sheets and use them for customer orders. I also offer the option to bond fabric over kydex myself, which gives you the option to select more color combinations, rather than limit the selection to what the manufacturers supply. It is a difficult material to work with, but adds a very nice effect to the finish sheath.
Alligator over Kydex
Lined Interior
Whether you prefer a quiet sheath or just like the feel of a little padding against your blade, a lined interior provides a special touch to your custom kydex sheath. I offer a choice between suede or felt lining — though I prefer felt, personally. There are manufactured sheets of kydex that come with suede bonded to the back of them, however I do not use them, and here’s why… Firstly, the adhesive is not very durable at high heat, which means when I form your sheath, the suede may slide and expose some of the liquefied glue. That could get on your blade or in the sheath, and this would create many collateral issues. Secondly, because the entire sheet is bonded, there is no way to remove the suede from the edges of your finished sheath. You will always see an unsightly layer of suede puffing out of the seam. Instead of dealing with these obstacles, I custom cut the lining material and adhere it myself with a reliable multi-purpose cement. The lining will only come in contact with the knife, and will not take up any additional real estate inside the sheath, meaning you will see little to no evidence that it is there, the seam of the sheath will be melted to look like one solid edge all the way around, and the effects of the lining will be superior to the manufactured alternative. Once again, custom is king.