Magnetic knife sheath??

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rcmodel

Member in memoriam
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
59,074
Location
Eastern KS
Has anyone sold a commercial knife & sheath.
Or heard of a knife sheath with a Neodymium Magnet retainer system???

I see you can get a thin disk Neodymium Magnet with 20# force for less the $2 bucks now!!

Crazy ideas running around in my head tonight!! :uhoh:

rc
 
Frankly, the idea of combining a sharp object and a powerful magnet scares the crap out of me.

I've hurt myself plenty, and plenty of times with just one or the other. The idea of dealing with both at once doesn't give me happy thoughts.
 
I have made wooden sheaths for Japanese pull saws with a magnet retainer epoxied in the wood.
 
I made a neck knife for my girlfriend awhile back and used a neodymium magnet in the sheath. I sandwiched it in between 2 layers of 5 oz leather so that its against the ricasso but doesn't actually touch the metal.
Its the perfect amount of retention, pulls easily but passes the shake test. I wouldn't want to wear it in the shop around my grinders etc. but if you're not around metal grit and shavings all the time I think its a pretty good set up.

I have a pic somewhere I'll post later if I can find it.
 
Don't think something like that would be a good idea for someone that works with a compass daily (these days most small craft are equipped with a GPS of some sort -but the basic navigation instrument will always be a compass - hopefully a good quality one, properly installed...).
 
guys.....a small neodymium magnet is not going to throw off your Nav equipment.....nor is it going to pull the knife out of your hands.

something the size of a few fridge magnet combine with a reasonably tight fitting sheath is plenty to hold a knife in place.

hell, your cellphone probably has a bigger impact on your nav equipment than a small magnet does.

obviously dont be an idiot and hold your compass directly over a magnet and youll be fine.
 
I was specifically thinking of the fellow that mentioned a neck knife with a magnet. On boats your compass is fixed in position and you're the one constantly moving around it while going someplace. No it's not a concern for anyone else - but the slightest deviation in a compass course run over 10 to 20 miles might just have bad consequences if your correct course is the only thing keeping you from running aground (or right into something in fog or rain....). This is just another one of those "ask me how I know propositions" so I'll quit right now....
 
^ I had exactly that problem with some deck speakers 6 feet away from the binnacle on a delivery a few years ago.

It's no worry in sight of land, but try sailing across the Atlantic...a good pitstop is the Azores, and they're pretty small and easy to sail right by... good thing SATCOM & GPS were invented!
 
lemaymiami said:
I was specifically thinking of the fellow that mentioned a neck knife with a magnet. On boats your compass is fixed in position and you're the one constantly moving around it while going someplace. No it's not a concern for anyone else - but the slightest deviation in a compass course run over 10 to 20 miles might just have bad consequences if your correct course is the only thing keeping you from running aground (or right into something in fog or rain....). This is just another one of those "ask me how I know propositions" so I'll quit right now....
Click to expand...

The neck knife was for my girlfriend and that could be an issue but I get dirt looks every time I try to hand her the compass anyhow....she can tell me I'm wrong without it:rolleyes:


edited to add a crappy cell phone pic
 

Attachments

  • 0824152023.jpg
    0824152023.jpg
    50.4 KB · Views: 14
Last edited:
...nor is it going to pull the knife out of your hands.
Click to expand...
The OP mentioned 20lbs of pull force. That's a pretty stout magnet.
...something the size of a few fridge magnet combine with a reasonably tight fitting sheath is plenty to hold a knife in place.
Click to expand...
Using a small magnet (or magnets) to provide a little extra retention would be a different story.
 
I mentioned a 20 pound magnet.
But I was thinking about putting it inside the sheath, protected by leather on both sides.
So all the force (probably about 10 pounds with the leather stand-off) pulling against the side of the blade.

Once past the tip, it would have no effect on the knife, let alone jerk it out of your hand.

As it turns out, I went to the hardware store and tried a knife against one of them.

Retention was not all that great through the plastic package, (in sliding retention) and keeping it in place in the sheath.

I've moved on to another idea now, involving a stainless steel flat spring, mounted in a brass block riveted to the sheath with Copper Rivets.

About as steam punk positive as I can come up with!!! :D

rc
 
In the way back I was taught to occasionally ditch my helmet rifle and LBE to check my compass against some prominent points and then put everything back on and check again to get an idea of how much my gear effected my compass and compensate for it.

My worst issue with a compass was at Ft. Sill where one way point on a course is actually a huge hematite filled boulder that has been struck by lightening......took me a bit to figure that one out. five meters to either side gave me different readings to a distant water tower. Reading from ten meters out on either side were actually closer with the 20 meters between them than the ten or less!

That there X Florida Cop has a point for small boaters though, but I worried about allsorts of things in the Keys. How much did the position of my old Steel tanks effect the charter guy's compass? Did my own compass effect the compass when I stood in the cockpit next to the lady piloting two years ago?

I guess what I am trying to say is findout how much things effect your compass before you get out of site of land or it gets to dark to check with the map and visable ground features. Planning issue, not equipment issue.

-kBob
 
My Bark River came with the leather sheath and magnet. Since I pocket carry, it wasn't very convenient for me. The magnet was strong enough that I couldn't get my keys or the knife in its sheath out of my pocket without the other coming along for the ride. It is strong enough to distort smart phone displays - and while I can't be sure, I suspect it caused some problems with some thumb drives I've used as well. All in all, there are a lot of things I carry in my pockets that don't get along well with strong magnetic fields.

The kydex sheath is also lighter, thinner, and easier to access.
 
That's what I decided too.

Don't need the knife blade becoming magnetized and picking up steel shavings every time I use it in the shop.

I came up with a much better method anyway!!

Rc
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

jmr40
  • Locked
Old knives, new sheaths
Replies
9
Views
1K
jmr40
jmr40
R
  • Locked
USN Mk3 MOD O General Purpose Knife
Replies
4
Views
5K
Navy Diver
N
C
  • Locked
Lots of knives. Need info.
Replies
5
Views
949
Chris-bob
C
jahwarrior
  • Locked
HK (Benchmade) Plan D
Replies
3
Views
920
jahwarrior
jahwarrior
A
  • Locked
Old Hickory and Ontario knives
Replies
3
Views
1K
sm
S
Back
Top