[Brian K.]

I'd like to share my latest commission with the myArmoury community. The customer requested some very artistic leatherwork, with no suspension as he planned on making his own baldric.

Comments, thoughts and other input is welcome. Thanks for looking.

[Tim Lison]

STUNNING! Your work seems to get better and better....this is truly a masterpiece. Hmm, maybe I do need a scabbard or two...

[Jean Thibodeau]

Impressive and it even makes a very nice sword look even better when in the scabbard and when in a pic next to the scabbard: True artistry way beyond good craftsmanship.

[Kenton Spaulding]

That is beautiful, Brian. That must be one proud owner. The scabbard alone could be the center piece of many a collection.

[Sam Haverkamp]

Brian,
Your a sick puppy my friend!
S

[Julien M]

Hi Brian,

Very clean and impressive craftsmanship...great choice of color too...the all thing is visually very striking.
I am more fond of the lower part of the scabbard though, since the repetition of the pattern on the upper part of the scabbard reminds me a little bit of the scales of a reptilian skin which in that context (irish) feels weird to me. Just a matter of taste since the execution is, as always, impeccable!

Cheers,

Julien

[Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz]

Hi Brian, and my fellow forumites ...

I've been watching your posts and viewing your work, and visitting your website as --
I'm sure like the rest -- I too have swords that beg for scabbardwork. I want to go in a
more local direction, though, but having options is always nice ...

Like the others, Brian, your talent looks " right there, " if you follow me. And if the overall
decorative design of this scabbard is something the sword's owner desired, then it's
truly NOT an issue. But, to me, there's WAY too much going on in the leatherwork, so
much so that the Gallowglass kinda' disappears.

You did another scabbard, I believe for an Albion Gotland, that I thought about in the
same way. Beautifully executed ? Certainly. But in comparison to the relatively " nuts
and bolts " personality of the sword ? TOO lively and TOO artistic ...

Of course, good sir, that's just my thoughts on two particular scabbards. Other work of
yours that I've looked at is very very nice. B-)

[Brian K.]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. Interesting input as well.

I have done quite a diversity of scabbards thus far, from the very simple, to the very embellished as the above example shows. It is all based on taste, and each time I am asked to do something embellished I always worry about the end result because there is so much time invested. Everyone has different tastes, and my goal is to display to everyone that what you request from me is usual what you get. In this case, I was requested to spend a lot of time on the leatherwork.

I am intrigued though as to what was more common in history for leatherwork. Highly embellished or simple & plain? We have to remember our tastes today differ from those of our ancestors. In the "knives & scabbards" book that I have there are quite a few embellished examples of highly decorative work in the leather. We don't really know how they were colored, because most are black & white pictures. But the coloring would be faded at this point anyway.

I guess I have a couple of questions for everyone. Is the general taste in leatherwork based on, or perhaps misconstrued with modern art with what historically would be more plausible?

My second question, or request, would be knowing what everyone's opinion is on what scabbards were like then as far as decoration goes?

[Mike Capanelli]

Stop Taunting me!

[Allen Foster]

Brian,

I just ordered a Galloglass with a green handle and I really like the two toned effect you did with the leather. Question:
What are the color possibilities for a two toned scabbard for my ordered green handled gallowglass? Anyway to show a visual?

Thanks in advance,

Allen

[Jared Smith]

First, that's impressively tasteful, creative, and sensibly functional work regardless of historical considerations. (I have a feeling you could become a historical artisan subject someday.....)

Antique book covers might be a good place to look for historical techniques and design elements in medieval leather working. As archive items, book survival rate was probably better than scabbards. Embossing, incising, stamping, and carving are all known to have been done on some medieval era book satchels and book covers. You also see geometric patterns in some surviving specimens of wood furniture that was chip carved. (I have several texts and have given it an experimental go for fun on a couple of items. A lot of the technique and geometric effect is viable with leather and leather working tools.)

I don't know about the use of risers, but, from a historical perspective most of our forum's admired scabbard makers' techniques (carving, incising, stamping, etc.) can be identified on a historical medieval manuscript artifact made of leather. Design and geometry elements is one of those huge subjects. Given very rough association with Scandinavian/Viking ties, your Gallowglass scabbard design elements seem "refined" , but remind me of some elements of stitching on belts, and the intricate geometric patterns within the heritage of their art. I love it even if it is a speculative interpretation. I'm pretty sure that they would have loved it to!

Congrats,
Sincerely, Jared

[Brian K.]

[Chad Arnow]

[Scott Kowalski]

Another stunning piece Brian! It mus have taken you forever to do the tooling to the leather. As I have said before, keep the awesome work coming. Of course now you have me looking at swords just so I can have you make a scabbard for it. Of course if the wife hears that I might not be around to buy either.

Scott

[Mick Sullivan]

WOW! That is some truly stunning work!
The Irish ring-hilt is a particular preoccupation of mine, and I've spent many hours in the National Museum in Dublin gazing at their examples, and wondering what they looked like new and what kind of furniture they sported. While I appreciate previous poster's concerns as to the historical accuracy of the decoration, the Durer sketches and various woodcuts from the period lead me to believe that there was considerable personal ornamentation to be found, even in such a poor country of that period.
If a Brink's truck breaks down in front of my house in the near future, I just may have to send you a project or two!
Thanks for sharing it with us

Mick

[Brian K.]

[Thom R.]

Just want to say this is exactly what I was looking for (most of my scabbards are actually just plain leather sheaths but I felt this particular 16th c sword needed something more), and that Brian is an excellent guy to work with. I am best at email rather than the phone simply because of my job, and communication with Brian was always clear, short, and to the point without having to go back and forth and clear up things. As soon as I get the funds together, I am going to have him do another scabbard for me. tr

[Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz]

[Brian K.]

Some more images

[Nathan Gilleland]

Absolutely stunning!
Once I get my sword, I'll have to convince the powers that be within my house that the investment to acquire a quality scabbard for my sword is worth it.