Hi,
Were sword scabbards in the 16th and 17th century still (in general) made out of wood covered in leather, or were they made out of just leather, like most non-metal scabbards of the 18th and 19th centuries.
I was curious about my Munich Town Guard sword from A&A (which I hear is suitable from about 1540-1700, primarily though in 1550-1650) , should it have an all leather scabbard like A&A sells for about $100 or should it have a wood cored one covered in thin leather.
I'm really hoping I can go with an all leather one because they are much cheaper... and I know most Revolutionary war period scabbards are done this way.
Thanks,
Z
p.s. I am getting a custom hanger similar to the pic I post, but all leather, if that makes any dif.

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The one in the picture looks like wood, with a leather covering.

No one?

There is an early 17th century scabbard from Dresden that is velvet over leather over wood. I can't say if it was typical or not, as it's just one example.

I did some research on this because I have that sword too. I think leather-only is fine. Somewhere I have an image that suggests that this is appropriate for this one. A hanger is also correct for this type, and scabbard and hanger can even be used defensively in the offhand.

Hello,
I believe wood with a leather or fabric cover was probably still the most common in this period. That being said there are a few examples that would lead to all leather being plausible for this period.
Cheers,
Hadrian

I don't think that the assessment that they stopped making leather covered wood scabbards is quite correct...

You need to think about what kind of blade you are housing... if its sharp on the edge you will need a wood core otherwise the blade will cut right through the leather...

but for something like a rapier or small sword which mostly don't have a cutting edge you can get away without the wood core and just make it out of leather....

even some Napoleonic and later saber sheaths made of metal had wood inserts to protect the blade...

On some swords like hangers and Hirschfänger type blades you start to see leather only in the (17th?) 18th C

Otherwise it seems to me, from those originals I have close encounters with, that wood core and leather cover is the norm. It remains true also for small swords, as well as many C&T military swords well into the 18th C and beyond.

Leather only is not very common for swords.
I have seen one early 14th C scabbard that is leather only, but it is generally very rare.

Please see image below of two wood core rapier scabbards with thin leather/parchment cover. This would have been covered in turn by a nice fabric, such a velvet. In one case the parchment is from a medieval manuscript! (photo by Fabrice Cognot):

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a little earlier than the current topic but does anyone have picks of a surviving scabbard and suspension for a federswartz? i know that meyer (1570) used them as training weapons and i would love to create a historically accurate version for my cas trainer.