I think Matt Draper's (mdraper@mail.utexas.edu) first two sheaths (the Horizontal auto Latch and the IWB sheaths) really spoiled me to no end. Now I expect all sheaths to function with, not just the same speed, but the same ability to put your hand into the 'proper flight path' upon extracting the knife and finally into 'ready position'. After numerous reading of Clay's posts, and lectures from James Keating, I have finally understood the importance of getting that knife from ready position to bargain position.. Hnn.. I love saying that.. Bargain position.. oh wait.. let me say ti again.. bargain position.. Bargain Position.. oh wait.. again again.. BARGAIN POSITION! XP
The standard in which sheaths will be judged will never be the same again.
What makes a good sheath? Put quite simply:
1. Ease of 'finger placing', namely safe handle alignment and security, on the closed balisong before extraction
2. The ability to 'set up' your thumb or pinky finger for unlatching (unrivaled by the auto unlatcher motiv)
3. Streamlined ability for the sheath to set you up for 'ready poition'
4. Comfort for the 'sleep test' =)
5. Concealment.
Keep in mind that these are all my personal opinion and should not be taken as gospel. There is nothing more discouraging than the hampering of innovation and art in the name of public acceptance. (Can you say Neosporin? Uhm,.. wait.. No I meant 'Charming china cheapies'.)
The third and final version of Matt's sheaths I have for review is the 'Coin Pocket' sheath. Most jean pockets nowadays have a fifth pocket in order to hold loose change so you don't have to dig and collect all the loose change in your main pocket. The size of the change pocket (as expected) decreases as you go from 'ghetto' or 'blue collar' pants to yuppie or designer pants, then again so does the size I guess =). Matt reminisces his high school days (again the old school slinger) where he would place his Balisong upright in his change pocket. (what better use for a change pocket.. they only hurt my fingers). The problem with this idea was that the balisong would not stay upright, shook unstably, and there was the fear of the balisong falling.
The image above shows Version 001 of Matt's Coin Pocket sheath. It features a 'Pebbled Alien Skin' finish, antiqued tension screw and a EXQUISITE braided leather lanyard ripcord done by his lovely wife Mirriam (actually I should ask Mirriam to make me one of her custom concealment shirts in the Jet Li Chinese motiv.. remind me on that one.. White ofcourse.)
Comfort: Hey, if Gaucho has his LEG OF LAMB test for his Hossom knives, then I got my sleep test (or until I come up with a cooler, less retarded test - hey us collecge kids have no time to strip into our Rurouni Kenshin Jammies ^_^). For everyday walk about the town carry I found this sheath to be adequate. Keep in mind however that I strongly do NOT advise wearing this form of carry in non legal states as most of the knife is in plain view. It was more comfortable than the IWB carry but it stabbed me a couple of times during the sleep test and when I made sudden kneels or knockdowns onto the floor (I was being knocked down >_<). Overall comfort for this sheath was just a little notch up from the IWB.
Ofcourse keep in mind that it all depends on the type of jeans you have. I was wearing my GAP Contractor pants with a nice deep coin pocket. A word advice to the glamour boys with the Gerbaux or Giorgio Armani pants, and other designers with shallow change pockets.. It's best you stay away from this lest you get a second belly button. Before you ask Matt to make yor sheath make sure you know which change pocket you want to wear this with as not all change pockets are created equal.
Retainment: The knife had minimal wobble in my pocket and I knew where it would be when I needed it. There was no way this bad boy would fall off your pocket. If bychance the sheath (without the bali coming loose) were to fall out, Mirriam's braided lanyard would safeguard it.
If per chance you drew the knife and the sheath came loose from your coin pocket, Mirriam's braid would function like a lanyard ripcord, much popularized by JSP from Bladerigger (wow he rules), and would unsheath your knife wih no problems.
Also, for those people who would rather keep their balisong in their main deep pocket, the texture of the sheath and braid provided enough traction to keep your knife 'floating' so you do not experience the weighted down effect of your knife in you pocket.
Extraction: As I mentioned earlier, judging sheaths will never be the same again with Waxes' Horizontal sheath. I had quite a time getting used to this form of draw once again (ice pick reverse draw) after being spoiled by the Horizontal sheath. First of all, the upright balisong was directly under my arm, which meant that I had to push and bend my elbow as far back as I could to perform the extraction. This was not as comfartable as I would like and was definitely slower to the shoot. Although ice pick draw has its disadvantages to grip and draw speed, the location of the sheath coupled with my wrist alignment upon connection was the main hindrance.
The mode of extraction was as follows. I could draw the knife BOTH in forehand and backhand grip. I would pop the latch and draw the knife in one motion before I would go ino the manipulation. This being a backhandgrip most of the time, I had to momentarily stop then bring my hand into ready position. Getting the knife in ready position and manipulation were two separate actions rather than one smooth motion. (A disadvantage to backhand draws)
Note also that the closer your body is to the ground the more favourable a forehand opening is. i.e. on a takedown it is almost impossible to do a reverse grip opening.
The final decision. This type of carry, in my opinion, was more of an 'art sheath'. It shows off a LOT of your balisong but due to the location of the coin sheath, is slower to the gun. I had a few misfires with this type of sheath too. However I have to get Mikus' opinion in misfires since he is in line for the first Tang / Punyo up AUTO UNLATCHER coin pocket sheath.
Everything is rather relative, and it seems that Waxes rose the bar REAL BLOODY HIGH on his first invention (Horizontal Auto Unlatcher). Which is to say, I am not dissmising the third incarnation of his sheaths. It is a great addition to the collection, and I find it a nice carry for maybe more dressy occations especially with nice decorated balisongs. (The irony of it not being advisable to have gems in concealex)
You must be waiting for me to put this thing around my neck aren't you? Kinky... Well I won't keep you.in suspense any further. I found that this sheath performed very well (VERY VERY WELL due to the amout of real estate you could grab onto with SOLID integrity) but if you want the neck carry I would suggest 2 things. First of all, carry a smaller balisong.. 3 inchers would be perfect and this idea makes me want to reasses my initial disdain towards smaller balisongs (or the new, featherweight Ti handled BM42's might be the ticket). Secondly, Mirriam's leather lanyard might not stand up to numerous tugs, and doesn't feel natural as it makes the sheath 'bounce' both in carry and extraction. You can have Matt have an additional option for GI Dogtag chains for neck carry. Take my advice though and have Mirriam make you a leather braid, they are beautiful works of art in themselves.
Reinsertion: No problem. Much easier than IWB reinsertion.
So what's SniperBOY's final vertict? If you have only one choice of carry choose the Horizontal auto popper. (But I warn you that it will spoil you and you wil never carry your balisong any other way again. BM is gonna hire Matt (I am debating whether or not to send my review to DeAsis), and he will become famous and hopefully won't forget us little people and bali sheath tester ^_^). This sheath is a treasured part of my sheath collection, a great INNOVATION and I think is the best way to show off your balisong without sacrificing INTEGRITY and function.
