just notice a vendor's page showing the Hanwei #2004 (sharp) mortuary hilt as being dis-continued. So, had a look at CAS / Hanwei's site and did notice they only have the practical version listed.

Hmmmm......guess in time they'll drop the mortuary altogether?

My beloved mortuary hilts always seem to get no respect :( .............................................

I got one the first Cromwell's to hit the block 3 years ago.

It just saddens me that this beautiful style / make / type of basket-hilt gets hardly any recognition or merit.....

I'm curious if the sales for the practical weren't actually higher than for the sharp... I've never seen a sharp in person, but have had my hands on over a dozen of the practicals (enough to notice some generational improvement in the product). But my perspective may be a special case.

Well Bill, one could hope that maybe it is a prelude to an even better mortuary. Your mentioning it now somewhat prompts me jump on one before they are gone forever. There have been several reproductions that disappeared over the years that may have better off in the hand instead of wondering why I didn't.

Cheers

GC

Hmmm, I should go and buy another practical one just in case. I've been fighting with mine now for just over 4 years, had to have the basket reinforced after 2.5 years, and after 3 years need the tang reforged and the pommel done in a more traditional way. But I really like them for fencing. Hope that they come out with a new one if they yank it.

This was was one of those that was always on my "to purchase" list. I kept putting it off for other things. Too bad, it looked like a nifty piece.

There are plenty of the sh2004 swords (both plain and antiqued) on Ebay and some other sites. One Canadian wholesaler offering them at $134 plus Canadian shipping costs. This was momentarily tempting but there is just so much out there on my lists and current costs. then you post up primo 1902 finds and I am in even more trouble in checking a favorite listing (Horster 1902) then and bumping into a couple of other possibles. I am doomed.

twitch... twitch

GC

In the process of making a couple of these at the moment, purely for my own amusement. Have made a number of proto-mortuarys so this seems to be the logical progression. I prefer a beefier blade and hilt than the Hanwei offering and will post the results when nearing completion. Meanwhile have a look at the protos on page 1! I must point out that I'm not offering anything for sale, these are just for my own collection - nobody except perhaps Armourclass seem to do the munitions-grade stuff that probably accounted for 90% of 17th C sword production.

Steve Wheatley

excellent Steve...look forward to seeing the mortuary creations. The more mortuary hilts the better in my book ;)

cheers,

Bill

I was "LUCKY" Awhile back I got 1, & on sale for $200.00 incl.frt.
It is the "sharp version, & it is my "to go" . Basket Hilt

Jack.

Just to confirm from a leading Hanwei dealer - yes, the sharp mortuary swords are discontinued and most retailers and distributors are out of the polished version - there still a couple of the antiqued versions to be had. The blunt practical mortuarys are not going away any time soon (as far as I know.)

Any word as to if there will be a replacement. I know they have the Cromwell, however there is something appealing about a simpler mortuary such as the last one.