Resilience of Sword Scabbards

Hello sword enthusiasts and experimental archaeology aficionados,

Two weeks ago, I pointed you to some weapon tests conducted by archaeologist Gustav Solberg and fellow swordsmen. Today, I would like to share the results of another fascinating test run by the inimitable Tom Jersø. I hope you find it interesting. I will also point out to you resources for making your own scabbard. There is more to it than mere blade protection as you will see below!

A Sacrifice to Research

Tom Jersø runs a club for historical swordsmanship in Copenhagen and regularly cooperates with Danish museums. His latest demonstration at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde sprang from an observation repeatedly made during sword-fighting training in historical kit: strikes to the leg would more often than not hit the opponent’s scabbard, not their thigh. Unless of course a righthander faces a leftie (like my friend Chris Cold with a red and black shield in these encounters).

In our training, we consider a hit to a scabbard a failed attack, assuming that a bladed weapon would not easily cut through a historically accurate scabbard, which would consist of numerous layers of organic material.

Tom sacrificed one of his scabbards for research and struck it with various weapons during a public museum demonstration.

The results confirmed our assumptions. A scabbard is not at all easy to cut through, nor is it indestructible. Better to spend your time training to avoid getting hit in the first place than making a new scabbard after each encounter, leave alone risking a leg!

However, if you feel encouraged to make an authentic scabbard and keep your thigh even when you fail, follow my free tutorial. Find part 1 here:

If the carving job discourages you, you can cheat and go with modern prefab materials like thin plywood boards. Here is a respective tutorial.

So, that's it for today. Take care, train hard and don't forget to wear you scabbard

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Yours,

Roland

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