Saturday, November 8, 2008

Poor Man's Knife Harness...

During a recent rendevous, Care and I learned about a Poor Man's Knife Harness for conveniently toting a fixed blade knife in a shoulder rigging. I immediately tried the harness and found it serviceable, albeit a tad uncomfortable due to a cordage crossover that occurred right on my spine. When not rubbing directly on the spine, the cordage had a tendency to move around easily, changing the placement of either the knife & sheath or the cordlock.

After some brainstorming with friends, I came up with the idea to use a leather crossover disk to keep the cord "knot" off the spine and to keep the desired angle of the knife being carried. I fashioned a crossover disk from a piece of scrap leather and then tested it to be sure the theory worked. Once relatively sure it did work, I contacted Spen and Dan of JRE Industries to make some crossover disks from some good leather. Here's the result:




Here's the assembled components of the harness, followed by a parts list:


8' of milspec 550 cord or any other stout cordage of your choice. I prefer the 550 as with it, I'm carrying an (approximate) extra 56' of cordage inside the 550 cord outer sheath. Some prefer to strip the inner strands out of the 550 cord so that the harness lies flatter and tighter to the body,

One cord lock,

Two beads (Optional - but they really aid in adjusting the completed harness),

One leather crossover disk,

Knife with a sheath that has grommeted attachment points - a leather or kydex sheath will work...




To assemble the parts, first thread the cord through the grommets on the knife sheath to the approximate midway point of the cord. Now thread the cord in an "X" pattern through the holes in the crossover disk. Next, thread both ends of the cord simultaneously through the opening of the single cord lock, pulling the cord lock up 8 - 9" onto the cord. If you choose to have beaded ends, now thread on the beads. The last step in assembly is to tie off the ends of each piece of cord.

To fit the harness, put it on like you're putting on a jacket. Position the sheath where you want it and then slide the crossover disk to a position right above your spine. Once done, slide the cord lock up so that it holds the desired sheath and crossover disk position. You will have to trim the dangling ends of the cord to suit your size. Leave about 6-8" of extra "dangle" to accomodate the ability to adjust the harness for wear over heavy clothing. After the final sizing and trimming, don't forget to heat seal the cord ends to inhibit fraying.

Care and I have been wearing the harnesses we made almost daily since we got all the parts assembled. We both found the harnesses we made extremely comfortable and an easy way to keep a fixed blade concealed yet handy. I also sent Jerry Young (hayseedw45) a crossover disk to test. Here's Jerry's comments:

"I wore the shoulder set up the whole time, well excluding bed. I found the disc kept the set up from moving around. It was very comfortable. I give it 2 thumbs up! The disc made the difference."
Taking another suggestion from Jerry, here's Care with an added carabiner filled with survival essentials attached to the strong side...


Need one? Want one? Yeah - you know you do. With this harness system, gone is the day of the neck knife and all the discomfort and accidental chokes associated with them.
Spen at JRE has indicated that he will make the crossover disks available in black or tan and, soon, will have all parts stocked at a very reasonable price. Click on the link to your left for JRE contact info...
M



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great Idea! I just made one per your instructions and its very comfortable to wear. I even made the leather disk out of some scraps I had laying around and the disc makes a huge difference. I look forward to more valuable info for this blog.

Trini Airguns said...

Very useful and informative blog. I learned a lot, and will make modifications to my personal survival kits.

Thanks for the info/education.

Unknown said...

Hi! Great idea for the knife harness! I'm planning a trip in the neighborhood of the Amazon, and my knife will be larger...have you had any experience with toting a larger blade (approx 12-13 inches) in a harness of this type?
I just found your site, but I'll be back to read more.
Thank!
From the South Pole

Anonymous said...

I love this blog. and this harness is great!

Richard said...

Wow, very nice idea! What's the diameter of the leather disc?

Unknown said...

SGT Mike, I really like the harness rig, really nice I carry my esee3 all the time, also can carry the esee6 with no problems. I like your thoughts/comments about the american GI, nice to know someone understands. Take it easy, happy new year to you and Care.
Smitty