Hey all,
Just finished two commisions on scabbards for the Albion Senlac. I'll let Robin post his, if he wants, when he receives the sword and can show them together. This one is for Patrick K. and was a slight departure from what I've done in the past as far as the belting goes. Went out on a limb a wee bit and copied the styling from an actual scabbard that is shown in Oakshott's Records. It's from the Spanish sword used for the cover and dated a little past the Senlac era, but we thought with the embossing, it would have a great Saxon/Celtic flair. Although I did forge a steel chape for Robin's scabbard, on this one we used QuietPress fittings and I think they make a nice looking 11th C Saxon piece. Tell me what you folks think.:} Thanks for looking!

-Greg

Personally I like it a lot.

I hate to see such a nice scabbard cover pierced for integral weaving (even if it is historical to slit the cover and weave straps through it.)

I have debated using a very similar (appears to be the same) cast chape I have because of possible period conflict. But I think it works well enough if you argue Norman / Saxon heritage in a 10th through 12th century sword. I am curious what others think about the period feasibility of the chape, and possible use for the Reeve. I am sure Patrick will be pleased.

Hi Greg,

Your leatherwork and stiching is beautiful as always. As with all of your scabbards you seem to capture that "distressed," look- especially well in terms that the designs show the passage of time but at the same point show a great attention to detail and don't look washed out. I would like to see one in person. Perhaps I should get with you . .

I do find myself questioning the buckles- it is my impression that during the period 1000-1075 scabbards were still using the split end tied through the corresponding holes to bind the belt around the waist.

I imagine that making period appropriate scabbard fittings to equal the level of your scabbard work is very difficult.

Jeremy

By the way Greg, I love the look of your scabbards. One of these days you'll have to get a forge up and running so you can fabricate your own buckles and chapes. :)

Greg!

Beautiful work.
I am really happy to see what you did for this sword.
Nice feeling for the materials involved.


A really good scabbard: feeling and observation in a happy marriage.

I want to see more wrok from you.

Best
Peter

That looks really nice, Greg. I'm still not entirely certain how I feel about belts made in the fashion of this one. They seem to be slightly more common now than they were in period, but that can also be said of several other things.

I hope Robin will post his scabbard soon, as I particularly want to see how that one turned out (nothing agianst Patrick or his scabbard, but I'm biased in this case).

You did some really fast work on these, too. I figured at least another week before I would see anything.

-Grey

P.S. The stitching looks like an rather interesting hyrbrid of a couple styles. Do you care to share any information on how you went about that?

Very nice! I like it a lot. Is it leather covered wood? I'm sorry, Idon't know anything about scabbard making.

Very nice work Greg and you seem to have received the approval of Peter Johnsson and I think that says a lot. :D :cool:

Thanks for the kind comments everyone, it's greatly appreciated. A few notes about what we did on this particular scabbard:
The chape is not correct. Close, but not exact for the period. We tried, yet this was the best we could do at the time. Patrick had ordered a distinctly Norman one from Jelling Dragon, but after quite some time of waiting and them not knowing when/if it was ever going to be shipped, we did what everyone has done for the past 2000 years - made due with what we had. The one we used is at least within a few hundred years, has a pleasing shape, and is not totally out of line with what could have been used.

As for using a buckle and tip, there are several displays of buckles shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, so they were definately used, and as Chad pointed out, different regions would have used different methods. The buckle and tip set we got for this one was supposedly cast from an actual finding dated to the period, so I'm quite comfortable with it.

I've made two scabbards showing two differing styles from the same period. Rob's has the forged steel, plain chape, and the split & tie un-adorned integral belting; while Patrick's has all the bells and whistles that a Saxon Huscarl or Norman Noble could be happy to pass down to the next generation.
I hope this satisfies the questions on historical accuracy (or the acknowledged lack thereof ;) )

Grey - I tried something a little different on the stitching, but really don't know how to describe it, LOL. I had some pics of Robin's scabbard, but for some reason when I downloaded them, they were all fuzzy, grrrrr. :mad:

I'm still playing with dyes, belting styles, and forging of the chapes and buckles. I did forge the one for Robin's myself and it turned out better than I expected. Since I'll be moving next May/June and won't have a place to work with a forge for awhile, I'm not really sure what's going to happen.

Antal - yes it is a wood core covered in leather. That's how most scabbards from this era were historically done.

Peter - You are always too kind, and praise coming from an artisian such as yourself is my distinct pleasure.

Again, I'm happy that everyone likes the scabbard for what it is. Hoping Robin gets to show his soon. Later, all!

-Greg

I promise I'll post a pic of my scabbard once my Senlac arrives and I can get pics of them both together. For the time being, I can post the aforementioned fuzzy pics if you want, but ya'll are gonna have to wait for the sword to arrive to get some pretty pics ;). Forgive me Greg for posting the fuzzy pics...
My thoughts on Greg's workmanship. He needs to quit his day job, and set up shop. His work is great, and he is amazingly fast. Like, I didn't even think he had really started on it, and its already done fast. For those of you who don't know, Greg was making scabbards for both Patrick and I, and using Patrick's sword for the fitting purposes (hoping that's not gonna be a problem, but after discussing it with Mike Sigman, he assured me that given the tolerances in acceptable blade geometry, it shouldn't be a problem).
Jeremy - That's why I went with the split end :p It's classic 11th C, but I don't see why buckles wouldn't be used on scabbards of the period, since they were certainly being used elsewhere.

---

 Attachment: 108.73 KB

Robin, it looks really nice. I'm glad you were able to have Greg make it, since you actually have your scabbard ahead of your sword. Greg may have to be careful what precedents he sets, otherwise everyone is going to want their scabbard yesterday. :D

I really like seeing how these two scabbards for the same sword differ. It still amazes me how personal a piece can be without deviating from historical feasibility.

-Grey

Thanks for the information Greg,

Both of the scabbards look very nice- it heightens my awareness that I have NO scabbards of my own.

Jeremy :(

ROFL. Rob is exaggerating just a wee bit on the time. It was four weeks from the time I received Patrick's sword until he got his scabbard - so it wasn't THAT quick. ;) Thanks for going ahead and posting the one fuzzy pic, wish I had checked my camera before sending the scabbard out! Wish I could quit my day job, but that isn't happening for nine months yet, hehe.

Greyson - Isn't it cool how simple small changes can really affect looks on these things?! Even though I didn't have Patrick's belting finished before sending out Rob's scabbard, I laid them side by side and the difference in looks was amazing. You can easily see how differing areas of the belting or chape can make a huge impact.

All I can say is that both scabbards were fun, and I'm glad I had the chance to do each in a unique way.

-Greg

Well my Senlac is in, and man is she awesome! :lol: The scabbard worked out great. No rattles, no jostling, no moving in the scabbard when running or jumping up and down, and no slipping unless you flip it upside down rather quickly. Plus, the colors ended up looking good together.
Only problem is that my camera is pretty much dead, so you folks are gonna have to wait until I get access to one to get you some pics of the sword and scabbard together :(