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A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 2:33 pm
by HuerTa
I had a bit of an "incident" with my previous scabbard for this sword so I set out this past week to make a new one. While I was at it, I thought I'd push myself a little and actually tool the designs into the leather rather than using risers under the leather. The vine designs may be a little on the Elvish side, but I like to think that my persona perhaps had a lot of contact/got along well with the Elves of Mirkwood and adapted a lot of their aesthetic. This is my largest tooling project yet and I'm rather proud of how it came out. Working with this thin of leather can be a challenge so I really had to take my time. Here are a couple of progress pics where it sits so far. Tonight I'll get everything all finished up:

ImageUntitled by Steven Huerta, on Flickr

ImageUntitled by Steven Huerta, on Flickr

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 5:15 pm
by Greg
What's your process for fitting the byknife scabbard? I'm not sure I'm seeing a seam, so how'd you handle the big elevation change across the throat? Can we maybe see from the other direction?

Looking good.

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 6:20 pm
by HuerTa
Greg wrote:What's your process for fitting the byknife scabbard? I'm not sure I'm seeing a seam, so how'd you handle the big elevation change across the throat? Can we maybe see from the other direction?

Looking good.
Thanks! I glue the by-knife scabbard directly to the sword's core, then I stretch the leather over it until I get a nice tight for. It's formed while the leather is wet of course, and takes me a couple of hours to get the contour just right. Once it's mostly there (or I get tired) I let it sit overnight to dry to shape. It's a bit of work, but allows for a seamless finish that looks much cleaner. I'll get some close ups for you tonight.

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:19 pm
by Greg
I think that's a factor of the material, then, for sure. Vegtan really does stretch quite a bit...I wrapped mine in lambskin and that level of stretch just wasn't happening, which is why I folded it under on the backside.

Looks very clean. What're you tooling with?

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:18 pm
by Iodo
Nice work! looks amazing :P

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:22 pm
by Ghostsoldier
I saw it earlier on the Book of Faces, but it looks awesome, Steve!

Rob

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 9:31 pm
by Elleth
Wow! That's fantastic. :)

... will you be adding background texture/stippling around the vines, or leaving as is?

And do you do your leather carving on the scabbard itself, or carve it first and then glue it to the core?

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:54 pm
by HuerTa
Greg wrote:I think that's a factor of the material, then, for sure. Vegtan really does stretch quite a bit...I wrapped mine in lambskin and that level of stretch just wasn't happening, which is why I folded it under on the backside.

Looks very clean. What're you tooling with?
Thanks! Nothing too fancy for this, just a swivel knife, beveler, and a poly hammer.

Leather can be finicky, a lot of factors contribute to the stretchiness. Thickness of course is the biggest one, but the type of hide. Where it’s cut from, and whether or not it’s pre dyed can affect the elasticity. For this project I deliberately cut a piece from my hide that was the most elastic.

I finished the whole thing up last night and forgot to take pics before dyeing but I’ve got some finished close ups for you I’ll upload once I get on a computer .

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:55 pm
by HuerTa
Iodo wrote:Nice work! looks amazing :P
Le hannon!

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:56 pm
by HuerTa
Ghostsoldier wrote:I saw it earlier on the Book of Faces, but it looks awesome, Steve!

Rob
Thanks muindor! You’ll get to see it in person soon enough too :)

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:06 pm
by HuerTa
Elleth wrote:Wow! That's fantastic. :)

... will you be adding background texture/stippling around the vines, or leaving as is?

And do you do your leather carving on the scabbard itself, or carve it first and then glue it to the core?
Thank you! For this one I won’t be doing any backgrounding. It’s just preference but on the next one I’ll likely do some. I tool off of the scabbard, I usually loosely wrap the leather over the core and let it dry overnight so I have a good idea of my “canvas space.” The following day I start my carving and tooling.

I tend to stay away from tooling On the scabbard because I don’t want to add any extra stress on the wood core and risk it cracking or snapping. I could tool with the sword in the scabbard, but then I worry about moisture getting to the blade.

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 8:28 pm
by Elleth
That makes a lot of sense!

I could imagine also solid placeholder core as a "last" of sorts - but that's a lot of work if one's only doing one of a particular scabbard it seems.

Regardless, it looks lovely, and I can't wait to see your next one. :)

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 2:24 pm
by HuerTa
Elleth wrote:That makes a lot of sense!

I could imagine also solid placeholder core as a "last" of sorts - but that's a lot of work if one's only doing one of a particular scabbard it seems.

Regardless, it looks lovely, and I can't wait to see your next one. :)
Thanks again! I'm already planning the next one haha.

Greg, as promised here are some close ups of the by-knife for you. I wish I'd have taken them before final assembly but I hope they are still of some use for you:

ImageUntitled by Steven Huerta, on Flickr
ImageUntitled by Steven Huerta, on Flickr
ImageUntitled by Steven Huerta, on Flickr
ImageUntitled by Steven Huerta, on Flickr

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:24 pm
by Iodo
That's amazing :P

Re: A New Scabbard in the Works

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:34 am
by Peter Remling
Nice work as always. I particularly like the color combination.