A leather scabbard is the part of a sword nobody thinks about until they own one. It protects the edge, it makes the blade safe to carry across a room, and it is the reason a sword can be hung on a wall by its belt rather than balanced on two hooks. It is also the single most common thing to be missing from a cheap sword.
What is on this tag
Viking swords, arming swords, knightly swords and Norse warrior patterns, with overall lengths from about 30 to 40 inches. Steel is plain 1095 high carbon at 54 to 58 HRC or Damascus of 1095 and 15N20, forge welded and acid etched, at 58 to 60 HRC. Scabbards are leather over a wooden core with steel or brass fittings, some with a throat and a chape and some plain. Several blades carry etched rune lines or knotwork bands, and grips are leather wrapped, cord wrapped or wood.
The thing to know about leather and carbon steel
Vegetable tanned leather is slightly acidic and it holds moisture. A carbon steel blade left in a closed scabbard for a month will come out spotted, and if the scabbard was ever damp it will come out worse than that. Store the blade out of the scabbard, or wipe it with a thin film of light oil before it goes back in. This is not a defect in the scabbard, it is chemistry, and it applies to every leather sheathed carbon blade ever made. The storage notes cover it alongside the safety side.
Care and mounting
Leather wants a wipe of dressing once or twice a year and a wall that is not in direct sun. If the fit ever slackens, a day of drying with the blade lightly oiled and in place will usually bring it back. Mounting a scabbarded sword changes the bracket you need, which the mounting guide covers. Replacement leather is in the scabbards and sheaths and the blades in the swords.
How a scabbard is built
Leather over a shaped wooden core rather than leather alone, which is what stops the blade cutting its way out over time and what keeps the mouth from collapsing. Fittings are steel or brass at the throat and the chape. A scabbard built without a core is a sleeve, and it will be loose within a year of ordinary handling.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
