How tight should a sgian sheath grip?

[AKScott]

If I hold it upside down by the tip of the leather only should the sgian fall out, not budge, slide out slowly, or other?

I think I want it loose enough to draw with one hand but firm enough that I don't ruin a pair of hose, or worse, in the process.

[Chas]

Unless you are going to be spending a lot of time on your back with your legs waving in the air, I do not see that a sheath has to be tight at all.

If the function of the sheath is to protect, firstly your leg and secondly your hose, from any accidental cutting, then all the three states you quoted would, to my mind, be viable.

There is always a danger, regardless of the tightness of the sheath, of damage to your hose. The only way to mitigate that would be for the sheath to be made to go higher up the handle.

Regards

Chas

[cavscout]

This is the one I made (on right) to replace the stock sheath (on left) that came with my top-heavy Officers sgian dubh. The molding that extends up the handle adds stability to make up for the looser grip the sheath has on the blade. I've been using this sheath for several years now and love it.





and how it stays open for easy draw and return without slashing me or my hose

[Drac]

From knife making the standard has always been for me that it is tight enough to hold the blade when it turned upside down but can be removed with a pull of 2 fingers on the blade and 2 fingers holding the sheath.

Any looser and there is a change of a blade coming out of the sheath at the wrong time. Any tighter and you will not only scratch up the blade more than needed but also the use of excess force when pulling a blade is bit dangerous.

Jim

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

The purpose of the sheath on a sgian dubh is to (1) protect the leg from injury; (2) protect the blade from perspiration; (3) prevent the sgian from snagging on the hose. How snug the sheath is is usually down to two things, the thickness of the leather (or plastic) from which the sheath is made and the proximity of the edge of the sheath to the edge of the blade. (The amount of contact between the flat of the blade and the inside of the sheath is another factor which is why molded sheaths are usually "looser" than those made of leather or plastic.) Generally speaking the closer these are to each other, the greater the adhesion between blade and sheath.

Probably 99% of the sheathes that come with a sgian dubh provide the right amount of friction to hold the knife in place when walking or running, provided that the garter passes over the bottom of the hilt. If, instead, the garter only passes over the sheath then there is a very real chance that the sgian may become dislodged when walking or running.

So, to answer your question: When gripped with the thumb and forefinger the sgian dubh should slide smoothly out of your hose, leaving the sheath in place. That means that when held right side up the sheath should cling to the blade, but when held upside down, as you have rightly surmised, it should slowly slide out of it's sheath.

[AKScott]

Thanks everyone for the input and cavscout for the pictures.

I have been carrying some kind of pocket knife with me everywhere everyday for a lot of years.

I guess I'll have to order up some hose and garters to get this right, I used my pocket knife four times today before lunch that I can remember.

I'll try to bring the sheath up over the bolster to the top of the hose and mold the leather somewhat firmly to the bolster so I don't scratch up the blade.

Thanks again.