08-10-2013, 08:46 AM
The Woerden sword did not have any guttering, so I presume the presence or absence of guttering is not essential for deciding if a scabbard had a leather cover. On hardwoods, I would suggest sticking to European species (or their close relatives) for authenticity, though. Matt did issue a caution in another thread (well, I think it was Matt) on using oak for scabbards, as the tannic acids seem to leach out onto the blade, even when using an internal liner.
