American Bushman

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing." —Benjamin Franklin

Friday, April 11, 2008

New Kydex Guy MBHanzo

I've got a new kydex guy. I snagged another Fallkniven F1 off of eBay a while back because it came with this well thought out survival rig built around a kydex sheath shaped like the Bushcraft sheath I like so well. The sheathmaker, MBHanzo, is really Mike Billman--the owner of Grindstone Cutlery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also has a presence on eBay listing several kinds of knives and multi-tools in their own well thought out rigs.

As you can see, I've managed to pick up my second sheath from him already for my SwissTool. This one has the Pull The Dot strap over the top to guarantee that you're not going to lose the multi-tool. This kydex has plenty of snap to it and it'll hold the SwissTool without the strap just fine but Mike's really gone over the details again and again and this is just another example of that.

The SwissTool sheath has a firesteel loop that fits the Light My Fire Army model firesteel and will fit a large Tek-Lock or, as it came from Mike, a loop of paracord through the eyelets allows you to throw this rig over a shoulder to carry baldric style or over the neck. Either way you'll have an array of tools plus the ability to make a fire without even having pants with belt loops on...

The F1 sheath has a firesteel loop, came with the Army firesteel, a photon light, and an extra belt loop with a clip if you'd rather carry it on a pack than on your belt, and has cordage daisy-chained up the back of the sheath--enough to be beneficial if you need to scavenge cordage from your knife sheath. Yet the whole package hangs just like a regular kydex or leather sheath and doesn't seem the least bit bulky.

Have I mentioned that Mike's really thought through the layout and available options on these sheaths?

I have a strong suspicion that you're going to be seeing more of Mike's work posted here in the not too distant future if I play my cards right.

Give him a look if you're thinking about a kydex rig for one of your knives. His work is fantastic, the fit and finish is superb, he's easy to talk to, and the guy knows a thing or two about knives and knife collecting besides being a great sheath maker.

Thanks for reading,


B

1 Comments:

At 4:11 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Getting very creative with this stuff certainly has some excellent potential. I expect to see more great designs in the next months and am really looking forward to seeing what people do.

 

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