Custom Kydex Sheath for the Pathfinder Knife

Blind Horse Knives "Pathfinder Bushcraft Knife", Custom Kydex Sheath on ESEE Molle backing

Working with Kydex:
I got my Pathfinder Knife from Blind Horse Knives way back. So way back in fact, they hadn't even started shipping them with the trademark kydex sheath that they come standard with now. That was fine, I enjoy leather a great deal and I like the traditional look they have hanging off the belt, but looking at my RC-4 I liked the idea of securing the Pathfinder in a kydex sheath to the mollebacking, and adding a firesteel loop. It's very satisfying to put your knife away and have it snap right into the sheath and know it's not going anywhere, so I decided why not have a go at making one of my own?

There's nothing quite like making your own gear. You know what's capable of, you know it's limits but but most importantly, you put the time into creating something that ultimately is tailored to what you need and ask of your gear. I've made a few leather sheaths now, and am fairly comfortable working with the material, and can produce some functional pieces (if not all that aesthetically pleasing). After reading numerous tutorials on kydex available online, I decided the process seemed cimple enough. Heat the Kydex, form it around the knife, clamp it in the heat proof foam to mold it, and then trim/sand/drill the final product.

Like everything else in life though, you need to read through the lines. Don't get me wrong, the process of making a sheath in kydex really is as simple as described above...but simple doesn't always equate to easy.

Working with kydex is a pain. The material doesn't always do what you want it to do when it's malleable, and it cools so fast that you need work very quickly to get it around the knife and into the mold while it's still workable. I didn't even bother trying to document how I made the sheath. If a sheet of kydex is $5 and the molding foam $8, why do sheath makers charge upwards of $50 for a custom sheath?? Now I know they earn every penny that they charge. The amount of skill, and investment in proper tools that is required is unreal.




To be honest, I'm ok with the final result. The sheath I made works, it's 100% functional...however there are things about it that could be improved on. In the future I might get a sheath done professionally, but for now I'm glad I at least tried out the process. Heck, if I get ballsy enough, I may even try to make another sheath myself until I get it right.

The Sheath System:

The setup

• I mounted the Kydex sheath onto the molle backing for my RC-4 (ESEE4) and added a strip of folded leather in between to act as a firesteel loop. Because the belt loop on molle backing forces the knife to ride higher on my waist than I wanted, I made a leather quick release that secures it to my belt with 4 metal snaps. This also allows me to put on or remove the sheath without having to take my belt off (which started to annoy me with my old leather sheath).
  
  
• The sheath itself is formed with a drain hole at the bottom, so the knife won't be held against moisture in the event the sheath is submerged in water.

• The firesteel is an LMF army model with a custom wood turned handle, and some shock cord in the lanyard hole with an ITW Nexus Aerowave whistle as a cord lock.
  
  
• The sheath wrapped with about 10ft of 550 cord, just in case I need some extra.
  
  
• I have a few holes drilled that I can add some split ring onto, if I feel the need to carry some extra items like an LED light or aluminum capsules (tinder, water purification, etc).