I'll shoot a few this evening out at the shoppe and post them . Thats exactly the one Luther copied . I called Luther a few years back to find out the history of the piece as it struck me as odd that the fellow I bought it from in a little
flea market knew who the maker was ( the only reason I knew at that time was from reading an article in smithsonian
magazine in 1991 about Mr. Sowers ) . The piece has a strange story .Mr. Sowers was commisioned to make this
sword and the Dutch transitional small sword shown in Arms and Armour in Colonial America by St.Marys
college in St.Marys Maryland ( the original colonia capital of the state ) when the college unearthed the foundations of a 17th century fort while building new dorms and they planned to have a musenm with a couple of living history
guides . In the early 80's one of the networks filmed a mini-series called "The Voyage" about the Mayflower
and shot a good portion of the film in and around St.Marys. The college voluntiered thier living history folks
and reenactors showed from all around to be extras . When the filming wrapped the sword dissapeared .
I'm guessing the person I bought it from is probably the person hwo stole it from the set given that they
knew who the manufacturer was . Pics this evening .

Here are some pics( poorly done) of the Luther Sowers German basket hilt from 1978 . At some point some one saw fit to
chisel off the upper quillon .

---

 Attachment: 53.19 KB



 Attachment: 25.44 KB



 Attachment: 60.57 KB

one more

---

 Attachment: 53.19 KB

Nice piece, Allan !

How does she feel ?

Mac

It has that curious perfect fit thing going on . The studs on the grip ( Mr. Sowers told me he used
finishing nails filed to a round ) give great traction for the hand . Light and fast . The patination
of 25 or so years gives it a nice antique look thats I dig as well ( when I collected period
pieces were my thing ) .

I've been trying to figure out why your photo is so familiar Mac, and then today while talking to
Harlan at the shoppe it clicked that you came to faire about four years back ( I spent ALOT
of time with the Tinker claymore with the double shell gaurd you used to have ) . It's a
pleasure to have the chance to chat again .

Here's some Continental baskets up for auction on the Hermann Historica site.

--ElJay

---

 Attachment: 17.28 KB



 Attachment: 25.69 KB



 Attachment: 18.13 KB



 Attachment: 22.18 KB

And one more...

---

 Attachment: 12.71 KB

A GERMAN 16th CENTURY BASKET-HILT SWORD
length 105 cm; probably later pommel

[ Linked Image ]

http://www.auktionsverket.se/

Mac

Some of these German styles are intriuging ,I have to admit. The main focus of my interest as of late has been on Mortuary's and Schiavona's.

I have a love for all types of basket-hilts. My personal favorites are schiavone, followed by the Anglo-Scottish types and the German ones. I don't find the various ones shown on page 1 of this thread to be "messy"; they simply look "different" from what we're used to seeing.

Some of the schiavone appear to have finger rings that are functional--I asked El Jay about this once, but my short term memory is shot, so if anyone could clarify that point (including El Jay, of course), it would be great.

Hi David,
I'm pretty sure that most (if not all) Schiavona have plenty of room to place a finger over the quilliion. I know that all of the ones I've handled have!

--ElJay

Personally I think te non-british basket hilts are beautyful.
There are quite a few of them in Forsvarsmuseet in Oslo, but I've never brought a camera when I've vistied the museum.

Cheers,
Henrik

Figured it would be better form to continue this conversation (albeit a nearly fifteen year old one) rather than create a new thread.

Has there been any interesting finds or documentation done of continental / Germanic basket hilted swords done, perhaps in a similar manner to their British cousins?

Looking to get a nice one in 2019 and want to ensure I'm taking a historically correct path here.

This is what I could find by doing a simple search

https://www.nielo-sword.com/foto/continental-basket-hilt/


I have yet to see much else out there. My Broadsword instructor is working with Baelfire Blades to get a 1750's British Baskethilt made. You could maybe email Chris at Baelfire about reproducing a Continental baskethilt to compliment the British one he is currently working on.

Will and Scott,

Thanks for posting these comments to bring this thread back from the past. I have a soft spot for basket hilts but had not been aware of this discussion.

I really like that Nielo basket. Late last year I corresponded with Michal at Nielo about making a straight-quillon version of it. It looks very much like an antique Continental basket that I was fortunate enough to acquire last year (see below). I'm still thinking about what to let go to make room for the straight-quillon Nielo.

---

 Attachment: 92.28 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 139.87 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 100.47 KB
[ Download ]

basket hilt second half 16thC

---

 Attachment: 202.59 KB



 Attachment: 182.78 KB



 Attachment: 199.17 KB



 Attachment: 199.5 KB



 Attachment: 215.52 KB

All--

Ever since I saw this E.B. Erickson Continental basket hilt posted by our host Nathan...

http://myArmoury.com/swor_ebe_contbh.html

...I've wanted to reunite it with the antique that inspired it. I now have both; see the second and third from the top in the first pic!

Thanks to ElJay Erickson for his craftsmanship, Nathan for posting both the antique and the reproduction, and Kyle Edwards for letting the repro go.

Still in the early stages of comparing them. but there are some interesting differences noted thus far. The repro feels lighter but is actually an ounce or two heavier.

[img]

[img]

[img][/img]

---

 Attachment: 150.68 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 64.29 KB
[ Download ]

 Attachment: 65.68 KB
[ Download ]