- The 12cm triangular sheath was made from a mesh of tree bast sewn along the longest side with grass fibres. The opening of the sheath was reinforced with double plaiting. On one side a leather strap was attached to allow the sheath to be fixed to the belt, for easy accessibility.
Ötzi's Knife & Sheath
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There are two parts to the construction of Ötzi the Iceman's knife:
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Sheath Step 1: The first step is to select about 20 lengths of natural coloured dried grass (or raffia) that are twice the length of the finish sheath (about 25-30cm). Buddle the loose ends together and wrap natural cordage (e.g. nettle/yucca string) or sinew around the grass ends several times. Knot the cordage/sinew tightly so the grass/raffia is secure. |
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Sheath Step 2: About 1-2cm above the knotted end, tie a knot in a new length of cordage/sinew to one strand of the grass/raffia. Then select the next strand of grass/raffia and tie the cordage/raffia in a knot or weave in a loop. Repeat this process with all the stands until the final knot. All knots should be in an even horizontal row around the sheath. Finally cut off any excess cordage/sinew from the row of knots. |
Sheath Step 3: Repeat step 2, starting around 2-3cm above the previous row of knots. Try to keep the row horizontal and not allow too much loose cordage/sinew between each knot, as this will make the sheath unusable. This is very time consuming, but do not rush as it will ruin the overall appearance of the sheath. |
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Sheath Step 4: After about 6-7 rows of horizontal knots, you should be at the top of grass/raffia. Carefully tie the last row of knots around the looped end of the grass/raffia (you may wish to add more rows at the top for strength and decorative purposes). There were two plaited rows where on the original. Finally tie a longer strand of cordage/sinew or leather around the top of the sheath to for a loop that can be attached to a belt. This can be decorated with beads, antler etc. |