I have been wondering when and on what types of swords hollow pomels were commonly used? They appear on early British basket hilts in spherical form, are any of the pommels on later style basket hilts hollow or was this particular to the spherical type?

I seem to recall a few other examples of swords from various time periods and regions that are said to have hollow pommels but can't think of any specifically, other than somon Highland "claymores" (the two handed variety).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I think the "Henry V" type XVIII has a hollow pommel. There is also a type XIX (the famous one with the finger ring) that has a hollow type G pommel. Both are early 15th century swords.

As an aside, if I may, how were the hollow pommels made?

Thanks.

I remember reading in the Review of Cold Steels Grosse Messer in the Review section that Antique Messers sometimes featured a pommel that fit over the butt of the Tang like a Cap. Technically a Hollow Pommel.

This sword have hollow pommel or not?
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The use of cap and hollow piece construction of pommels stretches back quite some way. I could not tell you how far back as I am sure it may date to some of the earliest examples of separate pommel construction for swords. In the Eruopean context I have seen several examples of viking sword hilts that were made with hollow elements.

As to the sword Alexander pictured I think that one has a solid pommel if I remeber correctly, it been a while since I looked at it.

The use of the wheel pommel probably had hollow examples in its earliet forms though the solid disc and semi ball shapes probably were most common.

Best
Craig

The examples of hollow pommels^
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Partially hollow pommels are not uncommon on 14th-15thC swords. The famous 'Thames' sword in the Museum of London has a partially hollow pommel, for example:

http://www.fioredeiliberi.org/gallery2/main.p...ewsIndex=1

Regards,
Matt

I have decided to bring this thread back up to see if I can get more examples of hollow pommels, particularly on medieval-period swords. Besides the other swords mentioned in this thread, the inspiration for Albion's new "Vigil" is said to have a pommel which is "slightly hollow" (I assume this means that the cavity/aperture through which the tang passes is over-sized in the interior), and which they have maintained on the reproduction.
I suspect that hollow or partly-hollow pommels may be more common than is generally appreciated, and it seems to me that pommel construction as a whole may be a subject that deserves more attention than it recieves. I think many of us frequently look at a pommel and assume it to be a solid piece of homogenous material, when some examples at least are much more complex than a casual glance would suggest.
If anyone has further examples or info to add to this please do, this is a subject that has lingered in the back of my mind for some time now.

I know you are looking for medieval era swords, but I have commonly encountered hollow pommels with mid to late 16th century riding swords and rapiers. These pommels are usually larger and round, surprising since these 16th century swords usually have guards that fit closely to the hand. I've always wondered how those pommels were made. I do not recall seeing an seems on the pommels but I guess the maker could buff those marks out. Just a guess...

I was aware of some 16th century swords which feature them, mainly some of the early British basket hilts and also some of the two-handed Scottish "claymores", one of which IIRC had a wheel-style pommel with a raised center hub which was hollow and of 3-piece construction.
I would assume the most common method of joining these pieces would be brazing or high-temp. solder, which can make a joint that is all but invisible, if done carefully, which is why I suspect that there may be more of these type of pommels than we realize. In some cases the only clue that a pommel is hollow may be the weight, which may be hard to detect without a very detailed study.

The hollow in many medieval pommels result from the fact that a rather blunt drift is used to form the hole for the tang.
If a narrow punch would have been used, it would very quickly be heated to glowing heat from the hot pommel. You cannot punch a hollow with a glowing and soft tool. Therefore the tool needs to be rather blunt and of large enough diameter that it does not heat up too quickly.
Sometimes the shape of the hole is refined when the pommel is further forged after the hole is punched, sometimes not. The tope of the pommel can have a much smaller hole punched down into the larger hollow inside.
The hollow resulting from a blunt drift is a bit like some one pushing a thumb into soft toffey.

In other cases the pommel is constructed from two or more pieces welded together. They can have pre formed holes, that take up more or less of the volume inside. I would think a drift is still used to shape/refine the final shape of both hole and pommel.

Yet other pommels (I´m thiniking of those rish ones) are made from sheet metal, but looks like wheel pommels with tall tang buttons.


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Having tried to drift a pommel or two myself, your answer makes a lot of sense, Peter. Extracting a seized drift punch from a long, narrow hole is an aggravating waste of forging time.
Now that I give it some thought I recall seeing a rapier pommel done similarly to the way you describe on Patrick Barta's site.
Is this something you typically look for or consider when examining an original sword?