I decided it would be better to make the chape before wrapping the core with the leather.

From a square bar 25 x 25 mm I cut and shaped a form repeating the dimensions and shape of the tip of the wooden core

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After that the process was similar to the turban helmet from the "Yushman Project" thread. But this time I let the excessive metal to go away. :lol:; and the whole 8 cm seam was welded not at once, but in three times - bit by bit with hammering between welding.
I have no images of the steps - it was getting dark and I was rushed to finish the work as soon as possible. The images from the result are not good also.

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And the core with the chape mounted

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Now I must refine the shape (there are a couple of flaws for re-working), cut some decorative motive, sand and polish it.

I don't think it's necessary for the leather to go all the way to the tip under the chape, actually. If it doesn't fit, you can just as easily end the leather at the edge of the chape (with a little bit of overlap to keep it looking neat).

yep i gotta say, that's some impressive metal moving. i tried to make a cape once and it just turned into a nightmare. the hardest part for me was the tip, it never shaped for me correctly.

Well, I considered the thickness of the leather when making the form, but at the end my consideration was not exactly what I needed. That's why the chape is not at the place where it should be - and this was one of the flaws I worked on today.

But as it often happens - over-effort f#*ks up the results from the effort.
Today, in (over-)effort to refine the shape, I've got torn in a couple of places welding seam, flattened tip and stuff like this. And all these - to gain 5 mm or so more while inserting the chape.
In any case - nothing serious, but will take me some time to re-work it.

That is excellent work, Boris!! I would have taken the scabbard core down some more but as long as the scabbard isn't thicker than the guard is high, it's fine.
Regarding the shape: if the fit is too tight, you can just trim the leather to fit around. Not ideal but it looks a lot better than it sounds. That's what I did on this scabbard:

Well, this chape is not a trash so far, I think I would be able to put it back into the line.
Maybe I'll file (or sand) the core just a little bit under the chape - not much, just about 0,5 mm at each side and that would be enough.
Although the idea to trim the leather to fit around the chape is not bad at all, I consider to make something similar to what Mikko suggested and I'll finish it just a bit after the chape's end.

And BTW, I encountered a problem - the bar I made the form from, is some sort of mild steel - maybe St20 or St25 (0.20 or 0.25% Carbon content). Thus, it's quite soft and already bears some dents from the hammering.
When I have time, I plan to re-work this form - I'll cover the whole surface with steel with the MIG welder (it's harder) and will re-sand the form. Thus, I'll get harder surface and just a bit bigger (but exactly what I need) form.

The chape re-worked - restored welding seam at the back and with a V-shaped cut

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And on the scabbard - as you might see, I gained almost nothing, compared with the previous such image.

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Now it's time to do the wrapping.
The leather I use was bought several years ago, and was dedicated especially for wrapping. As so many years have passed already, I don't remember its type neither tanning. But as the size of the sheet is approx. half a pig, this leads me to think the leather is pigskin.
Anyway, the leather is about 1.0-1.1 mm thick, has a good softness and very fine grain.

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And the wrapping began....
As this leather cannot be pre-mold (although I've tried), I use the method, described in already mentioned Dean F. Marino's tutorial http://findlithui.deanandsandy.dyndns.org:808...ore1.1.pdf - I glue the leather in relatively small passes directly over the core, while molding it in the process.
And the result after first two passes - gluing and learning how-to-do simultaneously.

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Some progress with the scabbard

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So far, I'm quite pleased with the results - everything with the wrap goes OK now.

LOOK at that riser definition :). Top notch job... :). Would love to know what glue you are using... likely not the US material I use :).

The glue is Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and is named "Moment".
The manufacturer is "Henkel AG" - German company from Dusseldorf.

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There are several different "Moments" (at least at the market here) - Wood, Express, D1, D2, Fix and so + combinations, each tasked for a specific work.
Absolutely by chance, I ran across Wood D2 and I found it most suitable for me. It has relatively quick, but not fast drying time of 5-12 minutes, which gives me enough open time to correct any mistakes, if they occur.

Recently, the whole front side of the scabbard was glued

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followed by gluing of both corners.
When this was done, I also glued a narrow strip of leather at the middle of the back - there, where the seam will be. This strip is wider at the mouth and narrower near the chape area. And as I wanted to have my center-line again, the strip was cut into several pieces, glued independently. After each piece was glued, I marked new center-line.

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Using a fork (which got to the most useful tool while gluing), I molded/glued the leather just at the contours of this strap.

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On the last two images the adhesive tape serves just for clearance - to give better view of the processes described.
And finally - I trimmed the excessive leather. As I wanted to be as precise as possible, this task turned to be somewhat pain in the a##, but I think I've done it well.

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BTW, I want to ask the more knowledgeable forum-mates, is such seam historically accurate

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Before start sewing I wanted to figure out the best way to do it - distances, spacings, sewing patterns and so. One of the things I came across was this one (let me call it "herring-bone") instead of the classic "X pattern".
And as I like it much, I want to know if it was used in the past.

Thanks in advance!

The wrapping of the scabbard is completed

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and the back - at the end I chose my "herring-bone" pattern

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close to the seam

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and finally - the mouth

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Some time later, the chape was glued with epoxy

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and the sword put in the almost finished scabbard

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Been on vacation - finally got back to this thread....

Boris, you did one HELL of a nice job on the wrapping - your riser definition is stunning. I'm still trying to figure out the extra piece of leather in the back - but it looks like it gave you a really nice center ridge :). I may have to liberate that idea :).

Yes, that final trim for the alighnment of the back seam can be a true nightmare :)... yet, it always seems to work. Yours looks perfect.

Can't wait to see how the dye job comes out :).

AFAIK that's a perfectly valid way to do the seam, and really well done at that! I doubt anyone would find cause for complaint there, now or back then. :)

Job's done!

Nice work Boris it's all coming down together nicely! Not so hard is it?

Personally I don't glue the leather to the scabbard core. Once the damped leather has been stitched at the back and dries out, it shrinks on the wood and it's not about to come off. I had tried PVC glue before, the leather would just absorb it anyway.

Nice job on the shape too. Being obviously skilled with metal, you should not refrain from going nuts on lockets and scabbard metal parts. That said, You design works very well such as it is.

Looking forward to see the final piece and glad I could help.

Cheers,

J

# Dean
The idea for the additional strip of leather at the back was directly taken from the Julien M's thread and his scabbard project.
Apart from purely aesthetic, I suppose the strap is tasked to avoid the direct contact between the seam and the core, and to fill all inevitable gaps it the contact area. Anyway, I think it's not a bad idea at all.
BTW, the scabbard was finished today - I'll show pictures tomorrow.

# Mikko
Yes, indeed.
A lesson I've learned so far from the historical reconstruction - if an idea is simple, could be achieved in a short time with less amount of materials and works - it's quite plausible to find something similar done already centuries ago.

# Julien
This work was done with your much appreciated help - thanks again.
About the glue - if it's not a mistake (to write down PVC instead of PVA), avoid PVC in the future. Use some kind of PVA (Polyvinyl acetate) or as Dean said - WOOD (this is the same) glue instead.