Knife Sheath

In general usage, the word sheath is used as any protective covering closely around an item. The sheath was used for short bladed weapons like, knives, dirks, and daggers. There was also a retaining strap to hold the item within the sheath.

Most sheaths used by earlier Native Americans were made of animal hide as shown. However, metal was not used until after English settlement in the Americas. In this animal hide sheath, it is held together by tiny pieces of bolt-like metal. There were probably other means to craft a sheath like using an awl to pierce holes to stitch together the sheath with sinew or some textile.