Hi, all! One of my tulwar swords, an early 19th century piece from northern India, has a scabbard that is in sorry shape. In fact, all there is of it is the wooden slats that make up the main body, and those are seperated from each other, albeit (thankfully) intact. It looks like, based on the pattern left on the wood, it was once covered with a pink or red fabric with white dots on it (it left the dye on the wood).

I want to rebuild the scabbard, both for safety reasons (the blade is SHARP!), and for aesthetics. I have considered covering it with velvet, as that seems to have been one material used at that time, but I really don't know where to begin. What materials should I use? What sort of glue should I use (hide, casein, or what)?

For that matter, are there any "professional" scabbard makers in the U.S. who could possibly do it for a reasonable price?

Not quite the same, but I found these two Indian scabards in the Wallace Collection which have descriptions:

http://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org:8080...detailView

http://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org:8080...detailView