sputcheon

plural sputcheons

1. historicalThe metal lining of a scabbard's mouth.

   She held her mouth slitted open in anguish so that in Inman's mind it resembled the sputcheon to a sword scabbard.

   1997, Charles Frazier, “A Vow to Bear”, in Cold Mountain, New York, N.Y.: Atlantic Monthly Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 273

   5 more examples

   Schlussblech, […] The sputcheon of the mouth-piece; inner part of the mouth-piece, which retains the lining of metal-scabbards.

   1848, Geo[rge] F[loyd] Duckett, Technological Military Dictionary, German–English–French, new edition, London: Parker, Furnival, and Parker, […], →OCLC, page 319, column 1

   […] [batte] de la cuvette, sputcheon of the mouth-piece of a sword-scabbard, or that part which retains the wooden scabbard (fût).

   1852, [Robert] Burn, “Batte”, in A Naval and Military Technical Dictionary of the French Language. […], 2nd edition, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 37, column 2

   Mouth pieces and sputcheons will no longer be supplied separately, but mouth pieces with the sputcheon strongly attached will be furnished.

   1871 July 1, “Army Circulars. 1871.”, in The Army List, for July, 1871, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, →OCLC, clause 109 (Repairs to Cavalry Sword Scabbards), paragraph 3, page 367

   It may be interesting to enumerate the number of operations required for the making of a new British cavalry sword, independently of the production of the steel. They are as follows: / The manufacture of the blade, 32 operations; scabbard, 30; scabbard mouthpiece with sputcheon, 32; […]

   1886 June 3, “Swords and Sword Making at Solingen, Germany. (Concluded.)”, in Merrick Cowles, John W. Weston, editors, The American Engineer. An Illustrated Weekly Journal, volume XI, number 22, Chicago, Ill.: Cowles & Weston, […], →OCLC, page 223, column 2

   The scabbard is of steel, and is fitted with an iron sputcheon with brass mouthpiece, braced on and fixed in scabbard with screws. […] The lining consists of two strips of wood held in position by the sputcheon.

   1906 July 27, “[Appendix V.] Swords and Scabbards.”, in Dress Regulations for the Officers of the Canadian Militia. Militia Department, Ottawa: […] S. E. Dawson, […], published 1907, →OCLC, section 1 (Field Marshals and General Officers), page 71