[G Ezell]

I've been researching broadsaxes and I've hit a snag, and I suspect the good folks of myArmoury might be just the people to ask. I'm looking for suspension methods, that is, how the sheath was attached to the belt.

Exhibit A:


This one has two rings, attached to wires, which presumably were attached to the sheath in some way, the 'bronze rings for scabbard suspension'. I'm not sure how these were actually attached to the sheath, judging by their placement they might have been attached to the edge reinforcement, but I'm not convinced (for one, the sheath would have hung at a very odd angle for a sax). I have found no other rings associated with any other broadsax scabbard, but my sources are few. Does anyone know of other examples?

Exhibit B:


This is a sax made by Hakun Risti, and one will see two metal bars on the backside of the scabbard, held in place with the large rivets (or buttons) that are used to attach a belt to. These are an elegant solution, however I have never seen originals of this sort with any of the artifacts I've looked at. Considering that the backside of the scabbard is almost never shown in photos it might not be too surprising that I've never seen them, however. Does anyone know of other examples?

I also suspect there my be other methods I'm not aware of. If anyone could enlighten me, it would be most appreciated.

[Mikko Kuusirati]

Such a coincidence - I'm just making a broadsax sheath, myself, for a reproduction based on the sax from Altheim grave 75.

I also happen to own another sax by Hakun Risti; see here for details and photos. Look at the way the suspension straps are attached - if this method was used historically it could explain the rarity of surviving rings.

[Matthew Bunker]

Here's mine, utilising the method seen on the Groningen seax sheath:-

[G Ezell]

Thanks guys. I think I will go with something very similar, as I'm still not sure how to work the rings.