Tips & Tricks: Use Shock Cord to Hold Your Bushcraft Knife Securely in its Sheath

Photo credits: Jason Schwartz/Rocky Mountain Bushcraft ©2023 All Rights Reserved

Is your fixed blade knife too loose in its sheath? Here's a trick I've been using for many years.

Get some quality 1/8" shock cord or 3/16" shock cord (depending on the size of your knife and the amount of retention you want), cut it to length, and then use a simple overhand loop knot to fasten it onto the belt clip or belt loop of the sheath. 

You will have to experiment with how small and tight to make it to have the retention you want. 

Using this trick made my Benchmade Puukko shown above, as well as several of my Mora knives that were previously too loose and unsafe, to be safe and secure when carrying them in the backcountry. Plus, it has saved me a lot of money because I don't have to buy aftermarket sheaths to get the retention I need!

One hank of shock cord is enough for many applications, plus I usually have enough left to replace any cord that starts to wear out.

This same trick can be used on any knife that has a retention issue, or, if you just want to add extra retention to an already good sheath.

Cheers,

Jason

River stone knife sharpening at Rabbitstick 2022

Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Bushcraft ©2022

This is a class I assisted my friend Lex Rule with (shown holding the knife and river stone) at Rabbitstick in Idaho last year. 

The goal was simple -- have students bring their dull knives to the river which runs next to Rabbitstick and show them how to sharpen them using only natural stones found in the river. We were able to bring most of the knives to shaving sharpness using just the stones and afterwards, stropping them on the bark of the Willow and Alder trees that ran along the bank.

Cheers!

Jason