I was thinking that we need a thread on sword suspensions. I mean we have threads for practically everything else I have not seen one specifically on this.
I often find myself wondering at the suspensions and their related accouterments more than the actual weapons. So any care to post pics or your sword belts and suspensions. Any period, any place.

Use the search funtion. There are several posts per week on the subject.

Regards,

/Ville

Here is a 15th century scabbard/suspension I made recently:



[ Linked Image ]


[ Linked Image ]

My first scabbard/supension (only a few months old as of this writing) is typically Austrian, ca. 1480-1525. I have a similar project underway now. It's worth noting that suspensions and scabbards were subject to regional tastes. You could pair an historical scabbard with an historical suspension and still come up with something a-historical if you're not careful. That's one of the many reasons I look at artwork of the period for ideas and justification.

With so many people making scabbards these days I'm surprised so few folks are also making chappes (a.k.a., "rain guards,") which art-historical evidence suggests were an integral part of the scabbard/suspension system of many or most late-medieval swords (in Northern Europe, at least). I've said elsewhere here that the properly-fit tubular chappe helps retain the sword in the scabbard, just as the construction of the scabbard itself and suspension do.

Even if these devices were primarily defensive, as some have argued, artwork and surviving examples reveal that the tubular style shown here was carefully fit to the scabbard mouth, which is tricky to manage, let me tell you. :D For the chappe to fit properly, you have to make the scabbard first, complete with the horizontal riser where the chappe will end. That's more than an aesthetic decision, though, because that riser also serves to prevent the suspension knot from moving up when only a single knot is used. So, in theory, you need an assembled sword in the scabbard so you can fine-tune the balance by the placement of that riser. But you can't secure the hilt until you make the chappe, which in at least some cases sits under or around the base of the grip and is stitched in place. And you can't include a chappe in the rough assembly because until you have the sword in the scabbard you won't know exactly where the riser should be, and if you don't know where the riser should be you have no idea how long the chappe needs to be anyway! I haven't measured to see how much difference one half-inch might make in the placement of the riser (historic tubular chappe lengths appear to vary by approx. .75") , but it should have some effect on the angle of the sword when worn.

I'm making scabbards, but I don't consider myself a proper scabbard maker. I find the work to be much more challenging and exacting than the basic sword cutlery I'm doing. I think I had to take apart my current project three times to refine the fit. If you've ever wondered about the $1,000+ price of custom historical scabbards, all I can say is, "try it".
:lol:

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Here are some historical examples, mostly Austrian, late 15th, early 16th c.

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Here a few more. Notice the trend here--narrow belts and single knots, no matter the size of the sword. In other words, the complete suspension is nothing more than a long, narrow belt and simple buckle. The last two images below makes the point especially well. The executioners are wearing messers and the suspensions of the sword scabbards are also clearly visible. Though of very different weight, size and balance, the messers and swords have identical suspensions.

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One last example, of a fabric type (silk?) seen post-1500 and sometimes seen in use with the Katzbalger (notice the Katzbalger hilt directly behind the victim). Of special note is the phallic shape and position of the "buckle" knot, as well as the size of the sword this suspension carries. Hmmm...maybe I should try this with my new scabbard project. It would be a perfect match, chronologically and culturally, and I'd definitely be the only person on my block to have one. Also, I wouldn't have to make another buckle! Maybe I can find a long yellow or red scarf....:cool:

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Those are all great pics. I always find interesting how understated (and sublimly simple) many suspensions are in comparison with the average "complicated knight sword belt" ideas that many people have. Thanks for sharing those.
What I also find interesting is variety of ways that different cultures experimented with their own suspension ideas. I am thinking in particular the different variations of the celtic La Tene period, as well as a the various nordic ideas and the middle eastern ideas of how a sword should be carried, vertical as opposed to obliquely and how they accomplished the varying angles. There was an article I read (rather poorly, as it was in French and I am limited to Spanish and English for the moment) about the different phases of the celtic sword belt. Sorry if I am rather rambling. I will try to gather my thoughts and post somthing more coherent.

Sean, thank you for posting those pictures. Some of them are of immediate use to me :)

Something that would make them (and pictures posted here in general) a lot more useful would be if they were labelled with some information as to the artist and the timeframe so people like me looking for something in a fairly specific time can follow them up. I don't know if you have that information in your library of pictures though.

I do note that most, if not all, of the swords pictured with a single knot suspension are relatively short. I wonder how well that'd work with longswords where the blade is longer than the wearer's hip-foot measurement?

Hello,

I don't mean to get off-topic, but would any of you mind explaining how this type of knot is tied, and how it works? Also, I'd greatly appreciate a slight bit of general historical background on it, as in, what types of swords typically utilized this type of suspension.

Thank you very much,
Brogdon

Michael Edelson wrote:

Here is a 15th century scabbard/suspension I made recently: [ Linked Image ] [ Linked Image ]

Brogdon,

You'll find more information on the knot, including how to tie it here:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=6361

:)

To clarify: The single-knot suspension is not the ONLY type you'll see in artwork of this culture and period. Variations of the two-point suspension are common, too.

Here's a sampling of the more complex systems from the same culture and period:

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Thanks Sean, and thanks for the explanation of IMAREAL. I'll have more of a play with it soon.

With some luck in the next 6 months I'll be taking delivery of a longsword that I'll be building a grip covering, chappe, scabbard and suspension for. I'm planning on doing a two-point suspension after the Trinity Altarpiece and and one of the Portinari paintings by Hugo van der Goes.

The clearest place to see these is on Albion's regent and viceroy scabbards. I like them for the ability to just unhook the sword from the belt, but I can't for the life of me find anyone who manufactures the buckles and fittings to do this and having done ones for my knight scabbard I'm not real keen on doing more. That sort of metalwork isn't really my thing.

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Detail from Sts Margaret and Mary Magdalene with Maria Portinari
1476-79, Hugo van der Goes [ Download ]

I'm not sure exactly what that hardware would look like, but you should check Historic Enterprises and Darkwood Armory if you haven't already. Both used to sell hardware sets for 16th c. "hanger" type suspensions--4-6 buckles, the sliding buckle-and-eye for the back of the belt, strap terminal hooks, etc. The prices were very reasonable, and if you didn't need all the buckles I'm sure somebody like me would want at least one from your surplus. :D

Here's the Darkwood kit:
http://www.darkwoodarmory.com/index.php?main_...cts_id=129

Now I can get a better look at that painting--does that suspension include a gunslinger-style leg tie? That one's new to me, for sure. Very strange.

I don't see any hanger hardware sets at Historic Enterprises anymore, but they do have terrific 15th c. buckle and strap end sets for $25.

http://historicenterprises.biz/reenactment-go...2_184.html

Can anybody shed light on this type? It appears to be a "quick release" system that could serve your purposes, Al. I assume a buckled strap goes through the ring, but it would have to be a very narrow strap. Maybe the ring mates with a hook. It would be pretty easy to make this part--leather strap, brass ring (check Lowes,) a couple of strips of sheet brass and two rivets. I wish the artist had shown the belt. :confused:

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