Sheath Designs for critique

For discussion of Dunedain culture, what it might have looked like and how it worked.

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caedmon
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Sheath Designs for critique

Post by caedmon »

Ok, here are a few sheath designs I am considering for my Christmas Puukko from Farodel. They will be leather, wet-formed over a wooden blank as hypothesized by some of the sheaths in the Musuem of London's collection. Any thoughts on design or decoration?


From left to right:

*inspired by 12th c. London finds,
* Viking/Seax style Sheath, and
* Seax style sheath filtered through the movies.

All the decoration is based off Tolkien's Numenorean sketches.
sheaths.jpg
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-Jack Horner

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Elleth
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Elleth »

Oh those are nice!

What culture would this sheath be from? You say Numenorean derived patterns, so I assume Dunedain?

Aesthetically, I like the "elven quiver" shape on the right, though I confess I'm skeptical about the drawstring portion at the top.
The seax-style edging on the middle one reads more forodrim to me than dunedain, though it's a lovely adaptation.

I think in your shoes I'd do the lefthand pattern - nice, simple, and utilitarian to match the knife.
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Udwin »

I would also pass on the middle sheath, just feels too Nordic/Germanic for Dunedain. The leftmost is, as Elleth says, simplest and I think could fit the knife well. Decoration pulls it all together nicely. But the righthand sheath (while perhaps not best for Dunedain), Does feel Middle-earthy to me...reminding me of the almost-clunky Bronze Age wooden sword sheaths. Although I'm not sure I would hang it seax-style horizontally with rings. I tried that with my Beorning knife, and found it banged into things constantly.
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Mirimaran
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Mirimaran »

I'd say the first one, as I have been looking at a ton of those sheaths the past couple of months when I was working on a similar sheath, which hangs vertically. For fun, perhaps you might want to check this link out, it is in Russian but plenty of pics.

Ken

http://forum.zadi.ru/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=11841

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Kortoso
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Kortoso »

Yes, I would vote for the first. This is traditionally how puukko knives are sheathed. You found this design in the Museum of London as well? How big is the puukko in question?
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caedmon
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by caedmon »

Kortoso wrote:Yes, I would vote for the first. This is traditionally how puukko knives are sheathed. You found this design in the Museum of London as well? How big is the puukko in question?
Yes, this is pretty standard for 12-14th c. scabbards for whittle tang knife from the MOL's K&S. Here's an early 14th c example chosen almost at random...


knife.png
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-Jack Horner

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Kortoso
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Kortoso »

I have this one:
http://www.helle.no/products/knives/viking/
Looks like they are using a similar design.
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Mirimaran
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Mirimaran »

Love that knife, Kortoso!

Ken
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Will Whitfoot
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Re: Sheath Designs for critique

Post by Will Whitfoot »

Lovely sheath designs!

As a long-time professional knifemaker (retired) I often mused about the relationship of knives and sheaths. Many beginning (And quite a few experienced) knife and swordmakers would say that the sheath was 10% of a knife project. They'd make the knife... however it was done. Then make a sheath to fit. This always struck me as wrong. I consider the knife to be 60% of the project, and the sheath (or scabbard) to be 40%) A SWORD IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT A SCABBARD! They are two parts of one thing! A sword or knife is worn a great deal more than it is used. The wearing of it must be a prime consideration. If a blade is cumbersome to wear and carry, then it will sometimes be left at home. The conundrum is summarized in this haiku: THE ONLY KNIFE THAT MATTERS IS THE ONE YOU HAVE WITH YOU AT THE TIME. The scabbard must also ensure that the blade remains safe in storage and in carry... safe from damage but also prevention of injuries. To carry, easily and safely while allowing access to the blade, that is the problem of sheathware. And it is not an afterthought, but paramount!

Practicality will prevail over ornamentation. First it should be made practical, then it may be made pretty if time and budget permit. Paring design down to absolute practicality often results in elegant, efficient, and therefore beautiful design!

Knifemaker challenge: If there is a cubic millimeter of material anywhere on your knife that is not performing an actual function... take it off! You will be amazed!
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