One of the biggest problems with imported productions swords is that they are almost nice swords, but lack a few odds and ends to make them better. Years of collecting firearms gave me an idea. For many years, gunsmiths offered melt jobs as a customization for firearms. What the melting does is round off all the hard corners and edges to make the weapon more concealable and give it a better aesthetic. I got to thinking, what if I were to melt job a sword like one of these gunsmiths?

I started out with a fairly popular piece, a Windlass Type XIV. I acquired the sword from the Museum Replicas showroom on the discounted rack for only $100. The only problems with the sword were a loose crossguard and some slight rust. This sword has been around for several years now, and it's a great little blade for the money. One on the things which I have always found to be a bother on the Windlass Type XIV is how acute the angles are on the piece. The edges are far too sharp, which is a problem with many inexpensive production blades. These 90 degree edges give the sword a mechanical stamped appearance, whereas many quality hand-crafted swords bear edges which are every so slighlty rounded.

First, let's look at a standard Windlass Type XIV below with no alterations to the angles:



Now, onto changing the product...

On the melt job sword, I tightened the guard, removed the stock grip, and reprofiled the grip core to a smoother shape. I then worked with a file to reprofile all of the hard edges on the sword, giving them a slight bevel. This bevel is more pronounced at the ends of the cross to make it look a bit more dramatic. I then finished the edges with various grits of sanding, until I had worked the finish to an even 600 grit. The blade surface and all of the flat surfaces on the sword were also finished to 600 grit.

The grip was given two central oversized risers to enhance the whole theme of the sword, which is a gently, slightly noticable melted look. Even though the difference is slight, the overall aesthetic of the sword has been greatly improved to give it a look of much higher quality. This is my personal Windlass Type XIV, and I really like the overall results.

I look forward on being able to try melt jobs on some other swords in the near future! :)

Looks good! How did you tighten up the cross guard?

HUGE improvement! That looks great! Cool idea too.

Brilliant!! Great job!! It does give it a much more "expensive" look!!!

Thanks for all the compliments. :)

I did the finishing touch today by fixing two York Silver Pennies into the pommel recesses. Before adding the coins, I darkened the recess to make the coins stand out a little bit more.



Loving this little blade now... :D

Nice work/aesthetics and also has practical value in making the sword more ergonomic and comfortable in the hand.

Your work has really improved the look of this sword quite significantly!

JE - well done upgrade, way better. Is anything actually melted or the name is slang?

Couple days ago I was thinking to comment to maybe consider something decorative in the pommel. Nice coins.

Here is the scabbard I just finished up for this one. As I am keeping it, I have not added a suspension yet, but when I do, it will probably be along the lines of an angled belt or simple frog. I kept the theme very simple for the most part, to better enhance the sword hilt.