I recently put together a knife based survival kit,( and then I got help my wife put together one more suited to her needs.)
I start with a Ka-Bar hardsheath, it works well with all versions of the standard seven inch fighting/utility; ka-bar, ontario, camillus, case, marbles, you name it. It also happens to work well with this Cold Steel ODA. I am thinking this will now be the knife that is stored in my pack in the truck....., most of the time...., when I get through doing tests with it.
Here is what the KA-BAR "replacement" glass-filled nylon sheath looks like out of the box.
I first cut the blet loop and sewed in a side release webbing buckle.
Then I wanted to add this pouch from another knife sheath for a firestarter and things, but the slots in the sheath were too narrow, and in the wrong place for that because the pouch would interfere with releasing the retainer strap.
So I had to make the slots a little larger, moving them down some also. I started out by clamping the sheath down and drilling some holes in it, in line with the slots.
Then I take a small saw blade and connect the holes, and rasp down the sides of the new section of the slot.
Now the pouch fits.......
But the velcro is in the wrong spot......
so for now I just moved it over, and will sew abigger piece on it after the next time I am over at the brainerd army store and buy some.
and this is the result so far....Oh and I love the thong Lisa made for it while I was in the shower one night.
This is what it has in it so far, a mag stick, a firesteel, some fish hooks, and some fatwood slivers, there is room for split shots and some fishing line. I am setting it up for fishing because I am going to go camping in the river bottoms next weekend before winter ends....., avoiding the cotton mouths, I like the winter fog on the river, and the cold river air makes the fire just that much more special.
and now that I have cut the magstick down some, there is room for some larger pieces of fatwood if needed. I plan on wrapping some braided nylon twine around the sheath for use in shelter building, snares, or fishing...., but all I have at the moment is white so I'll either get some green or stain the white with some walnut shells. Then this and my canteen will be my basic life support system.
I wanted to add some cordage to this sheath so I looked around at nylon twines and cords for something small but strong. At Rock Creek Outfitters I found some small fifty foot rolls of some gold nylon braided utility cord by "Adventure 16" that is relatively small but is rated at 200 lb test. They don't take up much room whole, and they were just under $3.00 a roll.
So now I've cut some notches in the lower part of the sheath to acomodate it and managed to wrap twenty feet of cord and secure it to the sheath.
Then I sewed some to the flap of the pouch and double wrapped it not only securing the flap but further securing the pouch to the sheath.
Also I did some mods on the sheath it's self so that it will now accomodate the handle and thicker blade of my SOG bowie knife.
So now I am going to shave down the bar of magnesium some, remove some of the excess plastic on the handle of a scout model firesteel, and then I'll have enough room for a plastic "card" wrapped with some fishing line and some luers, and a small signal mirror. Then just between this knife and the paracord bracelet I wear I will have the abilities to; cut....,whatever, start several fires for warmth, cooking or signaling, find direction, open tin cans, fish with either a bated hook, a lure, or make a gill net and have a combined total of 32 feet of cordage for shelter making, building a small raft or other contingencies.
Here I have it finished. This project is the end result of the tests of several knives and sheath systems and a combination several parts taken from the sheath systems, and added items. The nuts and washers are improvised weights until I get back to a sporting goods store, and I want to add some snare wire to the sheath as well. I had to do some more cutting on it to get the new legstrap on.
Knife......................................SOG Classic Bowie with 6.35" blade
Sheath...................................Ka-Bar Kydex sheath for 7" blade
Leg Strap................................Gerber LMF II Infantry
Pouch.....................................Ontario M-9 Bayonet
Fire Steel.................................Light My Fire Army model
Cut down Mag. Stick.................Doan Mach. & Tool
P-51 Can Opener.....................Shelby Co.
30 feet 20lb test fishing line.......Stren
8 fish hooks.............................Eagle Claw baitholder
Fatwood.................................Mother Nature
2 Strike anywhere matches........Blue Diamond
28 ft 250 lb test braided cord....Adventure 16
I meter parachute cord.............U.K. MOD
All securely attached
In a neat little kit.
I added the fishing line, hooks, and some flies
I got 20lb test line thinking it more versatile,but now wonder if for fish of this size I wouldn't be better off with the 10lb line.
Then I decided to put the fishing kit to the test....
Using a limb I found on at the lake, some spider wire a Crapie hook and...,hhhmmm....,some left over pizza crust I managed to catch a few Bluegill
The four I caught
They were all lively little fellows, and yep that's the pizza crust on the tree limb, I hope you all enjoyed your Saturday morning as much as I did mine.
All in all it's a pretty handy kit.
I start with a Ka-Bar hardsheath, it works well with all versions of the standard seven inch fighting/utility; ka-bar, ontario, camillus, case, marbles, you name it. It also happens to work well with this Cold Steel ODA. I am thinking this will now be the knife that is stored in my pack in the truck....., most of the time...., when I get through doing tests with it.
Here is what the KA-BAR "replacement" glass-filled nylon sheath looks like out of the box.
I first cut the blet loop and sewed in a side release webbing buckle.
Then I wanted to add this pouch from another knife sheath for a firestarter and things, but the slots in the sheath were too narrow, and in the wrong place for that because the pouch would interfere with releasing the retainer strap.
So I had to make the slots a little larger, moving them down some also. I started out by clamping the sheath down and drilling some holes in it, in line with the slots.
Then I take a small saw blade and connect the holes, and rasp down the sides of the new section of the slot.
Now the pouch fits.......
But the velcro is in the wrong spot......
so for now I just moved it over, and will sew abigger piece on it after the next time I am over at the brainerd army store and buy some.
and this is the result so far....Oh and I love the thong Lisa made for it while I was in the shower one night.
This is what it has in it so far, a mag stick, a firesteel, some fish hooks, and some fatwood slivers, there is room for split shots and some fishing line. I am setting it up for fishing because I am going to go camping in the river bottoms next weekend before winter ends....., avoiding the cotton mouths, I like the winter fog on the river, and the cold river air makes the fire just that much more special.
and now that I have cut the magstick down some, there is room for some larger pieces of fatwood if needed. I plan on wrapping some braided nylon twine around the sheath for use in shelter building, snares, or fishing...., but all I have at the moment is white so I'll either get some green or stain the white with some walnut shells. Then this and my canteen will be my basic life support system.
I wanted to add some cordage to this sheath so I looked around at nylon twines and cords for something small but strong. At Rock Creek Outfitters I found some small fifty foot rolls of some gold nylon braided utility cord by "Adventure 16" that is relatively small but is rated at 200 lb test. They don't take up much room whole, and they were just under $3.00 a roll.
So now I've cut some notches in the lower part of the sheath to acomodate it and managed to wrap twenty feet of cord and secure it to the sheath.
Then I sewed some to the flap of the pouch and double wrapped it not only securing the flap but further securing the pouch to the sheath.
Also I did some mods on the sheath it's self so that it will now accomodate the handle and thicker blade of my SOG bowie knife.
So now I am going to shave down the bar of magnesium some, remove some of the excess plastic on the handle of a scout model firesteel, and then I'll have enough room for a plastic "card" wrapped with some fishing line and some luers, and a small signal mirror. Then just between this knife and the paracord bracelet I wear I will have the abilities to; cut....,whatever, start several fires for warmth, cooking or signaling, find direction, open tin cans, fish with either a bated hook, a lure, or make a gill net and have a combined total of 32 feet of cordage for shelter making, building a small raft or other contingencies.
Here I have it finished. This project is the end result of the tests of several knives and sheath systems and a combination several parts taken from the sheath systems, and added items. The nuts and washers are improvised weights until I get back to a sporting goods store, and I want to add some snare wire to the sheath as well. I had to do some more cutting on it to get the new legstrap on.
Knife......................................SOG Classic Bowie with 6.35" blade
Sheath...................................Ka-Bar Kydex sheath for 7" blade
Leg Strap................................Gerber LMF II Infantry
Pouch.....................................Ontario M-9 Bayonet
Fire Steel.................................Light My Fire Army model
Cut down Mag. Stick.................Doan Mach. & Tool
P-51 Can Opener.....................Shelby Co.
30 feet 20lb test fishing line.......Stren
8 fish hooks.............................Eagle Claw baitholder
Fatwood.................................Mother Nature
2 Strike anywhere matches........Blue Diamond
28 ft 250 lb test braided cord....Adventure 16
I meter parachute cord.............U.K. MOD
All securely attached
In a neat little kit.
I added the fishing line, hooks, and some flies
I got 20lb test line thinking it more versatile,but now wonder if for fish of this size I wouldn't be better off with the 10lb line.
Then I decided to put the fishing kit to the test....
Using a limb I found on at the lake, some spider wire a Crapie hook and...,hhhmmm....,some left over pizza crust I managed to catch a few Bluegill
The four I caught
They were all lively little fellows, and yep that's the pizza crust on the tree limb, I hope you all enjoyed your Saturday morning as much as I did mine.
All in all it's a pretty handy kit.
