I did look at the doubled leather backing but the extra time to make (by hand) made it an expencive option.
Is it the belt loop that finally gives way as a simple expedient to maintain the single leather backing (price advantage) would be to add depth (top and bottom) and width to the belp loop and do it in a heavier leather if everyday carry was a need. That would only add about $10 to a sheath.
Hi
@Von Gruff the quality is exceptional as-is on the sheath and most people would not enjoy the cumbersome bulk of three or four ply of 8 ounce leather the way I’m describing the classic “revolver pancake holster” style. Indeed, those types of firearms holsters, even when made in emerging markets with low wages can run hundreds of dollars alone.
My sheath still has many days left in it, probably another 100 days of use or more under adverse conditions. Surely a 1000 days of life left if I wore it in comfortable conditions or in an air conditioned car. (For readers considering sheaths, be careful to understand the sheer abuse I’m putting a knife sheath under that exceeds the abuse that ANY commercial sheath can endure)
When in the bush and sweating buckets, a sheath will start to take on salt stains and become water logged after day after day of use. This is a situation that wouldn’t occur in a typical Autumn cool weather hunt in North America or New Zealand.
At any rate, a multi-ply pancake holster is able to endure that soggy abuse day after day for a few reasons: 1.) it’s just thicker, which makes it less comfortable of course. 2.) the lamination of the leather runs in different directions so the loops/skits are resisting stretch in all directions, even when wet. 3.) the entire pancake and the loops are saddle stitched all the way through the plys further resisting any malformation.
It would surely be unnecessary for most hunters. For the 5% of hunters that would encounter this it would probably be the same cost to just have two knives and two sheaths and rotate them daily like we do our hunting boots to significantly extend their lives. (E.g. two pairs of boots last 3x longer than one pair) Or you could just buy a new sheath after 100 days of horrific use under tropical 100F conditions.
Or you could have a pancake holster made for $200-$300 of its that important to the user. Financially, it doesn’t make much sense to do so but I find my Von Gruff knife to be so special and significant to me that I keep thinking about doing it in a few years when I’ve destroyed the beautiful sheath I have now.
