My new Gerber Mk I sheath

[centermass]

I recently acquired a nice 80's era Gerber Mk I boot knife, but didn't like the nylon sheath that came with it. Don't get me wrong, it was functional, it just didn't have that certain class leather provides. So, I went to my local Tandy Leather, gathered some supplies, and put a better one together. I am quite happy with the results.

 

[Water-Man]

Looks good. Nice job.

 

[steveno]

I don't know how old my Gerber is but it came with a leather sheath. I think it was in the 1970's

 

[centermass]

Yeah, the earlier ones came with a leather sheath. Unfortunately, they are hard to find by themselves in decent condition. My best guess on the age of the one I bought is based on the logo, which puts it somewhere around 1985-1989. I'm not sure when they started with the nylon sheath, or if both were available at any point in time.

 

[rcmodel]

Here's mine, #097665.

Your sheath is probably way better then the leather sheath that mine came in from Gerber.

The stitching is really pretty flimsy, although the design is good.



rc

 

[mljdeckard]

I recently replaced my old Mk II, and I have been scratching my head over the lack of options for sheaths. I found the aftermarket MOLLE sheaths for a Ka-Bar will wit my old Buckmaster, but nothing for the Mk II. I may have to get creative.

 

[centermass]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone.

mljdeckard, this is the fourth sheath I have made. The others were for a drop point hunter kit knife, one for an old Buck 105 Pathfinder for a coworker, and one for an old Schrade skinner for yet another coworker. What I'm getting at is that I've done a couple of very different blade styles, but have had pretty good results, even considering my very amateur level of experience. I think this one is my best so far. A lot of it is trial and error, but if you're at all crafty, I'd say give it a shot on your Mk II (BTW, another knife that has always been on my list of wants). There are plenty of videos on YT about leatherworking. If you have a Tandy nearby the folks there are usually helpful, and they have a million tutorial videos on their website.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Fine looking sheath.
Did you put a clip on the back like the originals ?

 

[bannockburn]

centermass

Nice work on the new sheath! My mid '70s Mark I came with a tan leather sheath which has held together quite nicely for nearly 40 years. I also use it on occasion for a Morseth Boot knife whose original sheath was poorly constructed and fell apart shortly after I got the knife.

 

[jdh]

There is a guy on ebay that has the old style OEM leather MKII sheaths new for a decent price. Go one for mine. The only thing it didn't have was the wire at the top to hook it to a GI pistol belt.

 

[centermass]

Shanghai MCoy: I thought about putting a clip or loop on the back, but honestly those clips are usually useless on duty boots like mine (they don't open wide enough) and add unnecessary bulk to the sheath in my opinion for a covert knife like this. I wanted an actual "in the boot" sheath, which is held in place by the cuff of the boot itself. I wore it to work today, and not having a clip or loop thinned the profile enough to make it more comfortable. I put the grommets around it in case if I needed to lace it onto something like my leg or tac vest, or to hang it on a neck cord if needed. I can always affix another piece of leather to the back with Chicago screws through the grommets if I want it on my belt. If I wore a cowboy boot or a wellington with a looser mouth and a thinner cuff, I probably would have put a clip on it.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Good thinking cm, those clips do tend to be bulky. They get in the way on a boot and don't work well on your belt either.
Can't beat the solid feel of the MK1 knife though...

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Good Job.