Tuned: Albion Landgraf - (or: I can‘t leave things alone)

So I recently posted a review of the Albion Landgraf. You can find it here: http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=34729

As you can read there, I am very impressed with the sword. It is the best allround longsword I‘ve used so far, combining a stiff thrusting blade with very good cutting potential. The one thing I could see improved was grip length. I just prefer a longer grip as seen on many late period longswords.

I mulled over it for a while and then decided I would do something about it. I can never leave these things alone. So, here it goes:

The sword taken apart. Yup, very solidly assembled, everything as it should be. Next to it you can see the full-size drawing I made to make sure my change would not mess up the proportions and aesthetics. After trying several options and some experimenting, I decided ti lengten the tang by 3cm. Not a huge amount on paper but in fact very noticeable as far as "grip comfort" goes for me.



The extension is welded onto the tang. Done properly, with a deep dovetail and made from spring steel this should be perfectly sound. The most important aspect is the placement of the weld. It is in the mid section of the tang, far away from the stressed areas (blade shoulders and pommel section).



After welding and clean-up, the section was heated up to cherry red twice and allowed to cool slowly. This was to counter any potential grain growth from the welding. I whacked the tang onto a 2x4 several times afterwards to make sure everything was holding up. No issues.

Here is the sword with the pommel again in place. I was prepared to re-grind the pommel as lengthening the tang does change the harmonics but as it turns out, the effect was solely positive and a re-grind was not necessary. More on that later.



And here it is with the grip mounted and cord wrapped. Leather is next but that will have to wait a bit.





Stay tuned and thanks for watching ;)

Looks really good, so far. What welding technology did you use?

I was just about to say--You just made a good thing great. Not so. This sword was already great to begin with. You just made a great thing *glorious*. I totally agree with your tang-extension method. That looks rock solid. ;) I bet it feels wonderful in the hand. :D .....McM

Thanks guys, glad you like it.

Radovan Geist wrote:

Looks really good, so far. What welding technology did you use?

I used arc welding (stick).

Must be nice to be able to modify your own swords!

How did this tang extension affect the harmonics? One would think that the proximal harmonic node would be drawn further up the handle beneath where it is gripped.

-JD

The hilt node didn't move much at all, it is still located exactly where it should be, beneath the ring finger shortly before the middle riser. The forward pivot point did move a bit towards the tip but as it turned out, it actually moved to the very point of the blade (and not past it), exactly where I like it to be ;) So overall, the change in harmonics was a very positive one and I didn't have to do any re-grinding on the pommel to lighten it.

Well done, Sir.
Works perfectly for this sword. A beauty of a beast.

How about a photo 'in hand / in hands'?

Best, Jon

The tuned Landgraf is finished. I went with a dark green leather wrap to match the scabbard‘s suspension. It‘s always tricky to match an already dyed leather in color but it‘s close enough I think. The scabbard was made by Bryan Heff. The fit of the sword is excellent, it fits firmly and securely yet can be drawn very comfortably. I can certainly recommend his work.

Onto the sword... The most interesting aspect of course is how the lengthening of the tang has affected the sword‘s proportions and harmonic balance.
I do not know if there was an underlying geometric base for the sword. I did a good bit playing around with various tang lengths to see what works best with the overall proportions. The end result is a sword of pretty typical longsword proportions. The blade to hilt ratio is 3:1, the guard (almost) the length of the grip. A longer handle would have called for a new (wider) guard but I wanted to get this done without too much work and undoubtably, I would also have had to re-grind the pommel in that case.

I was prepared to re-grind the pommel even so but as it turned out, that was not necessary. With the longer handle, the forward pivot point moved to the very tip of the sword but not past it so it is now exactly where I want it to be. The handle node didn‘t move much, it‘s located shortly before the middle riser, when gripping it lies beneath the ring finger. Also exactly where it should be.

Overall, the handling did change noticeably. The basic characteristics are the same but to me, it feels more „refined“. Point control and blade movements feel crisper, more natural. Undoubtably there is a large portion of personal preference in this as I really am used to long-handled longswords.

All being said, I am very happy with the outcome and very glad that I decided to do this (I had a moment of doubt or two along the way...).

I hope you like the „new“ Landgraf as much as I do!

Cheers,
Lukas

OUT-STANDING! That's all I can say. Simply outstanding. :D ....McM

That does look very nice stretched out like that. The Landgraf was among my favorite models aesthetically, and mine also coincidentally had a green grip wrap (from the factory). I can also relate to your tastes in the grip length; it looks like you added just enough to put both hands on the grip with a bit of space between without having to partially grip the pommel. I'd think it would move a little nicer than stock if doing a lot of overhead German-style work.

Congratulations on a job well done!

Prior to executing future work of this sort, you might want to look at a YouTube video on the Medieval Review channel on the subject of sword dynamics. That gentleman has applied the physics outlined by George Turner ("Dynamics of Hand-Held Impact Weapons") such that you would be able to predict the revised point of rotation and center of percussion prior to any metal work. Just a thought...