I haven't tried one of those yet, but as soon as I complete the kit knife I am working on I am going to make a horizontal (or almost) cross draw sheath for it. I saw several of those last year in Wyoming and liked the look...

Yep, cross draw. Mine sit just left of my belt buckle, primarily for right hand, but my left hand has also drawn it on occasion.

I've worn my LMF II horizontal. I just laced a webbing strap through the top and bottom loops of the sheath (minus the MOLLE stuff) and then worn the strap like a belt...I usually strap it to gear but if I'm not carrying a pack, this is where it goes.

Sometimes I wear it like that to keep things low key. When I'm camping with a bunch of 'leave no trace' types (my wife and I call them 'tidy campers'), having a big tactical knife on the outside of my pack just generates too many questions and concerns...I guess they're worried I'm going to go John Rambo on them...or worse a tree.

So what a sec? You lumping in the "leave no trace" folks in as "not well equipped," "afraid of equipment" or something similar?

The way I'm reading your post, as opposed to being tidy, you're the type of camper that leaves half a roll of TP, a few cases of empty beer cans, and a still smoldering fire when you roll out.

So, am I reading this wrong?

I'm sorry if you misunderstood and if I offended but I wasn't referring to this type of camping style as poorly equipped.

What I WAS referring to is that true followers of Leave No Trace are against disruptions to nature as small as over turning a rock. I sometimes find myself camping with people I don't know very well and are aquaintances at best. People often get the wrong idea when you break out the heavy gear like saws, axes, and big knives thinking you're some kind of mountain man wannabe who's going to start chopping down trees for the thrill.

And by referring to them as 'tidy' I didn't mean to imply that my personal style is in any way 'untidy' (you sure are reading a lot into my post! ). It's simply a pet name that I've used since before 'Leave No Trace' was a popular term.

The point of my post was that I like to be prepared in my own way while staying politically correct and considering the comfort level of those around me. I think of it as similar to many of us preferring fixed blade knives but very few, if any, of us would walk around town or go to work with a big belt knife on our leg. It might be more practical or suit our personal ideas of being preparred better...but it's not always the proper thing to do.

Leave no trace seems counter-intuitive to life.

I think a more appropriate phrase would be "try to limit your impact within reason".

Nature is not static, and the forces of nature wreak havoc on the environment often in far worse ways than we puny humans.

I prefer the notion of frugal, considerate, and ethical. Then it is just varying degrees, from one extreme to another perhaps. One guy goes through the woods leaving nary a footprint, another builds a house that stands for over 80 years. Nowhere in that range would I include a dump site.

Well explained. OK, what you're saying makes sense - practical "low impact" versus the uber-Nazi-Tree-Huggers that want to make sure that your camera flash doesn't fade the color of the plants. They probably think you shouldn't boil or treat water, since you're removing a resource from nature.

Yeah, i probably did read into it too much. Sorry bout that!

LOL. No worries. I can appreciate how hard it can be to read intentions when all you have are my scattered typed in ramblings

It wasn't that long ago that I would see these types at a campground never light a fire, cook over a tiny isobutane stove, and go to bed before dark...I thought they were nuts. What I didn't realize of course is that they weren't there to have fun...they just wanted to get up early and have their fun out on the trails and mountains.

Ironically, when I camp these days, I'm a lot closer to that style than I used to be (I once packed a whole utility trailer full of stuff for just me and a girlfriend to go camping for a weekend!). There's something to be said for keeping things light and simple even if you don't consider the environmental impact. Even when backpacking I find myself taking less and less each time and moving to smaller tools (like my LMF II). It's much more satisfying to do more with less...which also can have environmental benefits on the side.

Well i FINALLY received my firesteel today! MAN! I don't know whats going on here in the city of vancouver, but finding a firesteel in a retailer here is almost impossible.
Anyways, i mail ordered out, and finally got a army swedish firesteel.
Unfortunately the LMF II doesn't have a pouch for anything like this item on its' sheath. Guess i'll have to think a bit and devise something. I don't like the idea of just tying it on, i want to make somekind of tight sleeve for it. Ideas?

peace
al

The obvious choice is Kydex. If you have the ability to work with the stuff you could make a sheath and then bolt it to the cord holes in the plastic sheath.