After the rondel feature early this year, I became very interested in having a substantial rondel dagger made. I wanted something that could be used in place of a sword as a backup weapon to the glaive for my 15th century man at arms. I talked to two makers about a possible project, Arms and Armor (where I had two previous custom orders that I was very happy with) and Justin King. In the end, I could not decide which to go with, so I had two daggers made.

The A&A dagger is not quite finished, but the one by Justin is done, and should be shipped this week. Some preview pics at several points in the process follow.

First two are the blade before and after heat treat (and being cleaned up with a rough polish).

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Next Justin assembled the components to get an idea of the overall look. We talked and he made some changes to the rondels, and changed the grip. The almost final and final shots are below as well. I think you will agree that Justin produced a stunning weapon! I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Gordon

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That is nicely done.

ROndels and grip are very visually pleasing.

That is amazing. I tend to think of the rondel as being very utilitarian and then you guys make this. Lovely.

Very nice: I really like the rondels and the file work on them. Simple and elegant and more interesting than plain disks.

How long is the blade ? From the picture on the anvil I would guess at between 15" and 20 " blade and the fact that you wanted something big enough to be a substitute to a sword as a side arm / backup weapon.

Any statistics about blade width and thickness at the guard ?

Very nice Gordon. I particularly like the filework on the rondels, it adds a very classy touch. Did he take the blade design from any particular historic precedent? I'm especially interested in the fuller style on a piece like this.

Hope I'm not butting in...The fuller style is just something I have been working on. I have grown to dislike seeing a fuller either begin or end on a blade with a plunge cut, so I have been working on a style that continues into the tang section, as is common historically, and then simply fades out at the other end, as the blade's thickness tapers down to the thickness at the bottom of the fuller.

I made the blade first, then figured out the rest from there between Gordon and myself, after a I did a good bit of browsing on period examples as well as some of the nicer repros that are out there. I lean heavily towards making blades that will actually cut well, so I tried to design the blade to do this and also to have the thrusting potential that is emphasized in historical pieces. I am struck more and more by the similarities in outline, at least, to an example shown in the recent Spotlight on rondel daggers from the Royal Armouries, Leeds, labeled (X-2). This was not entirely intentional although I did roughly model the shape of the grip after this piece.

The last picture is a bit misleading-the rondels are etched to a light grey, the lighting makes them look funky in the pic. I
I could comment on final specs but I prefer to leave that to Gordon, since the gloating is important when you get a new piece.....I am on my way out to the shop to do the final polish and mounting as I write this. This is the last time I get to play with it as I will be packaging it up right afterwards so I don't get any fingerprints or scratches on it. It will be going out Tues. or Wed, so you should have it by the end of the week, Gordon.
Cheers-
Justin

Thanks Justin - I am really looking forward to it.

Patrick,

I have not seen a blade exactly like this one on a historical dagger, but one of the reasons I like the rondel "form" is that there does not seem to be a real "typical" blade shape. For example, these two from the spotlight. the top one might have a fuller, the bottom one is very complex.

I wonder if Alexi ran across other fullered rondels in his research for that piece?

Gordon

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It looks like Justin did some really nice work.

Dear Mr. Clark:

Mr. Goranov almost certainly did run across at least
one other fullered rondel dagger in his research, as
the Higgins Armory Museum has an example with a
complexly fullered blade very similar to the lower ex-
ample in the photo that you reproduce from his arti-
cle. I believe it's mounted with a composite wooden
hilt similar to those made in the Burgundian style.

The Higgins blade's state of preservation seems to
be much better than that of the dagger above. The
details are very clear, including the reinforced tip,
which is somewhat difficult to see in this photo.

I regret that I don't have a camera and so cannot pro-
vide a picture of the Higgins weapon. I also couldn't
find any in a quick look at the albums here.

Best,

Mark Millman

Very nice Gordon! Ironically, the July Rondell special intrigued me to do the very same thing and order a custom Rondell. I have no idea what the finished dagger will be like except that the blade will be no less than 13 inches long. I gave Craig open license to do it as he liked, could run anywhere from stock price to upwards of $350.00.
It's a self ordered surprise, but I know I will love it!


Bob

Justin,

That is a really nice looking dagger. What size anvil is that in the picture? Is that your primary anvil or do you use another one as well? I'm mostly curious because I do a little blacksmithing myself, and have considered trying to do a dagger at some point.

-Grey

Thanks very much for all the comments-I appreciate compliments as well as constructive criticism.

To answer some of the questions, I do not have a website up at this point. I simply don't produce enough volume of product to justify setting one up, maintaining it and answering endless emails-I would never make it out to the shop to build anything.

That is my only anvil in the picture, I believe it is about 85#. It is actually on loan from a friend and I will one day have to pony up and buy my own....generally, for efficiency, the rule seems to be 10# of anvil for every 1# of hammer you are using, although many would likely disagree with this.

Thanks again for the looks and comments. This is the first comissioned piece I have ever made, so feedback is very welcome.

That's a very nice dagger. I love the rondels, eloquent but still practical. I like that combination between utilitarian and decoration, you've done a great job with it Justin!

Congrats Gordon!

Justin,
What kind of price range are we looking at for something like this (I quite understand if you wouldn't like to answer this publicly, I am just wondering because I would eventually like a custom rondel, just wondering what you charge for your stunning work).

-James

Well, I have the dagger in hand. It is just as nice as I had thought it would be from Justin's pics.
The width of the blade at the base is 1.1 inches, thickness just over 1/4, say .28 inch. Full stats and my impressions to come later, but some pics to allow others to enjoy Justin's great work follow.
Enjoy.

Gordon

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Mr Clark
Lovely looking piece! Is the handle oval in cross section?
Geoff