Many times
inexpensive gear items can be turned into a quality piece of gear with a simple
modification. When using inexpensive gear items such as a pack knife, one of
the items that can cause a lot of problems is an inferior sheath. After putting
a good edge on it you sometimes find out that the point is sticking out of the
sheath. This is not a good thing. A simple gear mod can usually fix this
problem and turn an inferior piece of gear into a reliable piece of equipment.
Sheath Mod for Pack Knife
There are only two basic
items required for this simple gear mod to the sheath.
1. Pack Knife
2. Empty Plastic Vinegar Jug
There are only a few
simple household tools required for this simple sheath gear mod.
Tools
Required
1. Kitchen
Shears
2. Ruler
3. Pencil
Once you’ve
assembled your equipment and tools, it’s time to take some measurements. For
the purpose of this type of gear mod, you’ll need to measure the inside of the
sheath for the plastic insert that will act as our sheath protector. On this particular sheath, the ruler itself was used to get a measurement of the width. The length was easy to figure also.
Once your
measurements are done, you can then use the plastic shears to cut a strip of plastic from the vinegar jug for
the protector that will be inserted. This particular sheath has a square cut
design so the strip of plastic will need to be equal to twice the depth of the
sheath. Once your strip is cut, just bend it over in the middle and insert into
your sheath. The shape of the plastic strip you will need and how the strip
needs to be cut will depend upon the shape of your sheath.
The cost of
this simple gear mod involves only a small amount of your time and a few simple
tools. It is recommended that you use plastic vinegar jugs when making a
plastic insert for your pack knife. The plastic is a lot thicker and stronger
than the plastic from a milk jug or soda bottle.
Got DIY
gear mods for your pack knife?
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
Posts
4 comments:
Great post. My bud was handling a knife in a sheath at a gun show. The blade had somehow cut through the sheath and sliced his hand open while he was looking at the sheath.
To: Double Tapper
I like to keep one of these less expensive fixed blades in all my packs. The only problem is that after sharpening the blade good it goes right through those nylon sheaths.
I got poked a couple of times with this one but fixed that in a hurry.
Just need to be careful when handling any type of knife...they're designed to cut and will cut you as well if you aren't being careful.
Thanks.
RW
Very cool. Good leather sheaths have a leather choil in between the two front and back of sheath so that sharp edge does not cut the threads. It seems that only high quality (and price) sheaths do that nowadays.
To: anonymous 10:14
I try to keep a small fixed blade in each of my packs...which can be expensive. I generally try to find a less expensive alternative.
If I can do a simple modification, sharpen the blade or do a re-wrap to bring it up to more satisfactory level of performance...it works for me.
It also helps you to appreciate good quality gear when you can afford it.
Thanks anon.
RW
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