Strange type of stitching on Khyber knife scabbard, has this been encountered before?

[Sakalord364]

To be fair, the leather on the scabbard has shrunk, and the material used for the stitching is uncommon (what looks like perhaps hemp rope or string) but the stitching seems very uneven, the pattern seems to change instead of being uniform. Was this the work of a novice, or was this type of stitching deliberate?

[Jim McDougall]

Nice Khyber! but the scabbards, as most often the case, are less than durable, especially in rugged native conditions as experienced in these regions. This looks to be quite obviously the work of an unskilled hand simply trying to keep the scabbard leather together. It does not represent any sort of significant regional or tribal convention, but an ad hoc attempt to maintain serviceability.