Ethiopian Shotel or Gurade to share

[Martin Lubojacky]

Hi, The hole on the sheath of Gorade was dug by mice. You can clearly see the tooth marks. It's common in Ethiopia.

The rawhide sheath can be shaped and stretched by maceration in pure ethanol. The advantage is that it doesn't shrink to its original size, as when soaked in water.

[Martin Lubojacky]

One more thing about the ethanol maceration: I wouldn't do that with a shotel sheath. This sheath probably consists of two layers. The rawhide scabbard is covered with a fine leather with an embossed pattern, and that could get ruined.

[werecow]

Originally Posted by Martin Lubojacky

Hi, The hole on the sheath of Gorade was dug by mice. You can clearly see the tooth marks. It's common in Ethiopia.

The rawhide sheath can be shaped and stretched by maceration in pure ethanol. The advantage is that it doesn't shrink to its original size, as when soaked in water.

Ah, yes, now that you've said it... that does look like toothmarks! Funny how straight that is. They nibbled it like a watermelon! And here I thought it was some sort of weird open-backed scabbard fashion choice.