03-27-2012, 05:51 AM
DMV,
The Leeuwen sheath is actually one of the few a keen amateur could do, as it has none of the inlay work which decorates most sheaths and it is made of brass, which is easily shaped. The decoration is also soldered on, so as long as you can do basic soldering it should be well within most people's skill levels. I use a torch for most of my soldering but how you do it is up to you.
First of all you would need to make a pair of wooden formers (actually these could be the wooden 'lining' of the sheath), one slightly smaller than the other and then take two pieces of thin brass plate, cut to shape and annealed, and force these down over the formers. The rear plate should fit reasonably tightly within the front plate. Front and back are then joined using the pins which attach the suspension loops (don't forget to insert the suspension rings before you attach the loops), which can be clenched at the back. A large headed rivet should pass through the terminal expansion to join the two halves together at the bottom. The decoration was made from cast pearled strips but you can do a reasonable job of this by flattening one side of a piece of narrow brass rod and then filing the other side into ridges with narrow furrows between them. Once this has been done clip the rod to the required lengths and solder them onto the front plate in the same pattern as seen on the Leeuwen sheath.
For the dagger handle, the grip plates, as always, should be iron, but in this case the iron can be covered with brass foil, like the original. The outline of the guard can then be followed with further pieces of the pearled strip soldered to the front so as to copy the original, which matched the decoration on the sheath.
I think that would be something you could do yourself if you were happy to spend a few hours on the project.
Sorry for the OT post everyone else.
Crispvs
The Leeuwen sheath is actually one of the few a keen amateur could do, as it has none of the inlay work which decorates most sheaths and it is made of brass, which is easily shaped. The decoration is also soldered on, so as long as you can do basic soldering it should be well within most people's skill levels. I use a torch for most of my soldering but how you do it is up to you.
First of all you would need to make a pair of wooden formers (actually these could be the wooden 'lining' of the sheath), one slightly smaller than the other and then take two pieces of thin brass plate, cut to shape and annealed, and force these down over the formers. The rear plate should fit reasonably tightly within the front plate. Front and back are then joined using the pins which attach the suspension loops (don't forget to insert the suspension rings before you attach the loops), which can be clenched at the back. A large headed rivet should pass through the terminal expansion to join the two halves together at the bottom. The decoration was made from cast pearled strips but you can do a reasonable job of this by flattening one side of a piece of narrow brass rod and then filing the other side into ridges with narrow furrows between them. Once this has been done clip the rod to the required lengths and solder them onto the front plate in the same pattern as seen on the Leeuwen sheath.
For the dagger handle, the grip plates, as always, should be iron, but in this case the iron can be covered with brass foil, like the original. The outline of the guard can then be followed with further pieces of the pearled strip soldered to the front so as to copy the original, which matched the decoration on the sheath.
I think that would be something you could do yourself if you were happy to spend a few hours on the project.
Sorry for the OT post everyone else.
Crispvs
Who is called \'\'Paul\'\' by no-one other than his wife, parents and brothers. :!: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" />:!:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.romanarmy.net">www.romanarmy.net
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.romanarmy.net">www.romanarmy.net
