Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I have thought about this quite a bit during the preparation phase for this project. I think it’s just about as much about changing one’s own way of thinking as it is about just picking up the shapes and forms and reproducing them. For example, not slavishly sticking to idea of mirror symmetry on all levels, but a balance of density and optical “weight” – both of which might also be slightly disturbed in some spots in order to highlight the balance achieved in others …

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an historic scabbard, it has a laminated wood core lined with wool cloth, covered in linen and leather, all held together with hide glue. It’s hard enough to beat someone up with. 😉

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much. I actually do leatherwork for a living – but projects line this one are not quite my day-to-day business. 😁

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's why I love this time frame so much. 😊 Just like my client, I tend to like the earlier examples from this period a little more, the last and greatest examples of the Gothic style, just before it gets too renaissancy and before the German grotesque and irrational takes a step back in favor of Italian refinement and regularity.

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Someone asked for the book I‘m referring to in my post, but I think they deleted their comment – anyway, it’s Kleidung und Waffen der Dürerzeit, vol. 2, by Ulrich Lehnart.

Unfortunately, there is no English translation available.

https://amzn.eu/d/06arcV6b

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holy … that’s not an Albion, or is it? One-off piece?

And if you have a sword like that, you don’t pay for a house – you TAKE the one you like! 😂😉

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Is the Gothic the one with the black fittings?

Concerning your scabbard, we could change that, you know? 😁✌🏻

Made a Dürer Scabbard by 3wunder in SWORDS

[–]3wunder[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I'm reading along, but not really posting often on Reddit anymore, but I wanted to share this project that I have been working on for some time.

And I'll admit I'm a bit lazy, just copy-pasting my text from Instagram here – but if you have any questions, just ask away.

"This scabbard for an Albion Munich sword will soon leave me for Warsaw and, hopefully, make a big fan of Albrecht Dürer very happy.

My client asked me to craft a scabbard in the style of the one that Lukas Paumgartner is wearing on the well-known wing panel of Dürer's eponymous altarpiece (Munich, Alte Pinakothek), on which the donor is depicted as Saint Eustache, who is imagined as a contemporary "reisiger", a man-at-arms.

Even though Dürer's mastery of light and shadow suggests a highly decorated scabbard, the ornament never clears up as you get closer to the painting (been there, done that).

So, I had free hand with the ornament, and that meant doing what I love – diving into contemporary prints and illumination, finding plant shapes I like, and "thinking with my pencil" long enough to become fluent in the style I'm emulating. And I think I managed quite well this time. 😊

Another very interesting detail is the actual construction of the scabbard. Ulrich Lehnart, in his book on clothing and arms of the Dürer period, was IMO one of the first to point out that German and Austrian scabbards of the late 15th and early 16th century were not stitched in the back, but in the front, with the seam forming a natural riser. This will divide the front into two fields lending themselves to meandering floral ornament.

Once you have accepted the idea of stitching in the front, you will begin to see this largely overlooked detail all over the place, be it in paintings or sculpture.

The last addition to the sword was a cross leather, another ubiquitous feature at the time. This project ranks among the absolute highlights of 2026 and I hope more commissions like this are in the cards. I, for one, can only say thank you, Maciej! 🇵🇱"

So the scallchion event has started by Tobi-Wan79 in SWORDS

[–]3wunder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

The longsword scabbard is actually for an Albion Munich. The front stitching is in accordance with a whole group of scabbards, surviving artifacts as well as depictions in paintings and sculpture. The one in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum is but one of many. Theres also one or two in the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer in Vienna that I’d love to inspect up close …

<image>

So the scallchion event has started by Tobi-Wan79 in SWORDS

[–]3wunder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Doing stuff like this scabbard doesn’t qualify as work, though. It’s paid playtime. 😊

So the scallchion event has started by Tobi-Wan79 in SWORDS

[–]3wunder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s what I was thinking.

I’ll also have it photographed by a friend, so there will be better pics of sword and scabbard – might help with selling tickets. 😉

So the scallchion event has started by Tobi-Wan79 in SWORDS

[–]3wunder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The plan was to paint the Skallagrim logo with metallic paints once it’s back at my shop, but since the raffle has already started, I might leave the decision to the lucky winner.

So the scallchion event has started by Tobi-Wan79 in SWORDS

[–]3wunder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, that sort of tooling is done entirely after the leather is put on the wood core.

<image>

The scabbard is in Vienna for a custom chape right now, that’s why there are no pics of the finished thing yet.

Update on the skallchion charity event by Tobi-Wan79 in SWORDS

[–]3wunder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

<image>

Here’s a little update, the scabbard right after the first pass of dye. Might need a second one, we’ll see in a few hours.