Middle Earth Ranger Forum

I need to get a piece of leather, either black or not dyed for my seax sheath and every where I look is either sold out or outrageously priced. It can either be two strips a bare minimum of 3 inches in width and 20 inches long or one solid piece, 6 inches wide and 20 inches long.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-8-oz-Veg-Tan- ... 975c08cf15

$13.99

That is a nice peice of leather at a good price, but I would think twice about the 7-8 Oz part. That is quite thick for a sheath. certainly not impossible, but folding will take some work. The good part here is that you have enough to either fold and use a seam peice to keep the blade from slicing the stitching (or reverse it and sew the spine) The other posibility with this much leather is making a blade cutout and sandwitching it between two silluette peices stiched all around. As I recall that seax is a substancial peice, with a crossguard correct?

Ringulf wrote:That is a nice peice of leather at a good price, but I would think twice about the 7-8 Oz part. That is quite thick for a sheath. certainly not impossible, but folding will take some work. The good part here is that you have enough to either fold and use a seam peice to keep the blade from slicing the stitching (or reverse it and sew the spine) The other posibility with this much leather is making a blade cutout and sandwitching it between two silluette peices stiched all around. As I recall that seax is a substancial peice, with a crossguard correct?

Yes it does have a crossguard

I didnt even think to look on ebay. Just from that one piece Wulfgar showed me, I found 5-6oz 6-7oz and 8-9oz

If eBay doesn't work out, you can get a 3"x48" strip for $12.25: http://www.crazycrow.com/mm5/merchant.m ... 45-500-000

Tandy Leather is always sending me ads for excellent proices for leather.
they mail-order too.

My next question would be how thick should I make this? I'm not all that familiar with leather and I never really had a chance to do that much with it in school so its all Greek to me

I've had good results in the past with 6-7 ounce cow leather, wet-formed around rawhide wrapped around the blade. (FWIW, those big white dog toys are a great source of rawhide for this sort of purpose.)

To get a rough idea of leather thicknesses, use US coins:
A dime = 3 oz
A penny = 3.5 oz
A quarter = 4 oz
A nickel = 4.25 oz

just ordered a 5-6oz piece of leather. Now what is recommended, the fold, or the stitching? and then theres always the belt suspension system

I have made them in several styles if you let me know how you would like to wear/use it I would be happy to give you a step by step to make it happen.

Well at first I was thinking of wearing it like a short sword on my left to draw it with my right, but whenever my longsword arrives, that wont work so i dont really know. I think its probably to long to wear at the back, and my quiver is on my right so that sort of poses an issue.

You could suspend it from loops underneath the belt and can mount it in the front to the left side of the buckle, or right side. Straddling the buckle hilt pointed in either direction is good too. This was a very common way to mount a seax and there are different positions for the blade as well.
If you want to fold it on the flat edge you will soon see that the sharp edge will cut into the leather if held edge down, so many sheaths were constructed folded on the blade but the cutting edge was turned up, so that when you drew or returned the blade to its sheath the pressure was on the back or spine of the blade.
If you go ahead with that method you can lay the spine edge of the leather both sides together and simply stitch for you will not slice the stitching with the blade's spine. If you mount the scabbard blade edge down I would reccomend using a peice to fill the edge that is punched with the same holes as the two sides, running the length of the scabbard from throat to tip at about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. You can use a peice that is a bit wider so it sticks out the bottom and then trim off that wich is proud with a skiver or sharp razor knife, then burnish the bottom to present a nice, clean, hard seam.
This will allow the sharp edge to slide along on a center peice of leather and not the stitching. Wax the inside edge of the leather before you sew it in, to protect it or burnish it well.
I can show you some examples if you need some visuals to help you along.

Pictures are always nice but would if still fit next to my sword or will it end up being one or the other?

That would depend on the option you take for it's suspension, but I would think that if you kept it to the right of your belt buckle but in front with the hilt towart the left, you could access it with your right if disarmed or you left as a cross body draw as to parry with your left while using your sword in your right hand. Your quiver on your right hip should not interfere and may be stabilized a bit by the sheaths tip. You can put a hand axe in the quiver or just outside it or tucked in your belt behind you facing right or left. You will be formidable and if worn often you will become used to the arrangement and comfortably know just what is were at all times.