Peter Darby

Google Bazubands and you will see some excellent leather examples. Stefan's Florigilium has several methods of hardening armor.and you can take your pick. Over time you will find that strapping is the weak spot. Rather than sew or rivet straps on I would use a slot in the bazuband that a strap can slip through with a stop at one end. When the strap breaks or wears out it is a simple matter to pull it out and insert a new one.

Daggrim, Here is a picture. Not the best, but I think you can see how I twisted the stitching up the back. The meandering edges and the thread holes on the original sheaths are what clued me in on how it seems to have been done..

Here are a couple of sheaths based on finds in the York area of England. The construction techniques are as close to original as I could make them and the design, while my own creation, is similiar to the original motiff with a differentiated handle and blade decoration. Whether or not they are viking or angelo saxon sheaths you can take your pick and probably be right. The interesting thing from a leatherworking standpoint is how they did the backstitching. They cut out the pattern and put the design on nearer the middle of the flat piece of leather. they then folded the leather in half and stitched the edges together using a loose whip stitch. Then they began to work the sewed edge toward the back so it can't be seen from the front. Once you get the design centered on the knife you tighten up the stitching, put the knife in and do a little forming and let dry. You end up with a totally backed stitched knife sheath in about an hour. The dark knife sheath is mine and the lighter colored one is my wifes.

Thought I would post a couple of my latest projects. The childes quiver is a gift for a friend's little girl. She loves princesses and fairies so I hope she likes this one. You cant see it from the picture but it is banded at the top and bottom with blue. The crossbow bolt quiver is for me. I used watercolors to get a washed out effect. The center celtic design shows beautiful bronze in the sunshine.

I like them all. The carving is really good.

the lack of stitching and the beautiful gloss blend well for a very good looking sheath.

Nicely done. They remind me of back when I used to hunt in the swamps of North Georgia I used to wear a pair of center seam mocasisn to use for a season. I made center seam because the style I was using could put together in an hour or so even without a pattern. Fit like a glove and just no noise at all in the woods.

Beautiful work. I would enjoy reading your documentation also. Are you coming to Pennsic and if so will you be exhibiting in the A&S display A case like that is on my to-do list. Unfortunately either the muse must grab me by the throat or my archery related projects tend to jump to the head of the line. If you don't have it and are interested there is a book called "Purses and Pieces" that is an excellent reference to medieval leatherwork. It contains much more than just pouches and purses.

The carving pattern is my own, not from the actual find. It is done in the style. In the past I have done an exact copy of the Type B2 "15625 down to the same decoration, but that wasn't my intent here. I merely was using the same sheath style and construction techniques. As for the decoration you will find in the book: Whereas earlier traces of Anglo-Saxon decorated leatherwork are characterized by precision, the decoration of Type B1 and B2 sheaths falls a long way short of that and appears to have been executed freehand and at some speed.." Because it is my sheath for my knife I decided to do a very quick job using single lines rather than the original cross-hatching and little seeder stamps rather than the dots of the original. As a leatherworker it is really the construction technique I found interesting. Who would have thought the whip-stitch would not only be effective but actually make the style of sheath possible. The viking age is usually regarded as being from the eighth to the eleventh century. And while the knife I chose to model mine from didn't come with a date stamp I used the following to place it. I am not sure that any amount of discussion could determine whether it belonged to a Viking or a Saxon. It is a working knife sheath and was probably used by both groups. The book says; "The type Bs, possibly of Viking origin, are of a different design. It is not clear from the evidence at York when the new type B sheaths, with seams at the back were first introduced. Sheaths form the Viking town of Hedeby are not from well-stratified contexts. Although one or two pieces are equivalent to undecorated type B sheaths at York, stylistically most appear to be of 11th-to 12th century date." Of Type B1 which are very close to B2, the book says; "Other examples of B1 types have been found in waterfront deposits of 10th-/11th-century data at Bull Wharf Lane, London, and from a 9th-12th century context at Milk Street, London."

Hopefully there is a picture of a viking sheath I made. I couldn't figure out how get a nice decrative pattern then get the stitching up the back. By looking at the original sheaths you can see that they used a whip stitch. So what I did was do the carving on the front off center. Then fold the cased sheath over and whip stitch it together somewhat loosely. You can then work the whip stitching around to the back and center the design in the front. Then when the sheath looks right you tighten the stitches and tie them off. Put the knife in and mold the sheath a bit and you are done. Fast and easy.

I like your work. I also am a longbow archer. And like yourself I make quite a bit of archery equipment. Some is modern and some is medieval based. I just finished a 14th century bolt quiver to match my medieval crossbow. Next is to replace my old Hastings quiver with a new one. It never ends does it?

I made a new bolt quiver for my medieval crossbow and thought I would share it with you. Next on the agenda probably is my new quiver since the old one is getting rather ratty after ten years or so of almost daily shooting.

My brother in law wanted a sheath for his buck so I told him I could make him one. You can see it is a basic sheath with a 10-15 angle on the belt loop so it will not stick on a seat so easily. I put his initials on it and used a new backgrounder I just got. Very relaxing day- doing leatherwork, shooting my longbow, watching movies, tending the fire and chopping wood. When you throw in a couple of porters and a good pipe you end up with a very good day. I haven't been doing much lately but have started to get back into leatherwork. My recent projects have included several leather covered bottles and a canteen, book cover, cross draw holster and fast draw holster for a SAA revolver and survival pouch for camping. Next on the agenda are two new quivers (one for longbow and one for medieval crossbow). After that I suspect something else will come along

Functional, beautiful and well made. That about says it. Great job.

Very nice work. I would have put the safety strap on the other side. While it may hold for now, it may not hold well after a few thousand hours of wear. It also looks like you may have cut slit belt loops without punching a small hole as a stop to the leather tearing, but it could just be the picture doesn't show it. I like the way you flowed the sheath into the belt loops. It really brings out the shape of the knife.

Interesting solution to a problem that the shape of that knife would be hard to solve otherwise. I have used Cuir Bouilli in a couple of projects. I once decided to harden a leather drinking jack but dropped it into boiling water by mistake by the time I got it out I had a rock hard teacup. I am not even sure that I could use a drill to put stitching holes in.

I got into leather work because you can get a lot of good knives. (That marble knife is one of them( but sheaths are usually not very good. TJ is right put the keeper down on the guard. It keeps the knife from riding up and slipping back down through the sheath. It is also easier to undo when you reach for the knife. A couple of times I have needed a knife to hand in an emergency and being able to get it out fast was a benefit. (No I wasn't in a fast draw knife fight or any fight for that matter). If you don't have a welt, you should. It not only keeps the knife from cutting the stitches but the rivets can dull the blade if they come in contact with the edge. You can also build up the welt in the top of the sheath to come close to matching the width of the guard which makes it look nicer and gives you a bigger opening to stick the knife back in. Having said all the critical stuff. It is a good first effort. You should have seen my first knife sheath. I used knife handle rivets only on about 16 ounce leather. Yours is miles above my first one.

Beautiful work. I think your right, the customer will never know.

I like the way you have combined funcionality (wet formed the holster with artistic licences (sewn on carving.) I have one question. Are there a couple of hidden belt loops behind the gun? It looks like the belt slotswould cause your belt to bend behind the holster if the belt was near the size of the slots.

Here is the ring I made. It has a snap for attaching to the bow when stored. And since I made it in about two minutes I didn't do any burnishing or finishing. It is very thick to give it stability. I also noticed the bow is a bit torqued in my hand since I am not really shooting it. When held right the sipur section of the ring lines up with the arrow.

For shooting my ELBs I made a leather forefinger ring which projects out to the hand side and curves aroung the tip of my hand. Sort of an l shape. If I remember when home I can try to post a picture. I have one of those three rivers gloves and find that when gripping the bow it doesn't lay flat which makes for an inconsistent shot. My little 3/9 ounce veg tan ring always is in the same spot. Besides it takes about ten minutes and a scrap piece to make.

I like it. is the belt loop sewn on or integral to the holster pattern?

Welcome to the site. I live in Manassas, I made my own leather armor (Functional rather than pretty) , play in the SCA and have been doing leatherwork for the past twenty or so years as a hobby. I can probably help you get started on about anything you would like to do. My latest projects were a cross draw holster for a SA Colt (Cowboy gun) and a fast draw holster as well as a medieval style leather covered glass bottle. (As an aside I have a special tool that allows me to attach rivets to armor (leather or steel) tightly while leaving enough play to allow the piece to move and flex with the body part underneath it.

Awsome says it all

Neat shoes they beat out Otzi's 5,300 year old shoes by a bit. But aren't as old as the 10,000 year old shoes found in Oregon although perhaps slippers don't count at shoes. But they are a handy easy to do shoe. I used to keep a pair of deerhide ones in my pack for sneaking around the swamps of Georgia or wearing in camp at night.