[Greg Griggs]

Well, I finally finished the scabbard for the Gallowglass. I'm happy with the end result, but you folks can be the judge of whether it's worthy of such a fine sword. I tried to stay with the theme portrayed by this particular sword with the Irish/Celtic designs, and yet not going overboard on the fringe and odd bulky shapes portrayed by a few plates. The scabbard is finished in oxblood, with the suspension and baldric colored in oxblood mixed with a bit of black to match the grip. It hangs well for such a long sword, which surprised me. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

[Mike Arledge]

My word, that is a lovely, lovely sword.

Excellent work!

[Terry Crain]

Wow, that is a great looking scabbard! I love the way you rigged the belt/baldric suspension.

Any chance of a pic showing what is looks like worn? I am curious to see how it hangs and how the suspension is arranged.

A truly fantastic job. This is a skill I would love to learn.

How long have you been making these?

Terry

[M. Eversberg II]

Very nice. What guide did you use, if you've no former experience?


M.

[Patrick Kelly]

Great job buddy!

I like what you did with the chape. It maintains the regional look without being too ethnocentric. Those fittings work well on the baldric too. You're right about one thing: it is red!

Cool!

[Patrick Kelly]

[Kel Rekuta]

So many interesting choices!!!

Tunnelled lacing up the back seam, Incised not carved designs, cast copper findings.... really original.

Was this inspired by any particular image of a period scabbard? It is so very different than others I've seen. Great job!

Kel

[Terry Crain]

Thanks for the info and pictures Patrick. Now its even more impressive. Doesn't even look like a learning curve. All three of the scabbards look terrific.

I would love to attend a scabbard making class (unfortunately, I don't see the subject at the local community college). I am sure hands-on instruction would be a great time saver than self- aught trial and error. I especially get confused on how the intricate integral belt attachments are done. Having never seen one in person, I only can go by various pictures.

Now I will have to search for articles on scabbard making. I am sure someone must have covered this in some threads or articles on this site.

Greg, I think you did a great job and you obviously have a talent. BTW do I see Raymond's Quiet Press historic reproduction buckles and belt ends on the earlier scabbards? They look familar....

Terry

[Henrik Bjoern Boegh]

Greg, that's gorgeous!
Great details. I like the themed decoration. I'm a sucker to symbols etc, and Celtic crosses are one of my definitive favourites. And on this one it fits in perfectly.
The colour looks very nice. It has a richness to it which goes well with design of the sword.
Interesting suspension too. Do you have a picture of how the sword hangs on the body?

Great work!

Cheers,
Henrik

[Thomas McDonald]

Very impressive work, Greg ... excellent job all around !

You'll be moving to Wisconsin before you know it ;-) Mac

[Allen Andrews]

Looks positively fantastic. I really like the detail elements, especially the way you dyed the baldric to match the grip. I envy your skill

[Jean Thibodeau]

Greg;

Really beautiful work and beautiful results: I agree with Terry " What learning curve ? " or you shot up to the top real fast.

I guess improvement is always possible with anything but to do so it will have to be a question getting better from an already very high level of craftsmanship !

You could or should consider getting into this professionally ? ( Mentioned before on another related / previous Topic showing your first scabbard. )

Partime maybe and working only on projects you find interesting ? ( Avoiding the pitfalls of taking commissions and the problem of having to meet deadlines ! Always hard and sometimes just play annoying for a small business: One option would be to buy a sword, make the scabbard for it and then sell the complete package instead of accepting orders. Could work at your own pace, do exactly what you like and not have any client issues other than getting paid. )

Oh, the financial risk would be low if you only work on one project at a time, pick swords you wouldn't mind keeping anyway and not be in financial need to recoup the expense quickly. I personally think that you could sell your work much faster than you could make them ! ( One a month here on myArmoury alone on the Marketplace Forum. )

Anyway, just a suggestion.

[Shawn Henthorn]

Wow! those are awsome! The fittings you choose realy make them "pop"!

[Greg Griggs]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I appreciate them more than you know.
I used Quiet Press fittings for all three scabbards; partly because they look good (good clean castings and made of the red bronze), and because most pieces represent some historical find, plus you can't beat his prices. I wish I could say that I had found a historical reference to base this scabbard off of, but there are few plates available for the period and place of the Gallowglass, and they all show a basic blocky, straight form with no suspension and stepping-fringe on the ends. With this sword I wanted the Irish/Celtic theme, yet needed to follow the long flowing lines and form of this beautiful blade, as well as the fact that I wanted to carry it with me to ren faires, etc.....sooooo; I took elements of historically correct suspension from the continent and added it to the slim lines - with squared off copper chape - of the scabbard, threw in the proper decorations for that Celtic flair, and there you have it. Oh, the lines are incised in the leather because it is only 2.5 oz. and too thin to carve. It took a wee bit o' time to do that to be sure!

I'll see what I can do to get a picture of the sword & scabbard hanging on me. Had planned on that this weekend anyway.:}

I wish I could say that I have a lot of training in this, but how do you train for making sword scabbards??? One day I just decided to try my hand at it, and because I had a few skills that combined together to make a decent work (not to mention a lot of luck, HA!), it all came together sort of naturally. I'll have to admit that this is something I enjoy doing, and yes I am going to begin accepting a few commissions as a sideline for anyone who is interested. I've been in the gasket making business for myself for the past 20 years, and I grow tired of dealing with major corporations who quibble over a .50 cent o-ring, not to mention <shudder>employees,

And Mac..........I have but two words to say to you: BITE ME!!!! Wisconsin my behind! Thanks but no thanks, I'm a southern boy, born and bred. They couldn't afford me anyway, hehehe.

[Peter Johnsson]

Greg,

You know what I think about your work already, but I wanted to chime in and add to the cheers.
You did a fine job with this scabbard. It is great to see how you take the sword and build on its character, adding ideas of your own in a way that makes the sum more than the parts.
Good scabbards are rare. I am happy to see you do this kind of work.

It will be great to see what you put together next

When you do start accept orders, just remember to charge for the quality you deliver. Only a few do this kind of work.
I would be happy to see customers in general develop a greater appreciation of the work of the scabbard maker. For that to happen we need more quality makers that can show what a good scabbrd is all about.
Keep up your good work, Greg


Best
Peter

[Greyson Brown]

Very nice work, Gregg! I really like the incised decoration. I recently did a (non-historical) scabbard with a lot of incising, and I found curved lines to be a real pain. I'm glad yours turned out so well. Was it a pain to get the throat of the scabbard to match the shape of the guard? I've tried a couple like that, and it wasn't quite as easy as I would have liked.

Guess I better get back to the chape that is fighting with me. I can't have you showing me up too much.

-Grey

[M. Eversberg II]

Instead of doing commission, try showing off how good you are, then "Auctioning off" your time; a bit like contracting :-p

M.

[Terry Crain]

Perhaps a dumb question, Greg, excuse my ignorance, but do all three of your scabbards have a wood core? If I understand correctly, the leather is stitched over the wood core. If so, what type of wood is best?

I would like to give this a try and guess the wood core is the place to start. And that means finding a source for the right type of wood. Guessing home depo may not be the place.

Wondering if some woods are not suitable, too acidic not cured/dryed/aged enough, etc. ,any info would be appreciated.

Assuming you used wood, what tools did you use to shape it?

If wood is not involved, how in the world did you get the leather formed so perfectly on the scabbards? I know many production pieces (MRL comes to mind) come with a scabbard that is leather only (with metal throat and chape apparently glued on) without any wood core (one exception I know of, the Paul Chen "godfred viking sword has a wood core scabbard), but I assume they use some special machinary/sewing equipment to produce them that would not be easily duplicated by hand.

Sorry for all the questions, its just that your pictures sparked my imagination and fired my interest!

Best regards,

Terry

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Greg Griggs]

Peter - Thanks once again for your kind and helpful words, both in our private messages and on public forums. Those kinds of compliments from the designer of the sword are the most precious to me.

Jean & M. - I have a fair idea of my time available to do the work, and plan on taking a limited number of commissions, but that is the way I would like to work it. Thanks for the ideas, Jean - they have a great deal of merit. Oh, and I'm glad to hear you found someone for that other project.

Terry - The old adage of "there are no dumb questions" fits the bill here, and it sounds like you have a decent idea of how some of it works already. To answer a few: Yes they are all wood-cored. I use poplar for several reasons, and yes it is of the Home Depot variety. Aye, some woods are acidic and others are too soft, and well...lots of reasons to pick your wood carefully. I also use a number of different tools to first cut the blade form into the two halves, and then after gluing, cutting rough shape, sanding, and finishing of the wood. I then hand stitch the leather to the core and work it from there. Peter has a paper he made available at one time which gives direction for the leather-working part which was the greatest help. Hope that helps.

Grey - GET TO WORK, MAN!!!! hehe.


Later
-Greg