I haven't gotten much done in the workshop this year, but this piece is coming along.

For this piece, I'm butchering a Windlass "Munich" hilt, making a pommel and mounting on a shortened HT sharp longsword blade. It's quite a monster!

I'm taking inspiration from swords of 1525-1540 but this project isn't meant to be historically accurate. I can't say how I want this to turn out because I don't yet know! I'm making it up as I go. I will try a complex wire binding for the grip, but won't yet commit to that.

The photos below show my progress to date. As of today, I've started turning the rear quillon. I haven't dropped the pommel to its final position because I first need to make sure the guard is where I want it on the blade. Then the pommel can come down another .5-1"

I've often broken Windlass hilts by bending them without sufficient heat. This time I'm really getting the steel up to red everywhere I think it will be stressed. So far, so good.

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Hey Sean,
Probably too late, but what if you left enough grip length that you could mount a severely waisted grip, to let you grab the pommel with the off-hand, like some of those 16th C. German bastards we all love ( the ones that often feature type XIX blades).
Not sure how correct that would be with the hilt form. Might be the Trippel talking...
:D Eric

there actually is a single-hand grip like that, but it's pretty distinctive, associated with an ovoid pommel. that reminded of some swords of this period at the musee de l'armee. there are some exciting features to be seen among those, including reeded grips with filets and ferrules. hmmmm....

Is that one of your Alchem pommels? Did you cut the fluting yourself? I've found a local steel and iron fence part supplier that has a lot of diameters and weights for iron spheres but one must punch or bore the channel for the tang oneself... Easier said than done in the tuff shed armoury!

yes, that's an Alchem ball that I filed. those come with a narrow drill about halfway through, which is a handy pilot hole, easily opened and extended with a hand drill and proper bit.

I haven't made much progress on this or anything else this summer, but I have a rough and bulky rectangular-section grip that still needs some reducing and refining, if not reshaping to oval section. Just needed it to be a right length at this point, so I could finish adjusting the hilt. I have some black rayskin that might look nice on that, but I'll have to see how the blued hilt looks before I commit to using that premium material.

The guard is mostly fitted to the blade now, and it has its rough shape. The rear quillon needs some work--a more gradual curve, perhaps. Still a bit of material to remove and refine, but it's creeping closer. Maybe I'll finish by Halloween.

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I figure you can't swing it, and it's still in a rough condition, but that looks like a handful of a sword. How does it feel statically? Would it be a jack of all trades fencer, or maybe more of a stab and slice battlefield weapon?

Looks great, by the way. I've never wanted to try something like that until now...

Great-looking guard - one of my most favourite forms.
This reminds me I'll do something similar soon.

Anyway, I'm waiting to see the finished result.

the HT longsword blades are very light--thick in upper third and tang, but with distal taper down to a very thin section. I haven't mounted one as a longsword yet, preferring to cut them down for c&t swords. POB on this sword right now is 4.25" below cross and 2.25" below the ring. With the finger around the ricasso as it shod be, it's already a very light and quick sword. Something for the Bolognese school, maybe. It would be fierce with a small buckler.

Although my design is a bit fanciful, I'm still trying to keep my design in the range of 1525-1550.

Hey Sean,

No time to post much these days, but I'm watching this closely :)
Daring hilt alterations here, and very promising results so far.

Will you shorten the blade? It seems it could do with a couple of inches less for your intended purpose.

Cheers,

J

This gives a better sense of scale. Many (most?) modern complex hilts are too large, so I took care to base my proportions on those seen in historical depictions (including biometrics when possible--it's always great to see the sword in hand or at least near the hand in paintings and drawings). Based on all that, I have a grip of 3 3/8". Even that might be very slightly longer than what I'm seeing, but it matches the width of my fist. My hand fits snugly between cross and pommel, but the grip length is optimized for having the finger around the ricasso. The pommel doesn't interfere with the hand, but there's no unnecessary length in the grip.

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Amazing work!

Out of curiosity/future reference, how did you get rid of the discolouration on the grip components? Justfine sandpaper and some sscrubbing? (I'm purchasing a helmet that might need weld-reinforcement which would discolour the metal around the weld and I do like myself them mirror finishes)

Henrik: For simple discoloration due to heat, I'd suggest trying something like this http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/3M/en_...amp;rt=rud

This will get rid of light stains and give a uniform matte finish that you can then refine with fine steel wool.

A bit of progress to report on this long, long project. Just blued the hilt to a dark gray. Might want to go darker, but I'll wait to see how the grip and finished blade look with the current finish.

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I think the grey looks great, and I think it would contrast very well with a black scabbard or with subtle dark fittings. I say leave it--you can always go darker, but it looks quite good as is.

Yeah, I think the grey will relieve some of the darkness of grip and scabbard. Thought about a silver nut as well, though I think a flush peen would be more typical of the period I'm (roughly) aiming at.

it looks really nice Sean - it´s an inspiring project :)
did you gray it chemically?

Thanks! Yes, that's Birchwood-Casey Perma-Blue. It typically requires two applications to get a deep black because you have to carefully polish the piece with fine steel wool after each bluing to even the finish. That makes it lighter than it is immediately after the application.