Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Woohoo! I finally finished my newest scabbard this weekend.

The core is made of 3/16 inch thick poplar slats steamed and molded over my blade. Before I glued the slats together I lined the inside with sheep skin with the wool trimmed down to a knap. I also rubbed the wool with lanolin oil prior to gluing. Then with the slats hide glued together I wrapped the whole scabbard in a long strip of linen soaked in watered down glue. After that dried I gave the whole thing a light sanding to smooth out any rough spots and gave it several coats of polyurethane. Finally I wet molded the leather over top, let it dry then glued and stitched it in place. For color I first went with a brown and then green over top. I then buffed it with fine grain steel wool and a bit of alcohol to to fade the colors. All that remained was to add the suspension wraps and we have a completed, lightweight, nearly weather proof scabbard! The chape comes from Raymond's Quiet Press.

That turned out very nice. Quality work.

Greg wrote:That turned out very nice. Quality work.

Thanks. Originally the plan was to do some cord decor under the leather and some embossing embellishments but I decided against it since it's just going to get drug through the brush and the brambles. Such is the fate of all ranger gear.

That is handsome!

I'd been meaning to ask those of you using this type of carriage - you find much need for the buckles? That is, are you adjusting the sword or removing it while keeping the belt on? Or is it just one of those things that's done because it's a thing that's done?

Elleth wrote:That is handsome!

I'd been meaning to ask those of you using this type of carriage - you find much need for the buckles? That is, are you adjusting the sword or removing it while keeping the belt on? Or is it just one of those things that's done because it's a thing that's done?

I do because I remove it quite a bit when in camp but leave my belt on. Also I'm know for almost always having my blade to hand when outside, in kit or no. This means I carry it around scabbarded in my off hand quite a bit.

That is one heck of a scabbard, man. Very, very nice work. The sheep-wool interior is a brilliant touch, too! Love the weatherproofing, overall. Just stellar work.

As for Elleth's question - I also really like being able to unbuckle my sword at need without removing my entire belt. I find it exceedingly convenient in a number of situations, mainly because I rarely want to take my entire belt off, and having a belt flop around attached to a sword scabbard can be a bit of a pain - not to mention the fact that I generally have other things on the belt such as pouches, etc.