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Loosening a scabbard? - Printable Version

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Loosening a scabbard? - Dan D'Silva - 02-16-2015

I've seen plenty of questions posted on what to do when a scabbard is too loose, but can't seem to find any about the opposite problem. My new wooden scabbard core (for a blunt combat akinakes) is threatening to be a total bust. I spent hours tuning the fit before gluing the shells together, but I figure glue must've seeped in around the edges, and now it's too narrow.

Anyone have any suggestions? I figure as a last resort one could soak it until the glue dissolves, but of course that might warp the wood.


Loosening a scabbard? - brennivs - tony drake - 02-17-2015

Dan if you run a thin metal rod inside the scabbard to feel if there is any glue, mark the spots on the outside. I presume the scabbard is cut to the shape of the profile of the blade and not a box shape inside.Take a stip of long flat metal, shape it with a file and put a sharp edge to it, put the scabbard in a vice and gentle use the metal strip as a chisel or if you put a sharp hook on and draw it back and remove material that way. Or I have glued a cloth backed sand paper to a metal strip and used it instead. I will post pics of what I mean, but of to work so can do it later. Hope you get the general idea.
Regards Brennivs Big Grin


Loosening a scabbard? - LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS - 02-17-2015

Great ideas, Brennius. In some places you can use a very plain file o rasp. Somtimes work to put a very hot iron plate strip with the gauge of the sword, the hot makes some distension on wood fibers, and the iron strip search his way onto the hole. I usually use it to put the pommels and guards on the iron rod of the sword, it's like put a hot knife in butter...


Loosening a scabbard? - LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS - 02-17-2015

Avoid to use oil, as i have seen many times. Oil make the wood fibers bigger, making more dificult to draw the sword...


Loosening a scabbard? - Dan D'Silva - 02-17-2015

Thank you. The best thing I have at the moment is an unmounted hacksaw blade, which is just a little shorter than the sword blade, so if the problem exists toward the tip of the scabbard (which may be the case -- feeling with the hacksaw blade hasn't detected any significant inward protrusions so far), it may not work. I can probably borrow a scrap from the foundry at Bucks that'll do the trick. Unfortunately, it was made to fit a sword that's little more than a long butterknife, so a rasp won't fit.


Loosening a scabbard? - A_Volpe - 02-17-2015

Nuts! I ran into similar problems trying to make a wooden scabbard for a pugio, and a gladius hispaniensis. I thought the fit was "too loose", then after the glue dried it seemed to be "too tight!"

I ended up on the Hispan. just coating it in oil, and just..Um…working it in there and it seemed to help loosen a little bit. Maybe the sword pushed the sides out just enough and the oil helped. Not sure. That scabbard was an overnight rush job, so, some day I'd probably plan to replace it with something better.

As for the pugio, I ended up able to tape sandpaper to a metal ruler and used that, as well as able to sneak in a thin wood chisel.

The hacksaw blade seems like a good idea for short scabbards. I'll have to remember that.


Loosening a scabbard? - brennivs - tony drake - 02-17-2015

Know problem everyone :lol: will post pics off tools Thursday :lol:
Regards Brennivs Big Grin


Loosening a scabbard? - Dan D'Silva - 02-17-2015

Hey.

Well, I screwed up. I embedded a swatch of emery cloth inside the scabbard when it came loose from the hacksaw blade.

Since I couldn't get it out by any tool I had on hand, I went ahead and soaked the core to disassemble it. (Should I have waited to get to the foundry and find a wire or something that might've worked as a hook? Yes. Yes, I should, but given my track record, it probably wouldn't have worked even then.)

The pieces are now drying under a system of weights and shims to hopefully keep them fitting together. If they do, I'll probably have to sand out the inside again and maybe line it with a bit of felt. If not, I'll start over. Well, boards this thin are cheap, although it's a shame to waste so much work.

Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.


Loosening a scabbard? - brennivs - tony drake - 02-18-2015

Dan another tip is after you glue the two halfs together, put the blade in the scabbard this will help to remove globuals of glue from the inside. Take the blade out clean the glue off and keep doing it until thre is hardly any glue on the blade, then leave to dry. This will stop what has happened plus you can see if the blade sticks while the scabbard is under the clamps Big Grin
Regards Brennivs Big Grin


Loosening a scabbard? - Dan D'Silva - 02-19-2015

That is a good idea -- and I would've done it, except that when gluing the pieces together, I added an additional piece of wood in the belt tab (it would take a while to explain, but it shouldn't have altered the fit) which prevented the sword being sheathed until after that piece was trimmed down -- which was after the glue had dried.