Here she is. A custom German Bastard Sword made for a steel on steel fighter on the West Coast. It has a custom 36" blade that is diamond ground with a polished out fuller. The guard is made from 3 pieces all forged and welded together. We then sanded the rings flat on the inside,taking about half the wieght off. The pommel was hand spiral faceted and polished.

The customer wanted a german bastard sword with a "twist" theme with a 36" blade. That was all I had to work with.

Hope you like.

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Any comments? I would love to hear what you think. We plan on keeping this twist theme going through the year. Last year if you remember we did a yatagahn type piece with that twist theme, the tripple fullered gemstone sword and few others.

Beautiful sword... Looks like you really put out some seriously high quality swords. The triple-fullered sword is a beauty as well as all of the others....

Do you charge extra for Steelers Fans?

Wow, that is really impressive. It looks like it belongs on the cover of a fantasy novel. It looks very powerful, but it also looks really heavy.

How does it handle?

That's very freaking intimidating. I'd hate to have to fight the dude who could use that sword one-handed.

I really like the pommel, I really like the twisted blackened hilt. I do not however care for the combination on the sword. Having said that, I love the sword, although I agree, that must be a monster to heft (at least it gives that impression). Very nice

Thanks to you all. First off yes I do charge extra for Steelers fans. 2nd I guess I should have stated that I wasn't going for 100% historical.

The customer asked if I could make him a sword like the one below but in german bastard hilt style with double rings.

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We were going for historical shape with an agressive twist.

Here is an example of a similar sword with a much lighter hilt. This was a much longer blade with no fuller and fully diamond ground.

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Full length views would be nice also....

Nice looking sword, it looks well done :)

I also have some constructive criticism, which I hope you will take as such. I do not mean this offensively or as a put-down of your work.

I really like the twists on the guard, but it looks overbuilt. I think the piece would look much more elegant with a thinner guard. I also wish that the ends of the quillons curved more; as they are they look like the curve is intentional, but I think they would be much more aesthetically pleasing with a larger/more exaggerated curve. Also, to me the ends of the quillons (the part you look at to see the profile) look under-addressed. I also wish that the handle wrap was a bit more even, it seems somewhat out-of-keeping with the attention to detail that is obvious on the rest of the piece.

Overall, it looks like a pretty nice piece though.. Good work. :)

One thing is for certain. Seems the overall feel for this is that we should try to do one a bit more dainty. I will certainly do that.

After completing this one Kerry and I both looked at each other and agreed that it was a shame leather wraping this sword. It is what was paid for. Did I mention that this was only an $800 sword. I think we both are eager to do one soon and go all out.

This turned out great for the first one. Big swords are always fun and we do love the fully forged guards.

Thanks for the feedback so far. It seems to be pleasing to the eye to most people but they want to see a lighter version with a handle wurthy of the hilt and the furniture should match in finish. Either both polished or both dark. Sounds good to me.

I am thinking of using a beautiful piece of Ironwood that I picked up at the Chesepeak Knife show with bronze fittings for the handle on the next one. Maybe even with a damascus blade.

Ooooh! Ironwood AND bronze, now THAT would look super nice!!! Please do, and post pics as soon as you complete it (he says hopefully). I love the bronze work you guys do, and wood grips are my favorite - they're just so beautiful. Looking forward to seeing more of your work in person at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. :D

Beautiful work Matthew.

I specially like your faceted pommel.

Would it be possible to know the weight and the COG of your sword. Just curious.

Thanks.

I didnt get any great shots of the full sword. I took a ton but the blade got flushed out on most of them. Here are a few so that you get the idea but I will get more pics from the owner soon.

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The guard looks a little less overbuilt in the context of seeing the whole blade and the overbuilding makes sense if it's going to get a lot of steel on steel use and for it to be durable.

Sort of looks too nice to want to slam it against other swords unless it's done with moderate force and under control ! But then it depends on how " pristine " the owner of the sword wants it to remain and what degree of use or abuse he wants expose it too.

Aesthetically I would prefer the guard to be about 20% of thinner stock but still robust.

Overall a very nice piece even if we all wanted to give some positive criticism. ;) :D :cool:

Yea, even to me the guard looks a bit smaller when showing the full sword. Remember I am a much smaller guy then most sword makers. My hands may have messed up the perspective.

Just got specs from the new owner

weight 3lbs 15 ounces
POB 3" from the guard
1 7/8" wide at hilt to 5/8" at before the point

Seems he loved it.