Scabbard Build

A central place to talk about weapons and armour, as it relates to your kit. This is where you show it of or talk about making it. Discussing the relative merits of types of weapons goes in the WMA section.

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Manveruon
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Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

So I've been meaning to start this thread for a while, but I just plain haven't had time. Anyway, please excuse me in advance for the long post, but I've embarked on an interesting little adventure, and I wanted to share the progress with everyone here - I'm making my first scabbard and integrated-sword-belt rig!

First I tried to get a friend (and local SCA baron) to make me a wooden scabbard core, but alas, the scabbard he made didn't fit correctly, so I was unable to use it. Instead, I turned to our very own Greg to fashion me one out of poplar. I sent my sword out to him in Indiana, wedged as best as I could get it into the original scabbard core. Briefly after Greg received the sword he sent me this picture, showing his excellent re-purposing of that core, heh:

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After a brief wait, due to he and his family being busy as all hell in preparation for their upcoming move, etc, the sword and the new scabbard arrived at my front door, and I was ready to begin!

The scabbard itself is beautifully made, in a period-correct fashion, out of two pieces of wood with the inside carefully carved out to fit the sword. Greg designed it to be slightly convex on the front of the scabbard, and more flat on the back, so as to lay against my hip better, which was a design element I appreciated. There was a slight blemish on the front side of the scabbard, which Greg explained was probably from the tree being scorched at some point during its growth, but I kind of liked it, as I thought it gave the scabbard a bit of character, and besides, I was planning on covering the whole thing with leather in any case. Below are some pictures Greg sent me of the building process.

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The last one shows how well he fitted the scabbard to my chape from Christian Fletcher (one of the 3-D printed products from his Shapeways store, which I highly recommend checking out). The chape fits perfectly!

So yes, I was extremely pleased with the scabbard! It was obviously crafted with care and no small amount of skill, and it fits the blade like a glove! It doesn't quite hold the blade fast if turned upside down, but both Greg and I agree that we're not necessarily huge fans of that anyway. My only two criticisms of the scabbard when it arrived were that there was one spot along one of the edges that was still just a tad square-ish (but this was easily rounded out with a light pass-over with an electric sander), and that one side of the mouth of the scabbard was carved just a tad thinner than I might have liked. This latter issue probably wasn't a very big deal, but I glued a tiny little piece of leather inside the mouth of the scabbard, directly over that spot, just in case, since I knew the blade would be rubbing against it repeatedly every time the sword was drawn and re-sheathed. This also served to snug up the fit just a little bit. Overall, I was exceedingly happy with his work, and I highly recommend hitting him up next time you're looking for something of the like!

Here is the scabbard right when it arrived, laid on top of the piece of leather I bought to wrap it:

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The first step after getting the scabbard was to glue on pieces of leather lace for the risers, which can be seen here:

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Below are a couple shots of the mouth of the scabbard, before I glued on the third riser at the top. The one looking down the mouth also shows the small piece of leather I glued just inside (although it's a bit blurry). You can also see Greg's "G" rune makers mark in some of these pictures - which I love, not only because it's a nice reminder of Greg's excellent work, but also because it reminds me of Gandalf, heh.

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After this, I measured the scabbard around several points, and then I cut a long, rectangular strip of leather with which to wrap it. Unfortunately, after wetting the leather and attempting to stretch it around the scabbard, I discovered that I had measured just a touch too small, and I was forced to cut another strip and start again - good thing I bought enough! This time I stretched it around the core, over the risers, and then bound it with artificial sinew in order to mold it closely to the shape of the risers. My idea, at the time, was to get the risers molded in, then take the leather off and have a friend do some carving and tooling on it for decoration, and finally to put it back on the scabbard and sew it on permanently. Unfortunately, I discovered quickly this was not very feasible, as the leather lost it's shape significantly after being taken off the core (even once it had dried), so I simply re-wet it and began actually sewing it on, using a "baseball" stitch.

Mind you, this IS my first time ever doing a scabbard like this - and as such, my work turned out... well, amateur-ish. The seam up the rear of the scabbard, in particular, turned out incredibly crooked. I fought and fought with that damn seam, but I just couldn't get it to lay straight to save my life. It's still a total mystery to me how anyone does, but I guess that comes with practice. I made one other big mistake, in that I trimmed too much off the end of the leather strip, towards the bottom of the scabbard. I measured it exactly to the end of the scabbard, but neglected to consider the fact that the stitching caused the whole thing to shrink up just a tad, becoming shorter and shorter as I stitched. In the end, the end of the leather worked its way so far up the scabbard that it became too narrow, and wouldn't even stretch around it as I sewed, so I didn't have any choice but to cut the end off and splice it. This was probably my biggest failure, but I had the idea to glue two more risers onto the core - one on either side of the splice - and when I get the chance I'm going to cut a piece of sheet-brass to the exact shape of the area within those risers, and cover the splice with it. I'm also planning to make a matching brass band for just below the throat of the scabbard, to tie the whole design together. In the end, I think it's going to look awesome, so I'm trying to see it as a lemons-to-lemonade sort of situation, haha. Lastly, I had intended to make a triangular rain-flap a the top, like most scabbards of the early Medieval period, but as the wet leather began to form around the mouth of the scabbard core, I decided I liked the shape it was making, so I added another riser directly at the mouth, formed the leather around it, and trimmed it to fit. It's a bit of a later period look, but I really like the way it turned out.

The rest of the pics are below. Still a lot of work to to yet (I just got the straps to make the interlaced belt system today), but hopefully I'll have more to share soon!

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Last edited by Manveruon on Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:05 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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Manveruon
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

Okay, seems some of the pics are messed up and/or duplicates. Whoops. I'll have to fix that when I get home.
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Ursus
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Ursus »

Great work, especially for your first try! Hats off to Greg as well for the beautiful core.
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Manveruon
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

Thanks, Ursus! Despite the few major/minor issues I had with it, I think it's going to turn out really well in the end, and I'm excited! I was hoping to have it finished for my trek this weekend, but I think that's a little over-ambitious, so I'm just going to leave it home and do it next time. I don't want to rush it and come out with something I'm not happy with in the end.

Anyway, I fixed all the photos, and edited a tad of my rambly text, haha.
Last edited by Manveruon on Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Greg
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Greg »

It's beautiful, and the lessons,earned will definitely taste like lemonade when all is said and done. I did't get my stitching straight, either... ;)
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Mirimaran »

Well done to you both, Greg and Manveruon! I love these kinds of builds, and yes, we all learn from mistakes, but everything we do ourselves is ours, if you understand my meaning. I think it turned out great, love risers, and is more than worthy for the sword it houses, and the Ranger who carries it!

Ken
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Manveruon
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

Greg wrote:It's beautiful, and the lessons,earned will definitely taste like lemonade when all is said and done. I did't get my stitching straight, either... ;)

This makes me feel a tad better, haha, thanks. Incidentally, I'd love to see some more good shots of how your knife scabbard turned out!
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Kortoso
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Kortoso »

Very good work!

Here is the Shapeways site you referred to (searching for chapes):
http://www.shapeways.com/search?q=chape

And here's Christian Fletcher's "shop":
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/christianfletcher
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Eothain
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Eothain »

Wow! You did an excellent job! Thanks for sharing this!
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Rifter »

That's top notch work. Be proud. Excellent.
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Manveruon
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

Thanks guys! I can't wait to post the final product on here when it's done! I've got some very fun ideas, and I hope they turn out well.
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Laothain »

Wow that looks really good
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Manveruon
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

Thank you! I was hoping to have it finished by now, but life got in the way, and now it's on the backburner for a bit. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get the detailing and tooling done. I'll keep you guys informed!
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Alderic »

You know, the first time through I didn't even notice the seam in the leather. Even now I don't find it that bad. I'd personally rather have something I made with a minor fault than something bought online. This makes me wish I bought some leather when I had a chance a while back, the most I've done are the belt pouch kits you get in scouts. I could only hope to make something that nice on my first go.
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Re: Scabbard Build

Post by Manveruon »

Thanks man! The seam is definitely more noticeable now that the leather has dried, but I'm planning to cover it in any case, so I'm not too concerned. I agree that sometimes it's just nicer to say you made something with your own two hands.
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