Hi all,

I'd like to gather pictures of elaborate sword grips here (either in art or on original swords). Finding examples can be daunting so having a dedicated thread could be usefull. The first example that comes to mind is obviously the Munich longsword and if anyone happend to have a close shot of the leather work that would be fantastic.

I'll open the ball with the below:

longsword from the musee de l'armée - Paris


ceremonial sword - english - not leather (probably carved in wood) - source : Laking, Guy Francis, Sir - A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries



Laking, Guy Francis, Sir - A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries



Laking, Guy Francis, Sir - A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries



Posted here by another member (Sean if my memory does not fail me) along with other shots I can't find anymore - don't hesitate if you have more as it is a superb example.


edit: Archive.org has updated their online reader module. It's fantastic now and you can zoom into pictures and grab great details. So here are close shots of the two swords above:

A couple...

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There's a nice example in Europaische Hieb-und Stichwaffen. Maybe somebody has a scan or photo.

a nice photomontage of the bayern museum longsword, unfortunately, unless the picture is a close up of decent resolution, the leather tooling remains hard to figure out.

German, 1520. This is typical of what I've seen--organic grotesque, vines and such. I don't see much in the way of geometric designs on grips, though you'll see that on other leather goods.

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Thanks Sean, that's exaclty what I am after.

More would be nice!

J

Any more examples of these by any chance? I have 3 here that can be of use, the Munich, the one from Paris, and the German sword Sean provided. All flowery patterns (seems to be the norm among these rare examples of tooled grips), all seen an used in modern reproductions already.

I'm working on a full customization of an A&A Durer - I'd like to avoid floral decoration and if possible look for new avenues to explore.

I can't think of any other...

Cheers!

J

Here are a few more images of sword grips with tooled leather...

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So that grip is actually rectangular or square in section rather than round or beveled? Well now that's something I never realized before, but I always did wonder. Thank you :)

(I speak of the Munich XVIIIb, of course... I think all of us have at some point looked at that sword and been all "ooh pretty, I want one")