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How to make a Medieval English Scabbard
Using Period Techniques and Tools
Introduction
This is a step-b y-step instruction guide to making a leather scabbard, using the known tools and
techniques of the Medieval English leather worker. Basic leatherworking knowledge is assumed,
although some of the techniques may be new to the modern leather worker.
Materials and Tools Needed
Fleur-de-lis stamp
Knife (or wooden last)
O verstitch wheel - 5 stitches per inch
Plastic wrap
Iron oxide mixture - rust water
Masking tape
Sheepwool scrap
Pen or marker
Latex or Rubber Gloves
5/6 oz. Vegetable tanned cowhide
Wing dividers
Bowl of water
Wooden last
Straight edge
Linen thread (or substitute nylon thread)
Tracer
Beeswax
Half-moon knife - or a sharp, heav y duty knife
Stitching awl
Knife safe cutting board or mat
2 Harness needles or Boar's Bristles
Marble slab
Neatsfoot oil - obtained from pressing the
Wooden mallet
hooves (and possibly bones) of cattle.
Table of Abbreviations
Cowgill, Jane, Knives and Scabbards (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 1).
(Referred to as
K&S
)
Rosetti, Gioanventura, The Plictho. (
Plictho
)
Salaman, R. A., Dictionary of Leather-working Tools, c. 1700-1950, and the tools of the allied trades.
(
DLT
)
History and Extant Examples
- 1 -
How to Make a Medieval Scabbard
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Knives and scabbards (or sheaths) have been essential accessories for people throughout history.
Much like a pocketknife today, knives were versatile tools and used in many professions. They
were also a necessary eating utensil in Medieval England, at a time when diners were expected to
bring their own flatware to the table (K&S 55-56). Leather scabbards have been used since
prehistoric times to protect knifeblades. (Waterer 1956, Fig. 119)
The scabbard being created is based upon one
recovered from Swan Lane in London dated to the late
13th century, no later than CE1280 (K&S 1).
Figure
1. Close up of Scabbard 391. (K&S Pl. 8)
Figure 2. Line drawing of Scabbard 391. (K&S 122)
Medieval leather artifacts are usually found in two ty pes
of locations: intact items held in collections and remains of
items found at archeological sites. Many museums
display scabbards and shoes, and there are even Leather Museums in Europe, most notably the
Deutsche Ledermuseum (Germany) and the Northhampton Leather Museum (England). Remains of
leather items are most often found in waterlogged sites like the Thames revetments due to the
anaerobic conditions; bacteria and other elements normally destroy leather items buried in the
How to Make a Medieval Scabbard
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ground. The Museum of London has produced a book of knives and scabbards found in various
London excavations.
Leather Basics
Leather is the skin of an animal, processed so that it doesn't rot. Leather can be made from any
animal skin, including cattle/calf, ox, goat, deer, horse, and sheep, to name a few. It has been used
since pre-historic times for a variety of objects - clothing, tents, shields, etc. Stone scraped skins
have been dated to over 100,000 years old, and suggest that some form of preservation was done.
40,000 years ago, 'modern' man was preserving leather by rubbing them with fats (which is similar
to the 'brain tanning' used by Native Americans.) (DLT 294)
The processing of skins to make leather requires many steps. The skin is first soaked in lime and
water to loosen the hair, which is then scraped off. Then the skin is fleshed (to remove any meat left
on from the skinning process.) This is done with specialized tools. If the skin is then staked and
dried, 'rawhide' has been created. Rawhide has special properties that make it useful for many
items, however it is not truly 'leather' and can rot if exposed to excess water.
If the hide is to be made into leather, the next step is 'tanning'. Tanning impregnates the leather with
tannins to replace the natural elements that will deteriorate. This keeps the fibers of leather flexible,
and makes it into a stable material that won't immediately decay. Tannins are found in plants,
especially in the bark of trees. Oak trees also produce 'galls' - little nodes of concentrated tannins.
These are harvested for their tannin. The bark and galls are crushed and mixed with water to form a
'liquor' that the skins are soaked in to create the leather. This process can take up to 18 months to
complete, depending on the type and thickness of leather and the tanning solutions involved.
Vegetable tanned examples from Neolithic times (8,000 - 10,000 years ago) have been found. This
process was possibly discovered as a result of accidentally immersing skins in pools with a high
tannin content, or by trying to color the leather with vegetable matter. (DLT 294) This leather is the
type commonly used in scabbards, belts, saddles, and shoe soles.
How to Make a Medieval Scabbard
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Tawing is a period method of creating leather through soaking the skin in an alum/salt solution. This
method isn't as permanent as tanning, but it creates softer, more flexible leather. This method was
known in Egypt c. 4000 BCE (DLT 294) 'Cordovan' or 'cordwain' were a special type of alum tawed
leather that made Cordoba, Spain famous in the eighth century. This ty pe of leather was made from
goats, and was used in shoe uppers for centuries afterwards.
A third method is oil tanning, which combines tawing or tanning with special oils to create water-
resistant leather. Other ty pes of leather manufacture combines these methods to create a wide
variety of leather, often for very specific projects.
After the chemical process was complete, the leather was skived (thinned) to the required thickness.
This was done with large knives and skilled workers. Modern leather is skived b y machines. Leather
is measured in 'ounces'. One-ounce (1 oz.) leather is 1/64th of an inch thick. The skiving is not
completely uniform, however. Hides are usually referred to by 2 numbers - 5/6-oz. leather is leather
whose thickness varies from 5/64 - 3/32 inch thick.
After skiving, the leather is curried - smoothed, stretched, and conditioned. This process kept the
leather flexible and the fiber structure from breaking. Dubbing, a mixture of tallow and oil (neatsfoot,
cod-liver, or sperm whale oil, for example) was used as the final conditioning agent before sale.
Tanning and tawing can take a long time to complete, and requires specialized equipment and
chemicals. This process remained essentially unchanged between the classical Greco-Roman period
through the Industrial Revolution. It involved a variety of smelly and sometimes toxic chemicals. It
required a large volume of water, and wasn't allowed inside many cities. (DLT 294)
1. Create the Pattern
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Each knife is slightly different, so the pattern should be made to fit the knife for which it will be used.
Otherwise a wooden last (an approximation of a knife) can be used for a more generic shape.
Here is a modern way to create the pattern, based on the 'duct tape bodice' method:
•
Wind plastic wrap around the knife (or wooden last), and then cover the plastic with masking
tape.
•
Draw the seam line onto the tape (center back, in this case).
•
Cut off the tape and plastic along the seam line.
•
Transfer this pattern to cardstock to make a permanent pattern.
History
The handles of medieval knives were fairly standardized, so the main variation in scabbards
occurred in the blade section. (K&S 35) Experienced sheath makers would probably not
need a new pattern for every knife, but would have a variety of 'standard' patterns.
Scabbards were also reused, as evidenced by the cuts and re-stitching on recovered
examples. (K&S 39)
2. Choose Leather
Take the piece of 5/6-oz. vegetable tanned cowhide and carefully examine the piece for any cuts or
major marks on the grain side.
History
The scabbards found in London are described as being made of vegetable-tanned calf
leather, approximately 2 mm thick. (K&S 34, 122) In modern leather, this translates to 5 oz.
(5/64 in. thick) vegetable tanned cowhide.
.
3. Lightly We t Leather and Trace Pat tern
Use the tracer like a pencil to scribe the pattern onto the front (grain side)
of the damp leather. The grain is the smooth side. It is the 'outside' of the
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