I posted this at the end of this thread: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13128
but thought it deserved its own as well.

Almost a year ago, I asked Craig Johnson at Arms & Armor to make me as accurate a copy of the Henry V sword as possible. A&A had recently started doing a production hollow ground blade to match the original, but the pommel of the hollow ground model is still a one piece solid disc. Oakeshott describes the historic pommel this way:

Quote:

...very massive, but not so heavy as its size would suggest, for each of the circular rims which enclose the recess is made, hollow, of very thin metal, brazed onto a massive iron disc"

I wanted something as close as I could get to the original, so I asked A&A to produce such a pommel (and to add a custom red grip to make it a bit more distinctive as well).

You can see the result below, and I have included a picture of the pommel side as well as a scan from Records of the Medieval Sword for comparison.

The sword feels great, and weighs just under 2.5 pounds.(A&A says that the hollow pommel actually subtracts only about an ounce).
Gordon

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Nicely done, I believe you have owned their regular version as well in some shape form or fashion, is it recent enough to comment on any handling differences between your new version and the "stock" model?

Good work Craig!

Mike -

I did own, and recently sold, an older version with bronze hilt furniture (pic below). It was a much more massive sword - almost 3 lbs. They both balance pretty close to the blade and move well, but this one feels like a sword to fence with, while the other was a real little brute. The older version cut really well - have not tried with this one yet.

Gordon

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Gordon,

Very nice. I particularly like the matching red scabbard. Could you post a pic of the top of the rivet block? Also maybe a close up of the tip. From the pic it looks like it is uneven but I'm assuming that is a trick of the light?

Thanks Gordon. I didn't think the tip was uneven it's just something I noticed when you posted the photos in the other topic. I assumed it was the shadow from the hollow grinding. I have the Albion Kingmaker so I'm interested in how they resolved the tip in comparison.

Gordon,

You have quite a nice collection of medieval weapons. This only adds to it.

I know everyone else will probably focus on the sword but can you also post more picks of the scabbard? I've never seen an A&A wood core scabbard before and am very curious as to not only your impressions of the quality of the scabbard but also the thickness of the wooden cross section.

Very nice, thanks for sharing. The custom work is very well done, and it looks like a great addition. I would also be interested in seeing some pictures of the tip just to see how reinforced it may be.

Nice one Gordon. I'm a big fan of this sword myself, as I got one of the first Hollow-ground versions not long after A&A announced that they were available, and it is still probably the best balanced sword I've ever held. Just a little bit annoyed about one thing though as, funnily enough, I asked if I could have the sword with a red grip, and I was told that the grip could only be done in black or brown, they seem to have changed their minds pretty soon after.

Seeing yours makes me even more resolved to have the grip on mine changed, when I eventually get around to having a scabbard made, as that is beautiful.

Cheers,
Darrin.

btw, mine weighs 2lbs, 8oz with the solid pommel, but given that A&A do all their shaping by hand, rather than using a machine to cut out the shape, it would be quite easy to understand a couple of ounces difference one way or the other.

Well done. An excellent display, so thank you very much.

Congrats on a wonderful looking piece. I must say, I envy it.