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Scabbard Making - Step-by-step
Materials Used
StepsFirst I went to Home Depot and got a piece of lattice wood, the strips that are used to make lattices for decks and such. I went ahead and got an entire strip, which was about 15 feet. I also picked up some Elmer's wood glue, some nuts and bolts, a couple of brackets, and some rings from the upholstery dept. Then I went to Tractor Supply, which is a farm type supply store. Go to the horse tack department and they have scrap leather called "Farmer Bundles", and all sorts of doodads and thingabobs. The two straps that attach the scabbard to the belt are actually for a bridle and cost about 4 dollars apiece, though I have since made some from scratch. I also picked up some Chicago screws of various sizes there too. (Alternative, Tandy Leather for the buckles and screws from the hardware store.) Anyhoo, take all that and find an area to work in where you can have things strewn about. Lucky for me, our whole house is a strewn area :) You want to measure the blade of the sword and you want to leave about 2-3 inches from the bottom of the scabbard so that 1) the sword tip isn't slamming into the bottom of the scabbard, and 2) you can reuse the scabbard for a slightly longer blade. The width of the blade is probably slightly wider than your wood, so to be safe do this: Once you have the length, cut your lattice wood. I used a Dremel cordless to do mine, it makes a nice cut. Cut two pieces of equal length. This will make up one side of the scabbard. Put them together side by side. The seam of the two wood pieces should fit pretty much together. Then cut two small pieces of the lattice wood and glue one about 3 inches from the throat of the scabbard and 5 inches from the tip. Use clothes pins to hold them fast. The wood glue works very fast, but it is best to let it sit awhile. You should have two long pieces glued by two small pieces. Repeat for the other side. You can choose to sand the wood some to fit the curve of the blade. Once you do this take your felt and cut two pieces to fit your scabbard walls. This will help protect your blade. Glue them into place. So now you have two identical scabbard walls with felt covering the insides. Now, this is what I did next, you may want to try something different. Cut four small pieces of lattice wood. Where the small joining pieces of wood that hold your scabbard walls together, glue 1 each to the sides of these pieces until the scabbard is now together, but open on the sides. You should have a small gap now, where your sword will slide firmly but not sticking. Again, you can experiment before using the glue. Take the molding and cut pieces to fit the sides. Glue them to the sides. If you have any gaps, use the wood putty. Now, get the sand paper and sand the scabbard until it is all one smooth body. It should look like a scabbard with two rectangles around it. Take a drill (I used the one for my Dremel tool) and on the top part of each rectangle, the small part, drill two holes. You should have four when you are done. Cut two pieces of wood that will fit over the small part and put two bolts into it. Fit the top of the bolts into the holes and glue the whole thing together. You should have two bolts now sticking out of the side of the scabbard side by side. Repeat. Wood putty and sand again. I had leather from a neighbor that upholsters furniture, but you can get it most anywhere. Again, experiment. I took my thin leather, fitted it around the scabbard, and sewed it tight. I did this for each section so that is three pieces. Then all I did was cut the leather strips I got from Tractor Supply and drilled holes in them and made bands around the scabbard and used Chicago Screws to hold them tight. I also attached a knife to the scabbard doing this. I added some small dog collars and used upholstery tacks on the sides. Now that the scabbard is covered, put four nuts on the bolts and then take the two brackets, put your rings in them, and fit them over the bolts. Then put two more bolts on for each one and top with bolt acorns. Now you can hang the scabbard from your belt with dog collars, bridle straps, or whatever you choose. I painted the inside throat of my scabbard black and then covered the throat with a piece of broad leather. Whew! and there you have it, a scabbard you can beat a man to death Also see the white knifes' scabbard tutorial
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