Greetings Kirk, I know what you mean. I have very few I haven't "tweaked" somehow. I finally figured out how to make our cheapie digital camera work and how to do the attachment thing, so we will see if I can get over my "shyness". The additional pics of the Arbedo are excellent. MRL really did well on that one. I handled their Viking Transitional sword at the Texas Ren. Fest. this weekend. Fell in love with that one too. ;) Sincerely, Patrick Fitzmartin

Hey Kirk! I see your in Dallas. Good to know others in the Metroplex that are of like mind. I like your redo on the Arbedo. I tend to do that to my swords as well. I have done a MRL Medieval short sword in a similar fashion. We have to get together some time and compare notes. Heres a pic of the shorty. I copied the ecth from an original one from a 14th cen. Type XVI out of Oakeshott's Archeology of Weapons.

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Mr Carr
Love the blue/greens. Care to share how you got those shades?
Geoff

The dragon heads.

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Again thanks for sharing some of the techniques and results. This thread continues to be interesting.

Had not really thought about the fraud applications of the thread. I just thought the end results would make interesting home decor objects. Many really look nicer "aged" than when they started out. At least to me.

Greetings Kirk, Happy belated Thanksgiving! I haven't been here for a little while. Talk about weird. You got the Magnus off of SFI right? You got it for a nice price too. ;) I had my eye on that one but no money at the time. I still have wondered who got that one especially now that my tastes are changing. Do accept my deep forest green gloat of envy on this one. Thank you for the pics too. I have a hilt shot but have never seen a full length pic of this one. The one thing that bugs me about the new MRL version is the blade flare at the hilt. That could be shaped off though.
There is a good chance that is a Del Tin blade especially if the blade lines are real clean. When you get it apart, look for a microscopic "made in Italy" on the blade near the hilt / tang area. You may be able to find it without a take down. Every Del Tin I have has this. The crossguard may be okay but you can bet your bottom dollar the pommel is too thick. Is it peened or threaded? More than likely you will find a 7/16(?) rod welded to the tang. I am going thru this with an old 5 lobed MRL/DT Viking sword I bought. It started out around 3 1/4 lbs. I shortened the blade and grip and put it back together but it is still 3lbs. and looks too thick in the hilt fittings. Back to the workbench. :\ I also have a Hugin/Mugin I got real cheap off of eBay that I am redoing but have tabled until I have done more research. I have something coming soon that should help as a guideline though. ;) Do keep me posted on this one especially if you decide to sell it ( not much chance of that, huh). :D Sincerely, Patrick Fitzmartin

Greetings Kirk, Having a bunch of paid time on my hands ( I love my "government" job! :D) I did some homework on your Magnus after considering your observations of the sword. After checking Albion, Art Elwells' "Work of Art" site and the Del Tin homesite, visual conjecture strongly suggests you possess a Del Tin 5120. Albion has the best stat listing. Work of Art has the best full length shot. The Del Tin homesite has a great hilt shot, click on the pic. If it is all Del Tin, MEK will work real good on the protective coating although I would watch the leather grip. I am not sure if it is the CK 55 Crupp steel or their new steel. It is probaly peened, a round peen is older, a square peen is newer if I have interperted things right. If it is an older model you might want to replace the wooden grip as they had to improve on that. The only "edge" ( I know, one demerit for a bad pun ;) ) that the new MRL version has is that it has dropped a 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound off of it. This a personal obsession of mine. The lighter the better. I own one antique broadsword blade with a custom made baskethilt on it. This one has been a devil to my collecting because of weight, profiles and so on. Don't buy an antique unless you're ready for it. Once you do, it becomes the standard, from appearance to handling. ;) Anyway, do check the sites out, that way you have some bit of background on it and can decide for yourself. By the way, no offense intended, I have probaly done a fine job of talking you in to keeping this baby, haven't I. ;) Sincerely, Patrick Fitzmartin

Greetings Kirk, This is an after thought. You may want to study Albions Next Gen. Viking swords. They have that flat, thin look in the hilt. Your Arbedo shows this also. Considering your Magnus has a 3 1/2" grip, you will want this for handling. It makes the " pommel slide on the palm grip" work a lot better. Consider the "River Sheldt " sword. I have handled MRL's version of that one and it does work. It prevents the painful lockout from a hammer grip and the wondering " how the heck did they use these things". Sincerely, Patrick Fitzmartin

As far as historically correct grips, Oakeshott shows many contemporary illistrations of medieval swords gripped with the fore finger over the guard. I have found it increases my control on any single hander with a plain guard greatly. Some people have said that the Windlass Drac feels dead in the hand. I have found that when you choke up on the grip and wrap your forefinger over the guard, the darn thing comes alive. It hits where you want it to go and hits it much cleaner and harder. And the viking grip of pinkie over the pommel makes those small grips and big pommel a lot easier on the hand. ;) I still have a hard time with the viking grip. I feel like its going to go flying even though I know it wont! Just sortta gives me the willies! I used a Tinker viking that belongs to a friend and it worked well with that one. It had a smaller grip than most modern replicas and I didnt feel so self -concious useing the pinkie wrap! :cool:

Greetings Tom Carr, I have played with the finger over the guard technique. I do like the way that it feels. I need to work more with that one. The Viking grip does take some getting used to. I am still getting used to it. I handled a Drac or MRL's equal model at TRF this year. Not for very long though. It seemed really nice and wanted on the list. ;) I have always liked that style from way back. Sincerely, Patrick Fitzmartin

Here are a couple of pictures of the hilt. The grip is almost four inches--a good half inch longer than Albion's Del Tin Transition Sword. And with the size of my hands that half inch is very important. In the pictures you can also see how thick the pommel is compared to the guard. Before I do any grinding I would like to get an edge on or above look at the original...

ks

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I finally learned how to use the macro function on my camera to get the close ups of the Magnus Pommel...
So while I was out a took a few close ups of the Arbedo blade. I wanted to try to show how the mustard etch
looks up close and personal. I also wanted to show you how I got rid of that deep "Windlass India" etched
into the blade... I replaced it with the cabeza de toro.

ks

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