I am working on a messer (pics below), and had a total and complete brain fart (probably too much carbon monoxide -- was forge welding wrought iron this morning!). I forge welded on the messer's pommel (which i've read was a historically correct method of messer pommel attachment), BEFORE i put on the hilt!!
Messer blade:
1.25" x 0.25" - 1084
Pommel:
Laminated 0.25" strips of wrought iron
Hilt:
Laminated 0.25" strips of wrought iron
I had to forge weld together several pieces of my wrought iron, to get thick enough pieces for the hilt & pommel.
Anyhow, this morning i forge welded the pieces for the hilt, and did a rough forging pass on it (mostly to consolidate the wrought, and ensure the welds stuck). Then, i was going to forge weld each slab of the pommel, however, i took it a step too far and ended up forge welding the slabs onto the blade's tang! Gah! as soon as i stuck the welds, i realized what i had just done...
These are my options as i see it:
-Simply grind off my welded on pommel (which i am proud of, by the way...first successful wrought iron to carbon steel weld!) and start over.
or
-Cut, drill, and chisel out a slot in the hilt which the tang/blade will fit into, cut and fit a slab of wrought to fit over this and sandwich the tang/blade, then use the nagel to peen the hilt, tang, and slab together (essentially making the hilt a cross between a bolster and a crosshilt?). If this isn't clear what i mean, i can draw up a quick illustration...
How were messer hilted historically? I have read (can't recall where) that the pommel was often forge welded on...if so, how was the guard attached?
Thanks for any advice,
Dustin
Where to go from here?
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The messer is roughed out, with some very preliminary profile grinding. [ Download ]
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I'm closely following my Albion Soldat for my first messer: [ Download ]
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closeup of hilt [ Download ]