Posts: 159 Location: Nøtterøy, Norway
Tue 01 Feb, 2011 12:03 pm
Finally found some spare time to wire-wrap my grip.
I bought a 25m reel of 0,7mm steel wire. Not entirely sure about the specs but it's quite soft and will not snap if twisted.
I tried a test-wrap with a 1m lenght of a slightly thicker wire but it was impossible to ensure a tight fit on my octagonal grip. The 0.7mm is rather pliable.
First, stripping the leather. It basically peeled off very easy. Only the risers and some superglue-infected leather stuck to the wood and required some sanding. I also had a crack near the crossguard I glued while it was exposed.
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I started wrapping from the pommel. I was told by a jeweller that he always started from the tapered end if there was one. Assumingly because the wire will bunch up at the thinnest point and that is eliminated by starting there to get a tight fit.
Before I started, I heated the end of the wire with a propane torch and hammered it flat so I could wedge it in between the wood grips and the pommel. I tried to punch it and hammer a small rivet through it but decided the rivet was too big so I just stuck it in and wrapped it a few times.
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The I started rolling the wire. I held the wire very tigh in my left hand and spun the sword with my right while using my thumb to compress the wire ensuring it was tight all the way. It was surprisingly easy to apply the wire very straight. I had to loosen the wire a few times to adjust it but not a problem at all.
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After endless spinning and very very sore fingers I was halfway and cursed meself for taling on this task with no beer in the fridge. The wire came on in a slightly wavy pattern due to the reel. It actually looks good and add some texture.
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After 1,5 hours from start I was done and secured the crossguard end by sticking it under a few rounds of wire, wedging it in under the crossguard and applying some superglue to that area. And then some gentle hammering to flatten the wires a bit and locking the end.
Then I hammered gently up and down all sides of the grip (8) to make sure no rounds of wire stood out too much. This also distributed the wire more evenly in some places where I had been less accurate.
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Finally I rubbed in my magical homemade putty made from beeswax and turpentine. Flows in every gap, bind to the wood and fixates the entire wire. It also works like a non-slip layer. And it smells wonderful ;-)
What remains is to see how well this relatively soft wire holds up to wear and tear. I use the grip and pommel to block so it will take quite a few edge hits.