Steel Scabbard edge protection (the plastic way)

So, I did it, it does not look good, but it works.

I did it for my 1796 Light Cavalry saber, but I will do my straighter Confederate saber soon, should be a lot easier. Unfortunately on either there is only around 2-3mm of free space to work with, and I don't have the tooling to make an accurate enough wood insert.

Estimated time needed: A few hours, 5 max. including failure and 1-2 redos

Items needed:

-Ruler

-Utility knife (or any thin, very sharp but sturdy knife)

-Heat gun or hair dryer

-some rod that has the approximate dimensions of the scabbards rounded portion

-gloves

-clamps

-some sort of pliers (I used hemostats)

-Double-sided tape or glue of choice

-Plastic for liner (at least 0,75mm, for the 1796 2mm is too much, it will no longer go in or out willingly)

Plastic choice:
PVC is problematic when it gets hot, it outgasses chlorine, forming HCl with moisture, very bad for metal, but also makes molding it a bit unhealthy without PPE
PLA is an unknown, it could still have lactic acid or it could not, so a gamble to 3D print with it
Kydex would be good - low molding temp of 80°C and very soft on edges, but I can't get big enough sheets, or any sheety for that matter around my parts
ABS is more or less like Kydex, but needs a more temperatuer, at least 110°C, and isn't as oil resistant, it's also hard and brittle
Acrylic (PMMA) and Polycarconate are also an option, again high temps needed, over 150°C
Polystyrol isn't that oil resistant, so I wouldn't

PET/PETg work well, begin to be formable at relatively low temperature, they say 100°C but I could begin bending it at 60°C

PE should also work if you find the right shape (pipe or U-profile), but it's not as bendable, I feel it gets liquid more quickly than PET/g

You could, of course, print an insert if you had a 3d-printer big enough.

First disassemble the scabbard, it will take a few whacks to remove the throat after removing the screws, it is tightly fit in with a weld bead but not welded. Pull out the plastic liners (these are 0,5mm, the double sided tape is only there to produce pressure, to hold the blade, leave it alone and do not remove the protective layer, you will never, ever get it back in). You can clean the inside of the scabbard at this point, there is a lot of rust, even citric acid didn't remove everything after a few hours. I re-oiled it after the work was done so the glue holds better.

I used 1mm PETg plates, cut a 1,5cm/0,5" strip off, about 2cm/1" longer than the scabbard+tip - While you can use a saw, it leaves a dirty edge, a utility knife and ruler work best. You don't have to cut through full force, best is you drag it over the same line a few times, it will take 4-6 passes to cut through, but it's gonna leave a nice edge.

Next you heat the strip and mold it around the rod, use gloves! You should not heat the side that contacts the rod, it will try to fold the other way. After forming it takes up to 15seconds to reharden, depending how hot it got, so you might have to keep itin position for a while. You might want to use some clamps to fix the ends of the strip to the rod, else you will elongate the strip and thin it out in places.

After this (no pictures until now, sorry, I did not expect this to work!), you get a very ugly "U" shape. I had thought maybe you could press the U-shape into it but I didn't have anything big enough to do it, so I did it by hand. Best case scenario would be if you found pipes or U-shaped PETg that fit your scabbard. Be careful, most of the shaped lengths of plastic you find at the hardware store are PVC, it could work, but has potential for corrosion.

Next you will have to approximate the shape of the scabbard, it will fold and wobble, don't worry, adressed later. Just try to keep a straight center line.

After it is bent and bent...You know, what I mean (I hope), you will have to try to straighten the edges, heat them a bit and use the pliers to make a nicer troth.

Now, you might have to repeat shaping to the scabbard and uncurling the edges a few times until it is perfect-ish.You should end up with something like this:

It should drop in and follow the curve.

The top is straight, therefore you can just cut out a measured strip, mine was 15mm at throat, 12mm at the end, relatively straight taper. You will need to glue the top one, some double-sided tape is enoug. I put it in and pressed it on with the sword.

Then you put in the new bent piece at the bottom, this does not need glue. About 2cm from the end of the scabbard (a bit further than the troat will extend), put some small "V" nicks either side of the "U". Now take the original liners, put some grease on the tape of those, lay them into the "U" of the edge-protection and slide them in. They will keep the lower piece in place. You have to put them down about 1cm/0,3" from the end of the scabbard (half of the throats length), else the throat won't fit, you might need to brace them either side if they won't slib deep enough (I used 2 shoehorns either side and the hemostat).

Your newly made pieces should be cut to length, exactly flush with the scabbard.

(My notches weren't in far enough on the picture, so I had to make a second pair further down)

Here comes the hard part. Use pliers/hemostat to put the liners in the V cuts of the protector, so the go from inside the "U" to outside. Now use some tape to secure them there (does not really matter if they are held firmly, the tape only makes the throat slip over the liners). You have to lift the "U" piece and the straight spine piece into throat while the liners stay outside.

While you put the troat in, always try to force the liners straight, else they will bow and crumple. Push troat in a bit, force liners straight, repeat.

It took me 5 trys untill it finally worked without problems. Now screw it!

Lastly, because I am pedantic, I made a small face plate, that lifts the u-shaped and straight protectors off a bit and (mostly) covers the throat.I cut out 2 tabs, bent them inward and clipped it under the protectors, I will glue it in place (as soon as I rediscover my good double sided tape). No way to contact the throat or scabbard now!

The fit is extremely tight now and no more dulling. If the sword cuts through I hope it's gonna be some time to cut through the whole plastic liner.

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It isn't beautiful, but functional, unlike me, who is neither.