My new dagger!

[Timothy]

Good afternoon,

My new dagger has arrived from Celtic Britain  (Netherlands?)

http://www.celticwebmerchant.biz/seaxes-knives-daggers/daggers/

It has some dings I could do without but it is 12th century.  The dagger when placed in the scabbard does not fit all the way in and is a very tight fit. Will need to work on that. Overall I like it and would very much rather be on the giving end and not the receiving end.

Timothy

[Don Jorge]

Sucks about it being a bit dinged and the scabbard but hey for 40 some odd bucks that isn't bad!

[Sir James A]

Sir Brian mentioned breaking in leather shoes with, I think rubbing alcohol?? a few weeks ago, offline. If he can chime in to confirm, I believe the same should work for softening the leather scabbard. I have a rondel dagger that needs the same treatment.

[Ian]

Sir Brian mentioned breaking in leather shoes with, I think rubbing alcohol?? a few weeks ago, offline. If he can chime in to confirm, I believe the same should work for softening the leather scabbard. I have a rondel dagger that needs the same treatment.

oil

That may risk drying out the leather and removing it's natural oils.  Leather conditioners are usually something that returns the oils to the leather like neatsfoot oil or commercial leather conditioners.  Alcohol will help break in leather, but it shouldn't be the last thing that touches the leather.  Dry leather = cracked leather.

[Timothy]

Than you sirs Ian and Brian,

So I use neatsfoot or a commercial leather conditioner and that will loosen up the scabbard and give the blade more room, yes? How much and for how long?

Again thanks

Timothy

[Sir Wolf]

i like it

[Ian]

Than you sirs Ian and Brian,

So I use neatsfoot or a commercial leather conditioner and that will loosen up the scabbard and give the blade more room, yes? How much and for how long?

Again thanks

Timothy

It should make the leather more pliable.  There's no rule as to how many times you can apply something like neatsfoot, you'd typically use it over the life of any leather piece that's not sealed.  If the leather is sealed it won't really matter or do too much.  Will it make more room for the blade?  Not necessarily...  The scabbard could just be a generic mass-manufactured scabbard that happens to be a little too small for your copy of the dagger.

[Sir Wolf]

wait, wasnt there a us dealer that carried that dagger?

[Sir Brian]

Sir Brian mentioned breaking in leather shoes with, I think rubbing alcohol?? a few weeks ago, offline. If he can chime in to confirm, I believe the same should work for softening the leather scabbard. I have a rondel dagger that needs the same treatment.

oil

That may risk drying out the leather and removing it's natural oils.  Leather conditioners are usually something that returns the oils to the leather like neatsfoot oil or commercial leather conditioners.  Alcohol will help break in leather, but it shouldn't be the last thing that touches the leather.  Dry leather = cracked leather.

It was rubbing alcohol which Frank Ireson from Viking Leathercrafts recommended to me when my new boots I just purchased from him were a little too snug. The alcohol stretched the leather so it actually molded itself to my feet. It worked so well I used the same method on my Frankenstein gauntlets that were a little too snug as well. Now they fit like a dream. I hadn’t noticed any adverse effects on the leather as yet.   

[Sir Ulrich]

Yeah he did the same thing for my shoes and they are the most comfortable shoes for the medieval period I have worn. Also cheated by adding a non period insole in the middle of DoK 2 due to my feet aching from the hard bottom but they have lugged soles to begin with so I dont think it's THAT bad with cheating. Once I do get turn shoes I wont need that though but for now thats what I am using.
Thats also the dagger I wanted for a while, though I ended up getting a custom hand forged aunlaz dagger for 70 bucks thats razor sharp. Still need someone to make a simple sheath for it. Probably would of gotten that dagger though it looks nice, perfect for a late 12th early 13th century depiction.

[Ian]

It was rubbing alcohol which Frank Ireson from Viking Leathercrafts recommended to me when my new boots I just purchased from him were a little too snug. The alcohol stretched the leather so it actually molded itself to my feet. It worked so well I used the same method on my Frankenstein gauntlets that were a little too snug as well. Now they fit like a dream. I hadn’t noticed any adverse effects on the leather as yet.   

If Frank says it's ok, it's probably ok.  He's a professional.  I would still recommend oiling it from time to time, especially on high wear things.  A lot of modern leather products are sealed and partially waterproofed, medieval stuff is much more susceptible to the elements, so a lot of leather care is dependent on how the leather was finished.

[Sir Brian]

If Frank says it's ok, it's probably ok.  He's a professional.  I would still recommend oiling it from time to time, especially on high wear things.  A lot of modern leather products are sealed and partially waterproofed, medieval stuff is much more susceptible to the elements, so a lot of leather care is dependent on how the leather was finished.

Absolutely a must! Got to give the leather some love every now and then! ... uh, that kind of read like an opening a 'Fifty Shades of Grey' book review!

[Sir Patrick]

Absolutely a must! Got to give the leather some love every now and then! ... uh, that kind of read like an opening a 'Fifty Shades of Grey' book review!

Especially if taken in conjunction with that infamous other post about your "hot" leather pants

[Sir Rodney]

wait, wasnt there a us dealer that carried that dagger?

You may be thinking of a very similar, yet not exactly the same, model that used to be carried by KOA.