Posts: 367 Location: Seattle, WA
Wed 06 Nov, 2013 12:28 pm
Once I stripped the handle off I found to my surprise that the tang was very substantial, no welded on all thread, and even though there WAS a weld, it was properly done and very strong. I recruited my sword smith friend for some of the metal work, and we were off to the races!
The fluting was first, this was very tricky since there are a lot of voids in the pommel and there was worry that we would punch through, we took the fluting as far as we dared.
Next up: The guard. The guard needed slimming down and reshaping to make it more of a gradual S shape and just reduce the overbuilt appearance of it, also did a nice little flaring at the end of each curve.
I carved the handle out of popular. Here's a test fit before leather. I gave up on a waisted grip this time around, it just proved too difficult to do for me at this time.