I have to admit that I'm not sure of the practicality of a over the shoulder carry sheath for most applications. It's probably more of a convenience. If it can be rotated to the front for re-sheathing it's pretty handy I guess. History does back up Ted's observations.
Having said all that, the vast majority of sword sheaths I make are for over the shoulder, across the back carry. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
It's the movies, I tell ya. Or maybe books too. It drives me nuts when they are going into battle with a 4' sword strapped to their back and the writer has them draw it with no problems at all.
Across the back carry would probably be fine nowadays since you don't have to be concerned about having to draw it quickly, but I still don't like it as an option. I'd rather have a baldric that facilitates easily putting it on and off, but still allows easy access to drawing and re-sheathing the blade.
