Vulcan Knife Sheath repro

[antique diver]

Vulcan Sheaths seem to be as rare as jellyfish teeth, so I had to fabricate something to make my knife useful. It took way too much time, and not really identical to the original, but at least I can go diving with it.





I am grateful to Dale for providing some measurements from his original sheath to help me get started. This one is about 1/8" wider than the original to allow a stronger assembly, but the length is pretty close.

[Drado]

Wow! That was DIY? Looks fabulous!

[antique diver]

Thank you Ed.
I started with an assortment of PVC sheet material to experiment with.



It was easy to mill a cavity in two pieces (shaped roughly the size of the sheath) for the blade and spring plate, but a router would work too.
The two halves were later joined with seven #4 SS screws, then the final shaping was done on a band saw and router table. Hand finished with wet sanding, using 2000 grit as the final grade, then plastic polish to spiff it up.




I was originally planning to just bond the halves with PVC cement, but wanted to be able to open up for improvements or modifications on this prototype.

[SurfLung]

- Wow. That looks better than pictures I've seen of the original. Thanks for showing your method... I've been wondering if I could make an authentic looking diving sheath for one of the new production KABAR knives. Your approach looks like it would work.

[Bryan]

Great job Bill.....Projects like this are perfect for keeping idle hands busy during the winter.

[gj1963]

Nice work!

[antique diver]

Thanks guys... it was an enjoyable project. I remember wanting a Vulcan since I was a kid and they were still being sold new. I guess I will have to take it diving this weekend.

SurfLung, I had a surplus Kabar that came with my first Scuba rig that I bought used, and dove with it for years... sure wish I had kept it. If you want more details on the construction to apply to your Kabar just contact me.

[DaleC]

Hi Bill, just saw this. That looks great! Did you fashion that hilt guard too?

[antique diver]

Thanks Dale. It probably looks better in the photo than upon close examination, and it was a little simpler than it looks. Also, I left off the top plate that the original has because I was tired of working on the darned thing, and ready to go diving. One day I will get around to figuring out how to make the top plate... maybe I'll quit procrastinating next Monday.




Used a 3/4" strip of Stainless sheet wrapped around the sheath assembly and secured with screws through the back side. It was shaped with a little extra material on the sides that were then crimped with end cutter to tighten the strip securely down on the sheath.

The screw that is seen holds the SS spring strip that extends about 2.5" into the sheath. (It was originally the belt clip on an old Ikelite c-lite) This exerts pressure on the side of the knife blade to hold the knife securely in place. I left it where I could easily remove it to adjust tension by bending as needed to fine tune the holding power. Works great.

[1969ivan1]

NIce work there Bill.

[Chris]

So I found a vulcan at the gun show. The only thing really wrong is the sheath is cracked and held together with black tape. I cant see any of the photos on this thread, but I'm wondering how the sheath comes out if I decide to try gluing it together. It appears to come loose by straightening out the holding tabs. Also, was it a poor desition for $60? Only one on the internet for sale is an ebay add for a trashed one at $155.

[antique diver]

In my opinion it's worth what you paid. Tape it up and go diving!

Those missing photos from 2013 were on PhotoBucket. If I can find my originals I'll post them again.

[Chris]

Ill have to where this one when Im diving my Voit 50.

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