I have a Tinker Pearce 9th Century which is made my Hanwei and it is of superb fit and finish for the money. I believe that if you buy the sword you want with the Tinker Pearce name on it from Hanwei you will get a very fine sword indeed. I dearly love my Tinker Viking and it matches the Albion blade I just purchased. So you can't go wrong. GET IT! NOW! Just don't tell the wife right away. You know how wives are. :lol: :lol: :cool: :cool:

A picture of the original sword by Mr. Pearce is here: http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=94883

Not surprisingly, the original has a better, more uniform finish. The blade profile also looks more uniform than Hanwei's version, although it's hard to tell from that angle. However, I have arrived at an interpretation of the Hanwei model that suits me fine - it looks like a well-used sword that started out with the classic X profile but has been used and honed so much that the last 3rd toward the tip has narrowed. (Anyone with an old fishing knife knows what I mean.)

It would be interesting to hear Mr. Pearce's thoughts on how this sword turned out.

-JD

First let me say that the post by Roger Hooper showing the pommel illustrations is first rate. This has served as an impetus for goading me into doing more detailed research and reading.

My concern has been with the utility, fit and finish of the swords I have purchased. The Albion Reeve is the sword I should have purchased to begin with and would have saved me a lot of expense in my learning process. Next let me say that one can purchase a reasonably good sword for a lesser price than would normally be expected. The Tinker Pearce 9th Century Viking is a Case in point. Catalog price is $329.00 which is what I paid from a reputable dealer online.

This same dealer let me return a 9th Century Godfred Viking for which I paid $469.00 and with which I was very disappointed. The pommel and guard were first rate but the handle was wrapped in the cheapest suede leather strips which really detracted from the looks of the sword. The blade was patterned but looked very poorly done and finished.

I was very pleased with the Tinker 'viking and disappointed with the Godfred Viking. Both are from Hanwei. So price is not a guide nor is the maker. The importance is the dealer (Kult of Athena has a good reputation), the maker, and finally the name on the sword as in Tinker Pearce.

As I said I am interested in using the sword in cutting and handling (except for Reeve which will only be for display) so a blade that holds up and handles well along with pommels, and guards which don't rattle is very important to me. A sword which rattles is indication of sword which could disintegrate and is dangerous to the user and onlookers alike.

As for someone who wants an exact copy of an existing sword then be prepared to part with lots of cash because attention to detail costs time as does assembly of materials.

Finally, you can always purchase an orginal if you can find one for sale but be prepared to pay half the price of the Queen's coronation for it.

The same old caveat's apply to swords that apply to cars. If you can't afford a Mercedes, you buy a Ford or a Honda.

I took advantage of a business trip to the US to have a hanwei tinker Normand delivered at my hotel.

I'm hugely impressed with the sword and I can fully confirm J.D. Crawford's impressions on it. Weight distribution is top notch, it is light, fast, very well balanced and by far the most pleasant one handler I've owned so far. I feel I've bought a sword worth at least twice the price.

The sword exhibits features that I've seen only on much higher range products: very noticable distal taper, edge by blade geometry without secondary bevel, clean fullers, perfect fit at the junction of the blade and guard (no gap), peened pommel, (nice) leather over wood core scabbard, very nice U steel shape too, well made leather grip...for 200$ this sword is the answer to all that bothered me at that price point so a huge Bravo to you Mr Tinker Pierce!

I will be able to upgrade this sword with very little efforts: I've already begun to work on the blade and hilt finish (I have to say the sword is starting to look very much like an albion with satin finish pommel and guard, this should be even more so with a new cord/leather grip).

Cheers,

Julien

Would this type of sword be appropriate for the crusader era sword? Probably only for the 1. crusade?

I lack time for projects lately, but I could not resist dissecting the Normand sword today.

I like what I found underneath very much. Wooden sandwich grip bound with thin cord, leather raisers, and quality leather on the top of it all.

Dan Dickinson wrote:

When I received the Viking, I was going to re-wrap the grip, so I removed the leather covering...immediately the cross began to rattle and could move at least an 8th of an inch up and down. The grip core also could slide around on the tang. Apparently Hanwei used a compression fit, but tucked the edges of the leather covering under the top and bottom of the grip. When the leather was removed, everything loosened up.

Well that's also the case on the Norman Dan, as the pictures below shows. I won't dismount the sword entirely so I'm currently thinking about my options, the most probable one might be to force thin cord soaked with glue in the gap between the guard and grip (mine doesn't slide on the tang, the wood appears to be glued on it, so I will have to do that on both ends, near the guard and near the grip. I won't be able to wedge the guard though if I go that way...

Any thoughts on fixing this issue are welcome.

I was also wondering if I could safely sand down the pin so that it would be nearly invisible. I don't want to compromise the safety of the sword assembly.

Cheers,

Julien

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Julien,
What if you where to remove the wooden slats carefully with a chisel and manufacture new ones that would fit better, and in turn wedge everything tightly in place. It almost seems like an extra 1 or 2mm of length added to the grip slats would do the trick. Good luck and keep us posted as to how you deal with this problem. Good day!

When you used the hammer, had you used it by hitting either side of the pommel intermittently to "wiggle" it down the tang? Or I suppose placing a small piece of pipe around the peen, and striking it would also work by applying a force evenly on either side without just pounding on the peen itself.
I plan to embark on a similar project using this same sword. This thread was actually the very thing that talked me into this sword in the first place, and I hope not to seem like a copycat, but it is just a great idea!!! :D I had been shopping carefully for months now for a good one handed sword of a European theme, and enjoy the wider blades with broad fullers of the early Medieval /Late Viking era time period. It was a toss up between this sword and Valiant's "Practical Arming Sword". After reading the positive review of this sword on this thread I was convinced. Not to mention this is right in my price range
Do you plan to recycle the wooden core that already came with the sword or are you going to carve out your own?

Thanks for your time and no need for rapid response, since I won,t be getting the sword for two or three months, and I have three other projects going already :lol:

Hey guys!

Great work and ideas on the customization of this sword... Consider me impressed.

HOWEVER, I would like to make it clear that I've heard numorous reports that the H/T swords are equipped with fiberglass scabbard cores. :-/ They aren't really an issue, but you may wish to make your own core out of poplar rather than reuse the synthetic one.

You've given me some ideas... I'm not a big fan of the Viking or Norman swords, but the Early Medieval Single Handed Sword calls to me. ;D

Thanks,
Brogdon

I have OFFICIALLY changed my mind about the Norman. :D

Take a look at _THIS_!!! :eek:

Consider me impressed... Darn it tough! Now I have yet ANOTHER sword on my wishlist! :evil: :blush: LOL :lol:

Anyway, I just thought that you fine fellows may be interested in this latest development in Hanwei/Tinker Norman History. ;) Man when Sonny and his Custom Sword Shoppe set out to customize something, they suire do it right! :cool:

Sincerely,
Brogdon Combs

Yep, those Valiant modifications sure look nice.

I tried a few things with mine as well. First, I spent a few hours in front of the TV set sanding down the blade with progressively finer sandpaper till I got to 2000 grit. I was not able to get rid of the deeper grind marks but at least the blade gleams now like its companions.

Second, I thought I would use some commercial 'gun blue' to darken the pommel and guard. (This worked OK on another sword). Much to my surprise, the bluing gel had no effect at all except on the end of the tang, which turned black until I sanded that off again. In other words, it appears that the pommel and guard are either constructed from or plated with some kind of non-ferrous material. A bit odd.

Otherwise I like the grip the way it is so I just lightly sanded the guard and pommel with 2000 to try to even out the finish to match the blade.

-JD

Errata:

Further investigations (basically stripping off the leather off the scabbard) revealed that the scabbard doesn't feature a wooden core, but is in fact made of fiberglass. The scabbard mouth only is wood (6 cm down the lenght of the scabbard and then it's all fiberglass. Personnally, I don't mind at all...in fact I think this is a clever and effective way to reduce costs whitout compromising looks. The fact that the scabbard mouth is wood will ensure that when rewrapping the core with leather, it will look like a wooden one even when looking up close down the mouth (it had me fooled when I bought the sword).

Cheers,

Julien

Hi,

for members who haven't seen this in the Makers and manufacturers talk subforum, this is a customised Norman sword (see attachments). The work was done by Valiant Armoury Custom sword shoppe. It is my first sword and I'm really impressed by it. It looks much more impressive and imposing in hand, than on the pictures. And the work, done by Valiant armoury team is also very good, especialy when considering the price point. I think it would be very hard to find a better Norman sword set than this one for this price.

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=18049

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i was wandering the forum and found this. i really like that custom scabbard a lot. i have handled 2 of these swords before at KOA and loved them. i like the input as it has helped me decide to put it on my wish list. just handling the sword was enough, but this has hammered it in for me. i have handled several swords including arms and armor and ollin. even though ollin was best in every area, this one just felt right in my hand.