EK COMMANDO KNIFE SHEATHS

As with Miami knives not using any of the Hamden knife sheath designs, Richmond knives did not use any of the Miami sheath designs.

All Richmond knives have spear point blades and consist of the following 4 blade Models:

Richmond Blade Model 1 - 1-1/2 edges sharpened without crossguard
Richmond Blade Model 2 - Both edges sharpened without crossguard
Richmond Blade Model 3 - 1-1/2 sharpened edges with crossguard
Richmond Blade Model 4 - Both edges sharpened with crossguard

So there was not a need for a variety of sheath shapes.

With the Richmond knives, there are two basic sheath divisions, leather sheaths and nylon web sheaths.

LEATHER: Leather sheaths were offered in the early years of Richmond. There are only three leather sheaths and all are of the same design and vary only in their color.

They are of a three piece design made with 1) a full length rear piece; 2) another half length piece in the handle area which tapers to a point and stops just inside the throat area and 3) a final front piece in the blade area. The sheath also has a welt, a strip of leather that is placed between the two outer layers of the sheath, in the blade area along the outer edge. The layers in the blade area are then stitched together except for the sheath throat. The welt protects the stitching from being cut by the sharp cutting edge of the knife. There is also stitching across the two top pieces which forms a belt loop.

There are four slots cut into the front face of the upper section into which are threaded 2 leather retention straps with Velcro closures. Some find it time consuming to withdraw the knife from the double strap retention. So you will encounter used sheaths where either one or the other of the straps is missing.

There are also holes punched into both upper sections of the sheath. Initially paracord is wound through the holes. These can be used to further secure the knife if desired. There is also paracord wrapped around the lower section of the sheath as well as more paracord pigtailed for use as a leg tie. OD colored paracord was used on all three colors of the Richmond leather sheaths.

Two of the three leather sheath colors are commonly encountered. They are the black and so-called brown (actually light tan) sheaths. A third color, a redish brown, is less common and I've only seen it pared with a very early Richmond marked WAR (Warrior) knife. Probably few were made.

NYLON WEB: The Richmond Nylon Web sheaths are made from heavy (0.125 inch thick, 2-1/4 inch wide) woven nylon webbing with a heavy, coarse, stiff weave like that used for military style canteen/pistol belts. All web sheaths are nominally 13-1/2 inches tall after completion.

There are 4 nylon web designs used in Richmond:

POINTED BOTTOM D-RING GROMMETED
POINTED BOTTOM D-RING
FLAT BOTTOM D-RING
TUBE BOTTOM

In addition there are 3 nylon web colors encountered:

BLACK
OLIVE DRAB (OD)
DESERT TAN

POINTED BOTTOM GROMMETED D-RING - I believe these sheaths to be the earliest of the Richmond web sheath designs.

The sheath starts from a single piece of nylon web that is nominally 30 inches long. First one end of the web has it's corners trimmed off at a 45 degree angle with a hot knife and the exposed edges of both ends melted to prevent unraveling. Then a 1-1/8 inch wide by 15 inch long plastic liner piece is sewn in the center of the web on the trimmed end. The trimmed end is then folded over sharply at 7-1/2 inches from the trimmed edge with the plastic pieces facing each other inside. Two pieces of narrow, thin nylon web are placed inside on either edge of the sheath and the folded portion is sewn together around the bottom and sides leaving the throat open. This forms the blade portion of the sheath. The narrow thin nylon pieces act as a welt so the knife sharp edges can't cut into the sewn stitching. The plastic liners help ease withdrawal and insertion of the knife blade and prevent snagging the blade tip on the rough nylon weave.

The long rear piece of web then has a label sewn on and is folded back to form a belt loop. It is bent back to the rear of the sheath and down to a point where it extends beyond the upper edge of the throat by approximately 1 inch. Two double cap rivets are then inserted through the 3 layers of web, one on each side of the throat and act to reinforce the throat area.

Both outside corners of the bottom of the sheath are then cut off with a hot knife at a 45 degree angle. A short piece of thin nylon strap is looped around a D-Ring and riveted to the rear of the sheath bottom to act as an anchor for a leg tie. Finally, two sections of paracord are wrapped around the sheath body, a short 2 foot section at the top in the handle area and a longer 8 foot section wrapped in the blade area. A third 3 foot section is pigtailed on the D-Ring to act as a leg tie.

These early sheaths have 6 pairs of grommets in the upper (handle area) portion of the sheath. The 2 foot length of paracord can be threaded through the holes to help further secure the knife. Later sheaths have no grommets.

POINTED BOTTOM D-RING - I believe these sheaths to be the second of the Richmond web sheath designs. Identical in construction to the Pointed Bottom Grommeted D-Ring sheaths but lack the grommets. They also lack the upper 2 foot paracord sheath wrap in the handle area. Occasionally some sheaths will be seen to have the belt loop slightly raised a bit and sewn in place such that the throat rivets only secure two layers of the nylon web rather than three.

FLAT BOTTOM D-RING - I believe these sheaths to be the third of the Richmond web sheath designs. These sheaths are again a one piece design. They are very similar to the construction of the Pointed Bottom D-Ring sheaths but have several differences. First the welt, rather than being full length, is only a short wedge-shaped piece of leather in the throat area. Second, the outside corners of the bottom of the sheath are not trimmed off.

TUBE BOTTOM - I believe these sheaths to be the fourth of the Richmond web sheath designs. These sheaths are again a one piece design and constructed almost the same way as the Flat Bottom D-Ring. The only difference is that the bottom of the sheath is not pressed flat. This forms a hollow tube at the bottom edge of the sheath. It also lacks the bottom rivet and D-Ring. Instead, a paracord leg tie can be threaded through the bottom tube of the sheath. Strangely, I have never noted a black nylon Tube Bottom sheath.

Variations you may find on the web sheaths are D-Ring size, presence or absence of the plastic lining, type of plastic lining (clear or white), length or thickness of the welt section, presence or absence of sheath labels and differences in the type of rivets. I've noted one sheath where pop-rivets were used.

Note the changes in the sheath types with time to either simplify the construction or eliminate parts. Most likely this was done in an effort to bring down the cost of the web sheaths.

This is the first of the two common leather sheaths that were used with early production of Richmond knives.

This is the second of the two common leather sheaths that were used with early production of Richmond knives. Note that the Richmond literature and price lists refer to this sheath color as "brown"

This is the third of the leather sheaths. Identical to the previous Black and Tan sheaths but in a burgundy(red-brown) color and somewhat rare. I've only noted it being paired with one knife, an early Richmond Blade marked WAR (Warrior) knife.

This is the grommeted version of the black nylon web sheath. This is the earliest web design and one of two sheath colors used with early production of Richmond knives.

This is the grommeted version of the OD nylon web sheath. This is the earliest web design and one of two sheath colors used with early production of Richmond knives.

This is the second version of the black nylon web sheath. Note there are no grommets. Also the upper loop of paracord has been eliminated.

This is the second version of the OD nylon web sheath. Note there are no grommets. Also the upper wrap of paracord has been eliminated.

This is the first of the Desert Tan nylon web sheaths. Identical in design to the Black and OD versions, these sheaths were probably made in Desert Tan to blend with the desert conditions of the Gulf War. They are found with the DESERT RECON (Desert Storm marked) knives and some DESERT WAR (Warrior) knives.

These sheaths have a lower wrap of desert camo paracord but they are all missing the leg tie paracord found on the other colors. I've also noted a few of these sheaths wrapped with OD paracord.

This is the third version of the black nylon web sheath. The sheath is made from a single piece and the process of trimming off the bottom corners was eliminated.

This is the third version of the OD nylon web sheath. The sheath is made from a single piece and the process of trimming off the bottom corners was eliminated.

This is the fourth version of the OD nylon web sheath. The sheath is made from a single piece and construction is almost the same as the Flat Bottom D-Ring sheaths. The only difference is that the bottom of the sheath is not pressed flat. This forms a hollow tube at the bottom edge. It also lacks a D-Ring. Instead, a paracord leg tie can be threaded through the bottom tube of the sheath.

Note the odd location of the Richmond tag on the lower section, rather than the normal placement on the upper section of the sheath.

This is the second version of the Desert Tan nylon web sheath. The sheath is made from a single piece and construction is almost the same as the Flat Bottom D-Ring sheaths. The only difference is that the bottom of the sheath is not pressed flat. This forms a hollow tube at the bottom edge. It also lacks a D-Ring. Instead, a paracord leg tie can be threaded through the bottom tube of the sheath.

This is a single piece hard sheath, made of Kydex probably injection molded. Kydex is a thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride material commonly used for hard knife sheaths. It has two plastic leg straps with adjustable buckles.

This sheath was used exclusively for the DIVER-UDT Knife.

Note: The throwing knives that used these sheaths were first documented in the 50th. Anniversary Gold Catalog (1991) and were called the "Professional Throwing Knife". The photo of knife and sheath are correct but the catalog describes them as being 10" long by 3/8" thick which is in error as they are smaller. This thrower is later called the "Small Throwing Knife" in the 1992 Benchmade Catalog .

The sheath is made from two pieces of black leather. The longer rear piece is bent forward to form a belt loop and extends a little lower than the top of the front piece which is sewn on. It is a slip type sheath, a type without a retaining strap, and depends on friction to retain the knife blade in the sheath.

This sheath is 9 x 2 inches (LxW) and was used exclusively for the Single Small Throwing Knife.

Note: The throwing knives that used these sheaths were first documented in the 50th. Anniversary Gold Catalog (1991) and were called the "Professional Throwing Knife". The photo of knife and single sheath are correct but the catalog describes them as being 10" long by 3/8" thick which is in error as they are smaller. But the thrower is later called the "Small Throwing Knife" and described correctly in the 1992 Benchmade Catalog.

The small throwing knives also came in a set of three that used a single sheath to hold the knives. I have never seen one of these sheaths and can only speculate that it too was black leather with multiple pockets.

This sheath was used exclusively for the Set of Three Small Throwing Knives.

Note: The throwing knives that used these sheaths were first documented in the 50th. Anniversary Gold Catalog (1991) and were called the "Professional Throwing Knife". But the thrower is later called the "Small Throwing Knife" and described correctly in the 1992 Benchmade Catalog. This roll bag thrower sheath is only shown in the 1992 Benchmade Catalog .

The Set of Six Throwers were issued in a roll bag made of OD Nylon cloth. The lower half of the bag has 6 sewn slots to hold the throwers. There is edging sewn around the entire edge. To secure the roll the upper half is folded over, the bag is rolled and fastened closed with a Velcro strap.

This sheath was used exclusively for the Set of Six Small Throwing Knives.

The sheath is made from a single piece of web strap that is thinner than that used for the web belt type sheaths above. It also has a smoother weave. The sheath is sewn, double stitched at the bottom and belt loop areas, has no rivets and lacks a leg tie. It has a small piece of leather in the sheath bottom so the sharp point of the thrower can't cut the stitching.

This sheath was used exclusively for the 10 inch Large Throwing Knife.

This is the the only version of the Blackjack black nylon web sheath. The sheath is made from a single piece of webbing in the same manner as the Richmond Flat Bottom sheaths.

This is the the only version of the Blackjack OD nylon web sheath. The sheath is made from a single piece of webbing in the same manner as the Richmond Flat Bottom sheaths.

The Richmond DIVER-UDT Knives purchased from Richmond were renamed the N-11 UDT by Blackjack. The knives were marked "MADE IN U.S.A." / "EFFINGHAM, IL" but were part of the stock purchased from Richmond. These sheaths were also part of the stock purchase.

This is a single piece hard sheath, made of Kydex probably injection molded. Kydex is a thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride material commonly used for hard knife sheaths. It has two plastic leg straps with adjustable buckles.

This is the first of two sheaths Blackjack used for the N-11 UDT Knife.

The Richmond DIVER-UDT Knives purchased from Richmond were renamed the N-11 UDT by Blackjack. The knives were marked "MADE IN U.S.A." / "EFFINGHAM, IL" but were part of the stock purchased from Richmond.

When Blackjack ran out of the original Black Kydex Dive Sheaths obtained in the stock from Richmond, they purchased black nylon EAGLE U.S.A. brand sheaths to issue with the remaining N-11 UDT knives.

This is a well constructed soft sheath made of Cordura nylon. It includes a hard plastic blade liner. The sheath has a belt loop. There are 2 nylon tabs on the sheath rear and one on the sheath face. These could be used to fasten a cord to the dive knife to prevent loss. There are 5 grommets on the sheath, 2 in the handle area, 2 for the leg tie and 1 acting as a drain hole. The sheath edges are nicely finished with a stitched nylon binding.

This is the second of two sheaths Blackjack used for the N-11 UDT Knife.

This is the same design as the Richmond version of the pointed Bottom Nylon Web Sheaths but doesn't have the belt loop riveted at the throat and uses a Chicago screw rather than a rivet to fasten the D-Ring strap onto the sheath. The screw head is always on the sheath rear side.

Note that the black nylon web used in Richmond II sheaths turns a brown color when the nylon is melted. I was told it had something to do with the dye used to color the nylon changing color when heated.

This is the same design as the Richmond version of the pointed Bottom Nylon Web Sheaths but doesn't have the belt loop riveted at the throat and uses a Chicago screw rather than a rivet to fasten the D-Ring strap onto the sheath. The screw head is always on the sheath rear side.

This is the same design as the Richmond version of the pointed Bottom Nylon Web Sheaths but doesn't have the belt loop riveted at the throat and uses a Chicago screw rather than a rivet to fasten the D-Ring strap onto the sheath. The screw head is always on the sheath rear side.

This is the same design as the Richmond version of the pointed Bottom Nylon Web Sheaths but doesn't have the belt loop riveted at the throat and uses a Chicago screw rather than a rivet to fasten the D-Ring strap onto the sheath. The screw head is always on the sheath rear side.

This is the same design as the Richmond II version of the Pointed Bottom Black Nylon Web Sheath but has a different belt loop stitching in an inverted "V" pattern that I believe was done to allow rotation of the sheath when sitting.

Note that the black nylon web used in Richmond II sheaths turns a brown color when the nylon is melted.

This is the same design as the Richmond II version of the Pointed Bottom Black Nylon Web Sheath but has a different belt loop stitching in an inverted "V" pattern that I believe was done to allow rotation of the sheath when sitting.

This is the same design as the Richmond II version of the Pointed Bottom Black Nylon Web Sheath but has a different belt loop stitching in an inverted "V" pattern that I believe was done to allow rotation of the sheath when sitting.

This is the same design as the Richmond II version of the Pointed Bottom Black Nylon Web Sheath but has a different belt loop stitching in an inverted "V" pattern that I believe was done to allow rotation of the sheath when sitting.

This is the same design as the Richmond II Black Web V-Back Pointed Bottom D-Ring sheath but is made from an extra heavy stiff black web that is 1/4 inch thick rather than the standard 1/8 inch thick webbing. They also have 3 Chicago Screws rather than 2 Rivets and 1 Chicago Screw.

These sheaths also have a different label with the www.ekknife.com address.

This is the same design as the Richmond II Heavy Black Web V-back Pointed Bottom D-ring Sheath directly above but these sheaths have a double retaining strap. Most of these double retaining strap sheaths were issued with the Model 1 and Model 2 knives. The double strap adds extra security against knife loss since the Model 1's and 2's lack a guard that would normally bear against a single strap and help retain the knife.

These sheaths should be a V-Back but the V stiching was eliminated due to stitching needed for the added 2nd. strap.

Again, these sheaths also have a different label with the www.ekknife.com address.

I found information that stated these leather sheaths were ordered by the Ek Knife company from Tex Shoemaker and Sons Inc., the famous maker of leather holsters and police gear. They are stamped in the front with a large Ek script stamp followed by 3 lines "EK COMMANDO KNIFE" / "RICHMOND, VA U.S.A." / "●●●●●1941●●●●●". They are a well built sheath with round bottom and a retention strap with a snap fastener. They have grommets along the edges that allow various securing options. They are a somewhat rare sheath as I've only noted two. This one I observed with a box that was dated to the 2013 year.

I found information that stated these leather sheaths were ordered by the Ek Knife company from Tex Shoemaker and Sons Inc., the famous maker of leather holsters and police gear. They are stamped in the front with a large Ek script stamp followed by 3 lines "EK COMMANDO KNIFE" / "RICHMOND, VA U.S.A." / "●●●●●1941●●●●●". They are a well built sheath with round bottom and a retention strap with a snap fastener. They have grommets along the edges that allow various securing options. They are a somewhat rare sheath as I've only noted two.

These leather sheaths were issued with the HE-1 and HE-2 "Historical Edition" knives and are a copy of the Hamden Later Slip sheath.The slip type sheath is a type without a retaining strap, and depends on friction to retain the knife blade in the sheath.

It is a two piece sheath with sewn edge, with the rear portion folded back to form a belt loop and have 4 starred rivets, 2 to fasten down the belt loop portion and 2 to reinforce the sheath throat area. They are stamped on the rear belt loop with "EK COMMANDO KNIFE" / "RICHMOND, VA".

These leather sheaths were also issued with the HE-1 and HE-2 "Historical Edition" knives. They are a slip type sheath, a type without a retaining strap, and depend on friction to retain the knife blade in the sheath. They are a modification of the Richmond II Historical Edition Brown Leather Sheath directly above, but rather than having the folded back belt loop, it has a metal belt clip.

It is a two piece sheath with sewn edge and have 5 starred rivets, 2 to reinforce the sheath throat area, 2 about 2/3 towards the tip and 1 at the sheath's tip. They are not stamped with any identification.

These leather sheaths were issued with all of the Bark River Ek Commando #2 and Ek #2C knives. They are a three piece sheath with sewn edge and sewn top belt loop. There are four slots cut into the front face of the upper section into which are threaded 2 leather retention straps with snap closures.They have 3 grommets, 1 at the tip and 2 more about 1/4 of the total length up from the tip. The sheaths are not stamped with any identification.

These hard sheaths are issued with the EK-43 and EK-44 Ka-Bar knives. They are constructed of 2 pieces of Celon Plastic fastened together with 10 grommets. A belt loop is formed with a 2 inch wide loop of black webbing that is fastened to the top rear of the sheath with 3 additional smaller grommets. The Celon rear piece is longer than the front piece and has two molded ramps with indented notches at the base. When the knife is inserted in the sheath, downward pressure on the handle forces the knife's guard to slide down the ramps and snap into the notches thus securing the knife.

The overall length of the sheath is 12-1/2 inches. The belt loop will accept up to a 2 inch belt. The front piece has identification molded into the plastic in 2 lines reading "KA-BAR" / "U.S. EK". The rear piece has additional molding in 3 lines reading "Made in U.S.A." / "Oleon, New York" / "EK44-2". There is also a small label sewn on the bottom rear of the web belt loop that reads in script "John Ek Symbol Commando Knife Co."

These leather sheaths are issued with the Ka-Bar EK-13 Presentation knives. The sheaths are constructed of 2 pieces of tan leather a 7-1/2 inch front piece and an 18 inch rear piece. The top 1 inch of the rear piece is tapered to a point and the top 5-1/2 inch section is folded forward to form a belt loop with the 1 inch of taper stopping just inside the throat area. The sheath also has a welt, a strip of leather that is placed between the two outer layers of the sheath, in the blade area along the outer edge. The layers in the blade area are then stitched together except for the sheath throat. The welt protects the stitching from being cut by the sharp cutting edge of the knife. The sheaths have 5 rolled rivets, 2 to reinforce the sheath throat area, 2 at mid sheath, and one at the sheath tip. They have 2 grommets at the sheath tip for use with a leg tie.

The overall length of the sheath is 12 inches. The belt loop will accept up to a 3-1/2 inch belt. The front piece has the crossed knives with star and "41" in an oval banner. No other identification appears on the sheath.

These leather sheaths are issued with the Ka-Bar Model 5 Navy Reproduction knives. The sheaths are constructed of 2 pieces of brown leather a 7-1/2 inch front piece and an 18 inch rear piece. The top 1 inch of the rear piece is tapered to a point and the top 5-1/2 inch section is folded forward to form a belt loop with the 1 inch of taper stopping just inside the throat area. The sheath also has a welt, a strip of leather that is placed between the two outer layers of the sheath, in the blade area along the outer edge. The layers in the blade area are then stitched together except for the sheath throat. The welt protects the stitching from being cut by the sharp cutting edge of the knife. The sheaths have 5 rolled rivets, 2 to reinforce the sheath throat area, 2 at mid sheath, and one at the sheath tip. They have 2 grommets at the sheath tip for use with a leg tie.

The overall length of the sheath is 12 inches. The belt loop will accept up to a 3-1/2 inch belt. The front piece has the crossed knives with star and "41" in an oval banner. No other identification appears on the sheath.

Note that this sheath is identical to the sheaths for the Ka-Bar EK-13 Presentation knives except for the dark brown color.