Bear Scare sheath for LARGE Blade
Bear Scare sheath for Large Blade... Say what?!!! This was a very unique project. The client in Alaska required a custom sheath capable of a quick draw if necessary and the full protection of a sheepskin lined/Kydex protected housing. The knife, a Zombie Tools Felon, is almost 20" inches long and a very nice piece. If you can imagine carrying this, it can be quite difficult to get it out of the sheath if you are carrying it in the "Outback" of Alaska. The manufacturer does offer some nice, low rider, sheaths but they are impractical for bush work as a low rider tends to snag on just about everything. If I may digress just a little bit... This sheath is designed to carry high on your belt but does come with an interesting twist... (hint, look at the pictures carefully). The leather sheath shell and sheepskin lined kydex insert are only stitched together at the bottom third of the sheath, this allows the knife to be partially drawn vertically before rotating it down and out of the sheath. The advantage to this is that the knife remains protected in the sheath, remains tight to the body to reduce brush snags and yet remains easy to remove in case of trouble. In addition, the top two thirds of the blade are held in place via "friction". Clients name and Bear carving created by me, myself and I. For more information on the Dragonthorn Sheepskin lined Kydex/Leather sheath construction please visit the page located here and here.
The way I described it to the customer is this:
Everything is predicated on this premise; “Worst case scenario, big bear, moving fast, rifles empty, pistols empty, need knife NOW!”
In a nutshell: Unsnap, rotate 15 degrees, pull out, kill bear.
More detail:
1) Starting up at the top of the knife you have four full inches of knife handle to get your hand around
2) Snap at Choil wraps around from the back of the sheath, through choil and fastens with a “pull the dot” one-way ½” snap (only opens one-way and not by accident).
3) The blade from the snap down to about 3.5” from the tip is held securely by the tight fitting leather shell, kydex and sheepskin. The final 3.5” is securely stitched leather / kydex / sheepskin as one unit.
4) The blade is totally secured when in the sheath by the one-way snap, the clamshell action of the kydex and the 3.5” of stitched leather at the tip.
5) To get to the knife:
a) unfasten one-way snap with a flick of your thumb
b) rotate 15 – 20 degree
c) pull out knife
d) Your total draw length should be no more than 3-4” total
6) To replace knife simply slide in from top as most knives in sheaths do. As you have already killed the bear you have plenty of time. If you did not kill the Bear then it really doesn't matter does it?
7) A thigh lanyard placed in the bottom two grommets is required to use this action
8) If you prefer to not use the bottom grommets you can unsnap and pull the knife out vertically about 11.5”
9) You will note 3 sets of grommets for chest carry, backpack strap carry or backpack shell carry.
10) The quick release action will work in any position.
I was assisted on this project by my good friend "Buck" Early in Lewisville, NC. Buck has more knives than you can count and is always full of interesting ideas. The knife is made with 8 oz. vegetable tanned leather and is dyed black with Fiebings professional oil dye. The lining is short hair sheepskin which is surrounded by a molded 2.5mm piece of kydex. Stitching is 330 bonded nylon. All metal fittings are solid brass for durability. This baby can be had for between $300-$450 depending on options and good sheepskin availability. DH
