For several years I’ve thought about purchasing another short-sword but I never found one that really suited me and I assumed that having one custom made would be more than I was willing to pay. Then, John Lundemo made a post offering basic cutting swords for people on a budget. I immediately contacted him with the specifications of what I wanted and the price was right so I commissioned him to create it for me.
The historical precedent for this size sword is a riding sword that Oakeshott included as “XVI.4” in his “Records of the Medieval Sword”. He felt that even though the blade was only 21” long, this was a sword made for a high ranking man rather than a child or an archer.
http://www.myArmoury.com/view.html?features/pic_spotxvi10.jpg
For the pommel I turned to another type XVI sword, Oakeshott’s “XVI.3” in “Records”. This has long been one of my favorite medieval swords and I decided to incorporate that pommel into this design.
http://www.myArmoury.com/images/features/pic_spotxvi09.jpg
The guard I left up to John and based on a quick review of Oakshott's work it's a version of guard style 6.
My personal blade preference is for the Chinese jian but since a short jian is my next project I decided to keep this one's influences firmly in the medieval genre and go with a blade that would fit into the type XVIII category.
The basic sword stats are:
Weight: 1 lb 11.5 oz
Overall length: 29.5”
Blade length: 23”
Blade width: 2” at base of blade
Point of balance: 3.5” in front of the guard
I also had John darken the fittings and make a leather sheath like the one on his website under "Comando II".
The sword turned out fantastic and I'm very excited to own my second Odin!
The photographs aren't the best as it is really overcast outside.
And a nice little touch is the leatherwork on the end of the sheath
