[Aleksei Sosnovski]

I have made myself a blunt rondel dagger that I want to wear on reenactment events, mostly as a part of costume, but I also may use it in mass battles if I have an opportunity to do so safely (which is very unlikely, but anyway). I aim for an Italian man at arms kit around 1450, so anything between 1430 and 1460 should probably do. The main criteria for the suspension are (ordered by priority):
- durability, since it will be pulled, bashed and abused in all possible ways
- simplicity, since it will be destroyed rather sooner than later and I don't want to regret it too much
- I should be able to draw the dagger with one hand
- historical accuracy

I have read a spotlight article about rondel daggers on this site but it didn't give answers to all my questions. I have also looked at a lot of period images, but most of them either don't show daggers at all or show daggers without sheaths. And those few that show dagger sheaths don't show how exactly they are attached tho the wearer. In some cases daggers seem to be attached to a sword belt, while at least in one case dagger seem to be attached to the armor itself. So here are the questions:

1) How often were daggers worn in battles during my period? Judging from effigies they seem to be a norm, but there are a lot of paintings of armed men without daggers.
2) Is all-leather scabbard OK for my period? Can I add a metal tip and/or chape for the scabbard?
3) How should the scabbard be attached to me? Photos of good reproductions would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance for help.

[Michal Plezia]

You can find some info in this thread:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13897