I suspect I am once again late to the party, but:

Two recent experiences: handled a friend's knife-fighter shoulder sheath in which the primary security was magnetic and lost a small knife sheath while mushrooming by putting it down on the leaf litter and duff next to my knee on a dark and rainy day [I looked and looked but the forest gods apparently accepted an offering I did not intend to make].

So, I need a sheath and I would like to put magnets in it to retain the knife. If I can figure out a relatively neat and economic way, I would also like to add magnets to several existing sheaths for various steel tools.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

I wonder if any magnets strong enough to really secure a knife would also scratch the blade. Perhaps not a concern if the knife is a "user"... YMMV

Have you decided agains Kydex? My Kydex sheaths are pretty secure.

Hey D,I use a Mag Sheath,whilst carving/dressing Game,This Might be useful for your App's-www.magsheath.com The magnet is Very Strong,I use tape over the area to weaken the pull,a little,Good Luck!

I'm leery about carrying magnets. Doesn't take much to throw off a compass. An issue that may only come to light after your cold, tired, and no longer sure where you are.

Me, too. Concerned about compass, watch, cell-phone, and any other electonics. Wondering if a thinner layer on the blade side and thicker layer[s] on the outside might reduce the magnetic effect enough ....

I will check out the web site, Rich, thanks.

By the way, the magnet[s] in the knife sheath I saw were behind/inside the leather sheath and could not scratch the blade - or anything else.

Still thinking it through.

My preference for knives runs along the lines of a simple friction fit, often a simple phosphor bronze spring, or, if it needs to be held in its sheath, a thumb snap, thong or stud.

A lot of old setups used a simple leather thong that is tied to form a loop and a button or projection. This setup has the advantage of being easy to adjust as the leather stretches, you just move the knot, and easy to replace with another thong when it wears out.

Snaps and studs can have the problem of fitting well when the unit is new but can become loose and unreliable as the materials stretch. Adjusting them can be a problem. I've seen people stitch, or cut and stitch, sometimes pad, the strap to take up slack but the results are often less than satisfactory. Removing and repositioning the snap or stud can be done if you have the tools and skills, or the services of a friendly cobbler/leather worker.

Of course, a little time on the internet found several commercial knife and sheath guys using magnets. I also was directed to this magnet source:

http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.405~search.magnet

Anybody have experience with them?

I am considering whether one or more magnets would have survival uses. Detecting ferrous materials? Retreiving ferrous tools/keys/blades/hooks? Finding sheaths with other magnets in them that you cannot find in the dark/on a forst floor in deep duff?

Thoughts?

Thanks.

I have purchased some of those from DX. Very strong magnets but also somewhat brittle. Some have split when I tried to pry them from a metal surface. I think it is a function of the rare-earth material. Last few things I have ordered from DX have taken about 35 days to reach me.

Depending on the carry position, I would think that a strong sheath magnet could scramble the magnetic strips on the debit and credit cards in your wallet as you walk along.

What's a credit card?

dweste,

A good source of free strong (possibly rare earth) magnets is to open up old computer hard drives and remove the plate magnets housed inside. Old server drives are better, their magnets are much bigger and stronger.

As others have noted, they are both strong and can be fragile due to stresses from dropping them or accidently letting two of them jump together.

FYI When handling magnets, make sure that you DO NOT allow any of your skin to get caught between two magnets. A buddy at work that collects these magnets has several blood blisters from getting his fingers and parts of his hands pinched.

Regards,
Comanche7

Never opened a hard drive. What size range are these magnets? Can they be cut or otherwise re-sized?

Thanks.

They are maybe 1" wide, usually attached to a small metal plate. usually two, one above and below the swing arm that moves the head arm. They are very hard, dremel bits barely even scratch.

You might want to take a look at these:
http://www.tacticaltailor.com/magnamagsinglepistolmagpouch.aspx

Dweste,

Sizes vary from drive to drive, PC and laptop drives have smaller magnets, the larger server type drives have larger ones, ranging 1 to 2 inches across, slightly more than 1/16 inch thick and the width varies, I've seen a couple that were more than 5/8's of an inch on the third dimension.

They will generally have some curves or notches on them and resizing them is iffy at best. Mostly just by breaking them in my experience, not real accurate, but if you have enough you can generally break one the right size (eventually). Best bet is to use the flat angled glass breaker pliers (regular jaws that have small pieces of angle iron on them to hold the work piece with parallel grips).

Eugene's commment about the hardness is accurate.

Regards,
Comanche7