A number of the most helpful tenting, survival and meat-cutting knives don’t include sheaths. Right here’s tips on how to make a fast, secure edge guard/sheath out of a cardboard roll and duct tape.
by Leon Pantenburg
My knives are working instruments, and those used within the kitchen incessantly get double obligation on tenting journeys or for meat processing. A few of these knives began out in a industrial cutlery catalog, had been offered at a butcher provide retailer or had been good offers at a gun present.
One memorable rating was at a gun present, when a vendor was promoting used boning knives for about $3 every. I purchased a number of, and reshaped the blades to completely different lengths so I might experiment with one of the best size. (Seems, I like a five-inch greatest!)
My greatest cutlery deal got here from a butcher provide retailer in Nampa, Idaho. On a whim, I finished in to go searching, and located new, six-inch butcher knives being offered for $2 every. The handles had been wooden, and had lately been outlawed by the well being division. I purchased a dozen, (and nonetheless remorse not shopping for one other dozen!) and introduced them to my looking buddies. Lots of these knives ended up in looking camp carrying the cardboard tube/duct tape sheaths!
A prepper and/or survivalist can see the benefit of a knife that’s usable for a wide range of out of doors duties. So suppose you get a superb deal on a one-piece knife and need to take it to looking camp. For security sake, that blade must be securely coated.
Right here’s how to make a fast, secure sheath that can final till you give you a everlasting substitute.
None of those knives got here with a sheath.
Supplies wanted are the cardboard tube from inside a roll of paper towels; duct tape, a six-to-eight-inch piece of paracord and a bit of leather-based or webbing for a belt loop.
Right here’s what you do:
- Measure the blade size in opposition to the tube, and guarantee that each a part of the sharp edge can be coated.
- Flatten the tube underneath a pile of books or one thing heavy, till the cardboard stays semi-flat. Then, take a bit of duct tape and tape throughout one finish, to assist maintain the form.
- Wrap the size of the tube as soon as with duct tape.
- Double over the webbing or leather-based to kind a belt loop, then tape it securely to the again of the tube.
- Wrap the sheath with duct tape once more to safe the belt loop. (I carry duct tape on my knife sheaths anyway, so placed on a number of further ft!)
- Take the paracord, run it by way of the belt loop and use it as a security tie for the deal with.
After all, you possibly can all the time purchase a knife blade protector, however preppers and survivalist-types are typically hardcore recyclers and do-it-yourselfers. In addition to, the cardboard tube venture takes so little time and is so low-cost , you possibly can quickly make a sheath for all of your knives!
I made this knife and cardboard sheath 50 years in the past.
My observe is to maintain a watch out at gun reveals, and purchase any leather-based sheaths that may match one thing I personal. Over time, all however considered one of my hasty sheaths has been changed with stable, well-fitting leather-based or nylon sheaths.
My greatest rating in that space was once I purchased a leather-based Bowie knife sheath for a few bucks. One in all my elk looking companions, Phil Walker, carries an actual Bowie knife elk looking, and his knife service confirmed the damage and arduous use. That scavenged sheath match his knife prefer it was made to order.
One knife I personal, although won’t ever have a sheath substitute. I made my first knife as a 14-year-old, grinding the blade to form on an vintage pedal-powered grinder. The deal with is product of wooden. Missing the fitting leather-based on the time, the sheath was product of cardboard and tape. I used the identical approach as talked about above, besides an previous leather-based belt was used for the loop. I all the time supposed to make an actual sheath out of leather-based, however by no means acquired round to it.
That knife was carried for years in that cardboard sheath , and it labored simply high quality. So, I suppose there’s most likely no cause to interchange it now!
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