Hello there :)

I have decided to design my own sword on the computer, but I don't really have much knowledge about weapons. The sword i'm trying to design is not meant for real construction but purely to demonstrate to myself that I can actually design such a thing. Has anyone ever come across a sword similar to mine? I was hoping that its completly unique but I doubt it.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mplayer/gallowglass/sog1_new.jpg

I know its a serious oddball :wtf but I like it that way lol

I wanted it to be the type of sword thats designed fairly and squarely to crush and destroy armour.. I called it a Gallowglass sword only because its long, double handed and looks very celtic.

Its my first attempt at designing a sword so to point out serious errors would be great

Thanks
Noel

That looks more like an executioner's sword than a battle piece.

Several things authenticity-wise; distal and profile taper are a must. Otherwise you're just waving a bar of steel around. Also, swords weren't used for "breaking armor" (I assume you mean plate). That was left to impact weapons like war hammers, maces and axes plus pole weapons like halberds. The swords for fighting armor were thrusting swords and were used to attack the joints and other weak points, not bash through the plate itself. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

[Edit] You might try looking through the albums on this site to get an idea of proportions, etc.

Hi, Noel.

Here's a topic that describes my tries at making a sword in 3D computer program. I used a museum drawings, measurements and photos for my reference.

[ Linked Image ]

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...highlight=


Now to answer several of your questions:

Has anyone ever come across a sword similar to mine?

Not exactly, but as Nate pointed out, your design is similar to executioner's sword:

The executioner's sword is a broad, double-edged sword without a point. Upper-class people who were condemned to death were beheaded with this sword. This was less humiliating than hanging. The executioner's sword was also an important legal symbol. It showed that the town had the power to pass a sentence of death and carry it out.

[ Linked Image ]


I was hoping that its completly unique but I doubt it.

Well, it certainly is unique. It's another matter if it qualifies as a sword. :D Jokes aside, I think the cross is waaay too thick and the ring pommel too thin for a start. Even if we accept the non-historical square shape of the blade.
And loose the spiky thing at the end of the sword - it's much more dangerous to the wielder than to the enemy.


Several examples of Irish ring-hilted swords (links):

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...irish+ring

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s...river+suck

http://albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextge...rd-xix.htm


My advice? Try to get some documentation and model a real existing sword from museum first, before you begin to develop your own designs. This will help you to get some feeling for proportions, weight distribution and overall look of the sword. I think that even if you design purely fictional sword design, it should follow some basic design principles as the swords from our past.


I hope this helps.

Blaz

Thanks for the replies and info :D

Even though the blade looks kinda wicked, im going to rebuild it in a traditional manner and I'll make the cross thinner while making the pommel as similar to the Irish method of design as possible. I'll lose the black marble down the center of the blade but im going to keep the celtic knots, purely for the sake of good looks :)

I'll post the update for talks sake when its finished

Noel

Don't do that, just make the handle wider and the pommel bigger. ;)

Hows this for s starting point? im not gonna worry about applying fancy designs to swords untill im good at making standard swords :)

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mplayer/gallowglass/sog1_new1.jpg

looks good to me, i'd either make the handel longer or the blade shorter. you also might make the blade a litle wider and the guard thinner, otherwise the basic desgn is awsome. very well done. :)

That's an improvement :) . The blade is definately more plausible.

A couple questions for you just to clarify what I'm seeing. were you trying to do a fuller or a long Ricasso on the blade? A fuller is actually material that is removed from the blade to lighten it without sacraficing strength (like an I beam in construction). It would be nice to see a side view of the blade too just for fun :). The crossguard is better than the previous attempt as well. However, it still needs to be thinner. One thing that reallt surprised me about my Mercenary its just how thin the guard really is.

Just some quick thoughts from another CG interested person. I hope they help.

BTW Here's a link to a thread with a concept I did of the Berserkr Albion is working on.

Cheers,

I hope this better indicates whats happening with the blade

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mplayer/gallowglass/bladedet.jpg

I wanted a nice smooth area to place my Celtic Knots upon, the idea being that when you thrust it into the enemy, he can have a great big taste of Irish Culture along with it :eek:

Ohhhh! im a sick man, I'll go straight to hell for this lol

Noel