Scabbard

A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword or other large blade.

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Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather and wood. Most commonly, scabbards were either worn on a belt at the hip, or on an over the shoulder strap that held it diagonally across the back. (see also Koshirae)

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Wooden scabbards were usually covered in fabric or leather, and leather ones might be covered by metal for part of their length.

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The part of the scabbard where the sword enters and leaves may be protected with a piece of metal called a throat. The tip of the scabbard may be protected with a fitted piece of metal called a chape.

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Entirely metal scabbards became popular in Europe in the 19th century. These had the grave disadvantage of blunting the blade but nevertheless remained popular until the end of the century, when wood covered in leather or metal replaced them. Naval and police swords invariably used leather scabbards.

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The Japanese term for scabbard (used for katana) is saya (鞘 pron. さや).

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Sheath: The word sheath has a number of related meanings in English. In general usage, a sheath is any protective covering that fits closely around the object to be protected. A sword's sheath is called a scabbard....

Sword: A sword (from Old English sweord; akin to Old High German swerd lit. "wounding tool", from the Proto-Indo-European *swer- "to wound, to hurt") is a long edged bladed weapon, consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade, usually with two edges for striking and cutting, and a point for thrusti...

Leather: Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows....