I have not been able to add to the sword collection for quite a while now, but I have pulled a few things in by trade and did get a scabbard made. Just to make this interesting I'll post some photos and we can play guess the scabbard maker (sorry no prizes :( for this contest) and then I can post impressions and such.

So without more delay, please find in line photos of the new scabbard for my Albion Ringeck, the only sword I have in my collection as I type. :eek:

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An indoor view

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And now we're outside

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Still outside

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Maybe I'll just stay outside since its nice

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Last one

Wild guess...I think it looks like it came from Christian Fletcher?

Looks good. I know the maker already, so I won't guess. :)

Not Christian Fletcher.

Somebody a bit more off the usual path.

BTW I'm quite happy with the workmanship. Not sure it comes through in the photos but itsall very well executed. Bits here and there are not perfectly historical but for my purposes its more than good enough. IMO a very high value project when it comes to scabbards and suspensions. :cool:

Valiant Armoury custom shop maybe ? That would explain it having the Christian Fletcher look and it not being by Christian Fletcher.

That didn't take long at all. :D

VA Custom Shop it is!!

I'll work on getting some thoughts up over the next couple of days.

Some intial impressions.

Seams are very well executed and the color is even. At least to my eye. The scabbard looks nice. It is not bulky, as has been the case with some scabbards I've had over the years and there is nothing I've found that makes me think "what the hell were they doing there?". The scabbard is reasonably slim which I find really does matter when talking about appearance. Leather quality appears to be good and there are no loose bits that I can find. Fit of the scabbard to the sword is pretty good but not perfect. When I pull the sword it emerges with a light draw which is nice but the sword will slide out of the scabbard if I hold it upside down which can be a concern at times. Its worth noting that this is something that I could quickly change if I want to do so by adding a shim to the scabbard throat, so I'm not bothered by it. I also expect that if I asked for a tighter fit from the get go I would have gotten it without difficulty. However, I gave no special instructions other than "please do your best to match the colors".

Today VA buckle options are a bit limited. The stock buckles are good and they definitly do the job they are asked to do, its just that they are a bit modern. In conversations with Sonny after this project was done, he offered that he could easily build around alternate furniture if I could provide it. As it stands he is working on some options different buckles and such but has not found a solution yet (at least as of a few weeks ago).

Overall, I'm quite happy with this purchase. Its worth noting that I was very surprised to have the whole bit turned around in about a month and at a price that was ~40-50% less than any other scabbard project I've ever commissioned. Rarely in this hobby are expectations regarding cost and delivery time exceeded. Its worth calling out those rare instances, so this is my callout.

Right now it seems to me that VA Custom Shop scabbards might be the best option for actually getting a scabbard and suspension in a reasonable time period (everyone else seems to always have ~12+ month wait) at a bargain price unless you want to build one yourself.

Just to make sure this comes through loud and clear, based on what I received from Sonny I'm confortable saying Custom Shoppe scabbards are an impressive and currently under rated value. A value that I highly recommend.

The fact that Sonny and the VA Custom Sword Shoppe is a still a wee bit off the radar in the wider collecting community at the moment is something that I suspect that will change quickly. So in what is perhaps the greatest compliment one can pay a craftsman, I immediately got another sword that needs a scabbard and suspension shipped to Sonny before a line had any possible chance to develop in front of me. I suspect its someplace near his workbench now.