Sword Sheath

[Jumbah]

Hey y'all.

I've recently purchased a sword and I hate the sheath (scabbard) that It came with and want to make a new one. But everything I've seen online shows that the majority of sword scabbards have insides made of wood and are only covered in leather for looks. Is that because the weight of the sword is too much for a leather sheath or is it a personal taste thing? Can I conceivably make a fully functioning sheath for a sword out of leather alone?

[Dwight]

Yes, . . . but it takes 5 layers, . . . and a lot of work (at least the one I did, . . . was a lot of work).

I did the front and back out of two layers, . . . cemented together, flesh to flesh, with weldwood contact cement.

That was the first 4 layers.

I then made a layer to go between the front and back, . . . so that the edges of the sword would not cut into the stitches.

I then cemented this all together, . . . sanded down the edges, . . . sewed the thing (wow what a job), . . . dyed and finished it, . . . and sent it back to my customer, . . . who was tickled pink.

I also used vegetable tanned leather, . . . soaked it in hot water, . . . and force dried it, . . . it became HARD, . . . HARD, type HARD, . . .

But it was not for a saber, . . . but one similar to a Roman short sword. I would not be afraid to use this same process on a broad sword, . . . one like old Lancelot's, . . . or even a Viking 2 handed sword.

May God bless,

Dwight

[TinkerTailor]

There is an old thread on here on this topic. It should help. It is really detailed.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=24228

Also:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=14005

[TinkerTailor]

In those threads, they talk about half tanned leather, which is basically still rawhide in the core being used for historical scabbards to make them stiff. This leather is not common any more. I just stumbled across it this morning: If the site loads in German, there is an English language button near the bottom next to the cart on the right menu.

You are looking for the harness shoulder category.

http://www.lederhaus.de/leather/harness-shoulder.php

At the bottom, they have orthopedic leather, which is half tanned. Do not know if this is available outside Germany yet...

[grmnsplx]

I made a scabbard for one of my swords (an Albion Steward). It was my first leather project (first anything project, really).
It has a wood core, but requires very minimal tools. I did it in my tiny apartment. So if it's a matter of tools/machinery that is putting you off making a wooden core for the scabbard, I suggest you consider this method. You just need to thin slats of wood and a utility knife.
I can provide links to tutorials if you're interested.

Here is a link to some pics of the scabbard I made back in 2014. sorry, no progress pics:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151988329077691.1073741828.502617690&type=1&l=6479c930bd