I usually take the sheath out with the knife. It's easier for me to put it back that way. Probably partly because the sheath fits the blade pretty tightly and I can't put the knife in without 2 hands. You want to have a reasonably tight fit. I borrowed a sgien dubh once that was real loose. The sheath slipped off and slid down inside the hose to my shoe. That left the bare blade inside the hose. The tip cut through before I noticed it, which pretty much ruined that hose. I also tend to wear it pushed fairly far into the hose. I don't like to have the whole handle showing, partly for looks and partly for stability. If I were to take out the knife and leave the sheath, I'd need to fish it out to put the knife back.