[Ansteorra-rapier] Making Rapier Scabbards

[Chris Zakes]

At 06:46 PM 3/6/03 -0600, you wrote:
>Greetings!
>
>I'm sure this question has surfaced, before, but I am curious, and I shall
>ask:
>
>Does anyone have, or know where I can find instructions for making a rapier
>scabbard, and belt hanger? Any information you can offer is much
>appreciated.


This is how I make scabbards for my fighting blades:

1. Measure the circumference of the tip of the weapon you're working with.
Cut a strip of leather that's 1/2 to 1 inch wider than that circumference,
and a couple of inches longer than your blade. You'll want something fairly
stiff, at least 8 or 10 ounce leather.

2. Punch or drill holes along both long edges, spaced 1/4 inch apart.

2.5. If you want to dye the leather, do so at this point. You could
probably tool it too, if your fancy runs that way. If you prefer the
natural leather look, proceed to step 3.

3. (Once the dye is thoroughly dried) Soak the strip of leather in water so
it's soft and pliable. Start at one end and roll it into a tube so the long
edges meet.

4. Sew the edges together like this:
                      ____________________________________
                     |
                     |  __     __     __     __     __     __     __     __
    _
   edges--->    |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|--
                     |
                     | ________________________________________

The lengthwise stitches go on the inside of the scabbard, the crosswise
stitches go on the outside. This method prevents the stitches from being
cut by the blade as it goes in and out of the scabbard.

5. Once you get the scabbard sewn to the exact length of the blade, let it
dry thoroughly. (It's possible that it will shrink a bit and you'll need to
add a few more stitches at this point.) You'll note that once the leather
dries, it will maintain its new shape.

6. To finish off the end, squeeze the tube together and cut it off into a
curve or fairly blunt point. Punch a few more holes and sew the end
together "wrong side" to "wrong side".

                           |     !    |
                            \    !   /
                              \  ! /
                                |!|   <---sew




There are a couple of options for making the hanger. Historically,
scabbards were hung from some sort of hook off of a ring on the belt.
There's a pretty good picture here:
http://www.armor.com/2000/catalog/scabbards.html

1. The "quick and dirty" method is to cut an elongated "D" shape--at least
six inches by twelve. Wrap the end around the top of the scabbard and sew
it to itself. Mount some kind of hook at the apex of the curve.

2. A more elaborate and historically accurate method is to cut the end of
the "D" into a series of strips which wrap around the top of the scabbard
and are then buckled to the body of the "D".

Note that the strap shown in the picture (going from the scabbard toward
the front of the sword belt) was a common, but not universal addition to
the scabbard.


For real blades I use a different method.

Basically I make a sandwich of two pieces of leather that are slightly
longer and wider than the blade itself. I then add a spacer that's
basically a very long "V" shape. Punch or drill holes 1/4 inch apart and
sew everything together.

	-Tivar Moondragon