How to Affix a Sword to a Belt

A sword like this can be attached to your belt with a sheath.

Whether a sword is a medieval broad sword, an ancient samurai sword or a modern blade, without a way to secure it for safe carrying it is not of much use. Many older swords were held on the warrior wearing them using a scabbard, a sheath attached to a belt. By creating a sheath capable of having a belt threaded through it, you can turn a standard belt into one capable of mounting a sword on.

Things You'll Need

• 2 Poplar wood pieces, 1/4 inch thick
• Sword
• Pencil
• Chisel
• Wood clamps
• Wood glue
• Jigsaw
• Belt sander
• Leather
• Utility knife
• Awl
• Strong thread
• Needle
• Belt

Instructions

1. Trace the outline of the blade onto the two pieces of wood.

2. Carve out the area inside the traced shape on each wood piece, to a depth equal to half the thickness of the blade.

3. Test the carvings by clamping the two pieces together and inserting the blade into the hole. The sword should fit snugly into the hole in the wood so that it can be removed easily, but does not bounce around, and remove further wood if needed.

4. Apply wood glue to the inside faces of the wood pieces, and secure with clamps.

5. Cut around the hole to give the sheath the desired general shape. It is okay to have rough edges, but the profile should match the desired profile.

6. Sand the outside of the sheath with a belt sander so that it is a smooth, rounded shape.

7. Place the sheath atop the inside of the leather, and wrap the leather around the sheath to determine the shape of cut in the leather required to cover the sheath and cut with a utility knife. The leather should be just wide enough that a thin channel, approximately 1/16 inch wide, exists between the two sides when wrapped around the sheath.

8. Punch a series of holes along both outer edges of the leather with a thin awl, separated 1/8 inches apart.

9. Soak the leather in water for 30 minutes.

10. Sew the leather around the sheath.

11. Position the sheath against your waist at the desired hang height and angle when wearing your belt.

12. Mark two pairs of notches, each 1/2 inch wide with one pair on either side of the sewn seam. Each notch should extend 1/2 inch above the top of the belt and /2 inch below the bottom of the belt.

13. Cut through the notches to create two different strips which can be pulled away from the wood slightly.

14. Thread the belt through the strips to wear the sheath.

References

• Ye Olde Gaffers: Scabbards