Post by blackjackjolly on Jan 24, 2024 23:46:28 GMT
Anybody else experiencing issues with the scabbard of their LK Chen Saxony Rapier? I have zero complaints about the blade and handling, and I'm ok with the dull finish on the hilt (although I hear that had changed in newer ones) but I have encountered two issues with the scabbard:
1) The leather on the extensions that cover the ricasso is only glued in place, and when you sheath it, the bars on the hilt rub against it in one spot, leading it to start peeling off. I've re-glued it a couple of times, but the fit is right enough that even if I'm careful, it comes loose again eventually.
2) After a couple of weeks, the fit of the scabbard became VERY tight (presumably due to humidity differences), to the point that the sword won't go all the way into the scabbard. Even leaving it an inch or so out of the scabbard, I had the core shrink (or swell--I'm a little vague on what to call it when a hole in wood to get smaller) to the point that I could barely get the sword out, after only a few days in a different part of the apartment.
Clearly whatever wood they used for this batch is way too sensitive to changes in climate. I tried filing down the inside of the core, but I fear that where it is catching is too deep for the files to reach. Maybe I'll stick some sandpaper on a yardstick or something. I am also considering just sawing off the ricasso extensions altogether and letting the scabbard just end where the hilt bars start, like on most rapier replicas.
1) The leather on the extensions that cover the ricasso is only glued in place, and when you sheath it, the bars on the hilt rub against it in one spot, leading it to start peeling off. I've re-glued it a couple of times, but the fit is right enough that even if I'm careful, it comes loose again eventually.
2) After a couple of weeks, the fit of the scabbard became VERY tight (presumably due to humidity differences), to the point that the sword won't go all the way into the scabbard. Even leaving it an inch or so out of the scabbard, I had the core shrink (or swell--I'm a little vague on what to call it when a hole in wood to get smaller) to the point that I could barely get the sword out, after only a few days in a different part of the apartment.
Clearly whatever wood they used for this batch is way too sensitive to changes in climate. I tried filing down the inside of the core, but I fear that where it is catching is too deep for the files to reach. Maybe I'll stick some sandpaper on a yardstick or something. I am also considering just sawing off the ricasso extensions altogether and letting the scabbard just end where the hilt bars start, like on most rapier replicas.
