The Armour Archive

scabbard is kinda lame though. didnt have wood for a box now veggie tan, so i had to do with what i had... chrome tanned.

sword is a paul binns

Won't the chrome-tanned leather rust the blade?

Looks pretty good. Did you lace the belt through the scabbard on the back? If you do it helps keep everything in place.

Brian

Bascot wrote:Won't the chrome-tanned leather rust the blade?

Bascot:

I think veg-tanned leather might do the same thing to some degree, if the blade is left in the scabbard in damp weather of an event/display. I had the devil of a time polishing the pitting from my DelTin, after a week at Pennsic one year. The condensation rusted the blade, even though it was inside an eight-ounce veg-tanned scabbard.

Wolf:

Good for a temporary scabbard--I suggest you get ahold of some basswood slats as soon as you're able, plus a bit of fleece. That's how Bascot and I have our swords scabbarded currently. Mine's somewhat bulky, but Bascot's is a true work of art.

RE: Lacing

Don't be conservative with the amount of belt-leather you use. You'll always need more for the belt than you think.

When I'm doing the belt for scabbards, I use a four-foot length (for the mouth or "buckle-end" of the scabbard) and a six-foot length (for the "strap-end" of the scabbard). There are a number of ways to make your belt attachments work (to date, I've done four styles) for a 10th to early 14th century belt.

T-Bob has it right, I did a stitched veg-tan leather scabbard for my Norman sword, just a temporary stand-in until I can cut a wood one. After doing trainers and displays this summer, I've noticed very small amounts of rust on the sword, which I'm none too thrilled about. I'm thinking of spraying the sword down with gun oil & sheathing it a few times, to get the scabbard nicely oiled on the inside. Anyone have any idea if the gun oil would do icky things to the leather? I know this isn't a period solution, but the scabbard is a temporary fix- I'dd use the sheepskin lining in the future & count on the lanolin for protection of the blade.

Wolf- Very nice! Your kit at Hastings this year is going to look pretty sweet. Remember to post a pic when you're all dolled up. I sent you a PM a few days ago, dunno if you got it.

~Wil

Bascot wrote:Won't the chrome-tanned leather rust the blade?

Yes. The tannins that preserve the fibres are quite acidic. Without them the leather rots. You must line a veg tanned leather scabbard. Wood, shearling, parchment et cetera were period solutions. Also parchment (slightly processed rawhide) makes an excellent cover for scabbards and wooden boxes, too.

A good wipe with oil before you sheath a blade is a good idea. Absolutely necessary if anyone has touched the blade.

Wil wrote:T-Bob has it right, I did a stitched veg-tan leather scabbard for my Norman sword, just a temporary stand-in until I can cut a wood one. After doing trainers and displays this summer, I've noticed very small amounts of rust on the sword, which I'm none too thrilled about.

After perusing a couple of the German 12th century LH pages, I learned that a lot of their guys have two swords--one for combat and one for actual wear/display uses. Most of the "combat" weapons are simply sheathed in oak-tanned leather scabbards, as they won't get as much scrutiny from crowds at presentations as the weapons for open display.

Wil wrote:I'm thinking of spraying the sword down with gun oil & sheathing it a few times, to get the scabbard nicely oiled on the inside. Anyone have any idea if the gun oil would do icky things to the leather? I know this isn't a period solution, but the scabbard is a temporary fix- I'dd use the sheepskin lining in the future & count on the lanolin for protection of the blade.

As I mentioned before, I use a fleece liner for my display scabbard. I have a Paul Binns I'll be using for combat that I'll use an oak-tanned leather scabbard for, and will line in fleece as well.

In both cases, I use olive oil to keep the blade rust-free. I don't remember where I heard it from, but I understand that olive oil, or sheep's lanolin werr the period solutions to keeping arms and armour rust-free

Wil wrote:Wolf- Very nice! Your kit at Hastings this year is going to look pretty sweet. Remember to post a pic when you're all dolled up.

The rest of us would like to see it as well.