The Heathen: HT GSOW

Customized HT Great Sword of War. I went through several iterations of this project before finally settling on this design and fabrication process.  New handle geometry more slim and oval.  The hit components were buffed with #0000 steel wool, degreased and heat blued.  Handle is calfskin over cord, died red.  Suspension is red facing, black "vingaroon" back.  Scabbard is 3oz leather dyed Cordovan.  Symbol of Norse Trinity: Fate, Being, Necessity.  Blade has been slow-rust blued to give it an iridescent sheen.

Albion Tritonia, Leather Finish

 Russet with "Royal Blue".  Remaining work: figure out how to finish the rain flap, knot near lion, attach belt fittings.

Leather Scabbard, Poplar Core

Vegetable tanned leather over poplar wood core.  Light Russet dye, custom tooling.  Shown prior to assembly with integral belt suspension.


After assembly with integral belt suspension.  Belt dyed black with "Vingaroon" solution consisting of 1/2 pad #0000 steel wool soaking in 1 pint vinegar for 2 days.  Belt was then treated with Dr. Jackson's balm, 2 coats super sheen, 2 coats atom wax.  Buckle from Viking Leather Crafts.

Remaining tasks: rain flap stitching, cuts on front for lace.

Sword Belt

Leather sword belt, with custom tooling.  I think the rivets really spoil the effect. In the future I will avoid all rivets and join pieces by braiding.

Wallingford by Albion

Poplar core scabbard, shown with a chape based on a find from 10th century Skone, Sverige.  More work needed on the distal taper, restain and seal, then ready for the leather.

Valkyrja by Albion

Wool lined, poplar core scabbard.  Just a bit of work left on the distal taper, wood treatment then ready for the leather exterior.

Customized CAS Hanwei Practical Single-Hand Sword

I'm still in the experimental phase so I went quick and dirty again. I'm more or less satisfied with the results of this project given the money and modest time investment. I'm almost ready to make a bit more serious attempt.
I stripped off the fake leather grip to reveal a hardwood handle with pronounced lathe work. Rather than rework the wood I decided to simply cover it. I measured and cut 2 oz leather to fit then soaked it in hot water for about 5 minutes. I did not skiv and overlap the leather so again the lacing looks a bit amateur, but it is mostly straight. I will be pre-dying and skiving all seams and gluing the leather down in the next few handle projects, and if I get another lathed handle like this I will rework or replace the wood.
While the grip leather was wet I wrapped the handle with cord and brought out the woodwork detail. After dying the details were hard to see, so I lightly weathered the grip with steel wood then applied gel antique. Finally I added two thin bands of lighter leather at both ends.
Rather than create a wood core scabbard from scratch I just wrapped the stock fiberglass scabbard in 4 oz leather, and left a small amount of the throat and chape exposed. Next time I will make a new wood core. I would have preferred 2 oz leather but the price of 4 oz was 1/3 the cost. I carefully measured the scabbard diameter at 6 inch intervals and cut a piece of leather with an extra 1/4 inch width. The leather was very stiff so I had to soak it in a pot of warm water for about 10 minutes before I could wrap it.
I glued on 2 mm cord risers and wrapped the leather. I stitched up the back and let it dry, then did an experiment and removed the leather, re-soaked it and added some simple leather tooling details. This worked OK though I may try to carefully measure the riser locations and do the tooling before applying the leather to the scabbard.
I dyed the 2mm leather cord a dark brown and restitched the back. Next time I will definitely skiv the leather and allow 3/8" of an inch overlap because the butted seam on the back looks a little amateur.
The suspension system will consist of two dark brown straps that run between each pair of risers.

Wood Core Scabbard II

Rather than trying to chisel a hollow sheath out of two pieces of 1/4 inch poplar, I realized it would be much easier to build up the interior space using additional wood. The interior space is a little too thick but I will line the top with either lambs wool or leather. Once the wood core is assembled and glued I will be able to shape the cross section into an oval shape.

Scabbard Wood Core

Both halves after chiseling and extensive sanding. Next step is trimming down to size and shaping exterior.

Scabbard Wood Core

Step 1: Poplar wood, 1/4" thick, traced sword outline on both halves and chiseled out core. Next step will be sanding and shaping interior to ensure best fit.