My First Scabbard
Oct 27, 2007 13:31:36 GMT
Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2007 13:31:36 GMT
To go along with the Sword I customized a couple of months ago, I decided to try my hand at making a scabbard. Here goes.
First I got two 3" X 3/4" X 36" poplar planks from the hardware store. I checked which way the grains ran so that they would face into each other in a V shape where they met, hopefully minimizing warpage. Then I layed the sword on each plank and traced the outline with a pencil, then went around that outline about 1.5 cm further out. Then i took a jigsaw and cut around the outside line, giving the rough shape. Next i hollowed out the inside.
One thing i'll do different on the next one is not hollow it out too deep. I ended up having to build up the felt at the throat in order to get a tight fit, and making the scabbard thicker overall than it needed to be.
For the next step I went to a craft store and got some 30% wool felt. They had 50% which I've heard recommended, but it was nappier and looked like a lot of snags waiting to happen. (Old army blankets are 100% wool and had a fine nap, but the army suplus here only had one left and wanted an arm and a leg for it.) I dyed the felt brown, fit it, glued it down and cut it, then made sure to rub a good coating of oil into it.
Hopefully between the felt and the oil, my sword will be safe from moisture -but this is Florida..
I added a couple of pieces to the throat, then glued the two pieces together with the felt folded over inside and let it sit over night clamped. Next I covered the mouth with a piece of masking tape to keep out sawdust and went to town on it with a rasp and some sandpaper. *note to self -buy a sationary belt sander
I had some leather left over from rewrapping the grip of the sword, and wanted to use it for the scabbard, but it wasn't a big enough piece and I wasn't able to find more of the same type, so I cut it into scraps and stitched them together, adding a section of this gray leather I had picked up for another project. I need to research leather dying in the 13th century, but i'm going to just go out on a limb and say this isn't historically accurate. That's okay with me though.
I used a nail punch and hammer to prepunch all the holes, highly recommended. You can get nice sharp leather piercing needles, but if your leather has any thickness it's going to be difficult, and so will be getting all the holes nice and even. If you use super thin leather this is a non issue, but all the leather i've seen that I like has been heavier stuff.
One more thing, I used a straight needle for the horizontal stitches, but for sewing up the back, make sure you have a curved needle.
And the mouth of the scabbard:
Almost finished.
The harness is threaded through a strap that's sewn on the front, but is itself easily removable. Probably in the future I'll upgrade that part. Also, I'm sitting here with a pair of tinsnips and sheet of tin.. I still need to make a chape and maybe a couple of bands. I have a patina experiment going on to see what i can do with the tin. I'll post more pics when i get the metalwork done.
First I got two 3" X 3/4" X 36" poplar planks from the hardware store. I checked which way the grains ran so that they would face into each other in a V shape where they met, hopefully minimizing warpage. Then I layed the sword on each plank and traced the outline with a pencil, then went around that outline about 1.5 cm further out. Then i took a jigsaw and cut around the outside line, giving the rough shape. Next i hollowed out the inside.
One thing i'll do different on the next one is not hollow it out too deep. I ended up having to build up the felt at the throat in order to get a tight fit, and making the scabbard thicker overall than it needed to be.
For the next step I went to a craft store and got some 30% wool felt. They had 50% which I've heard recommended, but it was nappier and looked like a lot of snags waiting to happen. (Old army blankets are 100% wool and had a fine nap, but the army suplus here only had one left and wanted an arm and a leg for it.) I dyed the felt brown, fit it, glued it down and cut it, then made sure to rub a good coating of oil into it.
Hopefully between the felt and the oil, my sword will be safe from moisture -but this is Florida..
I added a couple of pieces to the throat, then glued the two pieces together with the felt folded over inside and let it sit over night clamped. Next I covered the mouth with a piece of masking tape to keep out sawdust and went to town on it with a rasp and some sandpaper. *note to self -buy a sationary belt sander
I had some leather left over from rewrapping the grip of the sword, and wanted to use it for the scabbard, but it wasn't a big enough piece and I wasn't able to find more of the same type, so I cut it into scraps and stitched them together, adding a section of this gray leather I had picked up for another project. I need to research leather dying in the 13th century, but i'm going to just go out on a limb and say this isn't historically accurate. That's okay with me though.
I used a nail punch and hammer to prepunch all the holes, highly recommended. You can get nice sharp leather piercing needles, but if your leather has any thickness it's going to be difficult, and so will be getting all the holes nice and even. If you use super thin leather this is a non issue, but all the leather i've seen that I like has been heavier stuff.
One more thing, I used a straight needle for the horizontal stitches, but for sewing up the back, make sure you have a curved needle.
And the mouth of the scabbard:
Almost finished.
The harness is threaded through a strap that's sewn on the front, but is itself easily removable. Probably in the future I'll upgrade that part. Also, I'm sitting here with a pair of tinsnips and sheet of tin.. I still need to make a chape and maybe a couple of bands. I have a patina experiment going on to see what i can do with the tin. I'll post more pics when i get the metalwork done.