A Few Words About Sheaths For Your Safari Knife

We had an epiphany during our testing that was not a particular good realization: all the sheaths were very disappointing. Lets paint the picture properly:

· The Fallkniven F1 Pro Sheath has stitching coming undone at the bottom of the sheath, perhaps from the point of the blade cutting the stitch or perhaps a manufacturer’s defect. Not acceptable for a MSRP $55.00 sheath.

· The ESEE Camp-Lore Sheath was proudly stamped “made in USA” on the back of the sheath. The bad news is that it was embossed so deeply that it creates a perfect “pocket” for the blade to snag on while trying to put your blade away that resulted in us cutting the sheath! Not acceptable for a MSRP $25.00 sheath.

· The Arthur Wright compatible sheath from “The Bushcraft Store UK” also had a blown stitch and required a prompt replacement from TBS. Sadly, as nice of a sheath as it is the knife falls out of it frequently contrary to their claims that the sheath will work well with the A. Wright Bushcraft knife. Not acceptable for a MSRP $55.00 sheath.

· The Buck Selkirk provided no leather sheath whatsoever so we had to toil with the cumbersome and gimmick laden plastic sheath trying to move Chicago screws around to get it oriented correctly and ready for use in the bush. It was so profoundly noisy that it deeply frustrated us and the way in which it “over secured” the knife was so tricky that the PH cut himself trying to get the knife out of the plastic sheath.

· For the additional two dozen knives we initially reviewed there was an even longer list of sheath maladies that we omit from this review to save space and time!

In short, a sheath is a very personal thing and you must consider the notion that to be truly satisfied you will need to either make your own sheath or have one custom made from a quality sheath company such as JRE Industries that knows how to make a proper safari sheath. Of the bunch, the unsophisticated ESEE Camp-Lore RB3 leather sheath provided the most reliability but all reviewers found the idea of a horizontal sheath oriented in a cross draw or back draw configuration to be the most logical choice for the safari community.

Above are several of the sheaths we became frustrated with and managed to break or damage in our rigorous tests. A custom sheath from JRE Industries may cost as much as the knife itself but it would forgo much heartache when on safari.

***About Us: As a group of avid hunters, fine weapon collectors and perennial safari tourists we've had a chance to play with a lot of nice tools over the years. Austringer Outfitters requested these knives through industry channels so we could conduct a unique review that had never been done before. Austringer Outfitters does not retail or market any of the products within this review and we provide this review free of monetary compensation for the benefit of the overall sporting community.