Sheaths with Snap
| Some sheaths need snaps to be put on them, usually for retaining straps, pouch flaps, etc. However that also means that a part of the metal snap may end up inside the sheath, close to the knife, and can potentially scratch it. I try to eliminate this possibility in a variety of ways, and you can choose which best will suit your needs. | |
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Classic Type The standard way of dealing with the snap is to remove some of the leather around the snap inside the sheath, set the snap and then cover it with a glued-on piece of tinner leather. This is the classic method, but in my opinion not the most reliable one. It works well enough for folding knives, but with fixed blade sheaths it is possible for the tip if the knife to eventually pick and tear the covering layer off, allowing the metal snap to rub freely against the blade. It hardly ever happens, but it is possible. |
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Bump Type This is a modified version of the classic approach. The leather here is actually molded slightly outwards around the snap, and the layer of thinner leather is again glued on the inside to prevent metal to metal contact. But with this type, the thinner leather layer is much more recessed into the sheath front, and practically impossible for the blade to get at. Esthetically speaking the little bump around the snap on the front of the sheath is noticeable, but the safety benefits are significant. This type is still not totally failure-proof, but slightly better than the classic approach. |
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Overlay Type This is one of the safer, more failure-proof methods. Here the snap is set onto a thinner leather overlay which is then glued and stitched onto the front of the sheath. This way it is completely impossible for the knife's blade to come in contact with the metal snap and get scratched. There is still some recessed stitching inside the sheath with this method, but that will not damage the blade in any way. |
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Layered Type This too is a very safe approach. Practically the same as the overlay type above, this type just involves a much larger piece of leather that is used to hold the snap. It just means adding a complete layer of leather of the same thickness as the rest of the sheath onto the front, and again glueing and stitching it in place. This type is a bit of an overkill for smaller fixed blade sheaths, but works well for larger blades. |
