Quick Sheath From Recycled Plastic

by l8nite in Workshop > Tools

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Quick Sheath From Recycled Plastic

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I picked up this knife at a yard sale for $2.us, its stamped china, I figured it would make a good work/yard knife but the sheath left a lot to be desired. I think it's supposed to strap to your forearm but there's no way it would fit me. Here's my alternative...

Supplies and Tools

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the supplies and tools are fairly simply, the plastic is from a recycled plastic sourcream container, I used a marker to trace the shape I needed, a razor knife for the cutting and a cigarette lighter and soldering gun for "welding"

Prepping the Material

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I cut the top ring from the bucket and then removed the bottom and cut the remaining ring so I had a mostly flat piece of material

Cutting Part 2

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I laid the knife on the plastic sheet and traced it with the marker, flip the knife and trace the other side of the blade, leave about a 1/4 inch all around for clearence and welding, cut out the shape and fold it in half to check the fit

Welding Part 1

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WARNING THIS STEP CAN RESULT IN BURNS OR OTHER INJURY

 I used a pair of locking pliers to close the plastic sheath around the knife and applied a flame from a cigarette lighter, a candle would also work. I gave each section a short cooling period before moving the clamp and melting again, repeat until done. The results weren't all that pretty or even smooth but it WAS stuck together, I then applied more flame and kept it moving to even out the appearence

Welding Part 2

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You were wondering where the soldering gun came in weren't you, well here it is. The plastic is rather thin and there's no way to attach the knife to the belt yet. I cut another strip of plastic and used hot glue to hold it in place then used the soldering gun to weld/melt the 2 pieces together leaving a gap for a belt, again its not the prettiest sheath but if Im getting dressed up I have my Buck, Winchester or Gerber knives with nice black sheaths !  I do need to add some kind of snap or velcro but as it is the knife won't shake out even when held upside down and shaken