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The fulled beaded, fringed sheath is made of rawhide, which is then wet formed to the blade and forms a hard protective case. Then it is covered with a piece of brain-tanned buckskin. The beads are then sewn to the buckskin covering the front of the sheath. See the picture at left in the process of being beaded. Finally the excess is slit and twisted to form the fringe. There is a belt loop on the back.
The "Mountain Man" style (at right) has no belt loop but rather a wide space between the edge of the blade and the edge of the sheath. They were worn tucked inside of the belt which passed through a slit in that wide space. Usually they are only decorated along the edge. Not only would the belt hide the decoration, it would damage it. Typically they are made of rawhide with a beaded buckskin strip along the side OR made of skirting leather (very thick heavy pieces normally used for saddles skirts) and decorated with brass studs.
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Stone Edge