| Considering all of this week's latest additions, please rate the quality of our efforts. |
| Excellent |
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63% |
[ 30 ] |
| Very Good |
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19% |
[ 9 ] |
| Good |
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14% |
[ 7 ] |
| Fair |
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2% |
[ 1 ] |
| Poor |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 47 |
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Nathan Robinson
myArmoury Admin
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Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz
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 Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 6:22 am Post subject: |
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You need to find some REAL sabers, Nathan ... B-)
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 9:36 am Post subject: |
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Sean congratulations on a great series of articles and the level of detail on the " Workbench " article is very useful and interesting.
I think many people don't appreciate the amount of work that such articles take as it included doing the work on the sword and documenting it at the same time as well as writing clear and easy to follow descriptions of how effects were achieved.
As well the quality of the writing is evident in it's precision and at the same time entertaining style.  
Oh, and the usual " myArmoury " quality of photography should also be favourably commented on.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Dan P
Location: Massachusetts, USA Joined: 28 Jun 2007
Posts: 208
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 10:45 am Post subject: |
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Now I really want to take a trip to Alabama. But since I can't take any more time off from work for a while, I'll just settle for looking at the pictures in that excellent museum article again.
Cavalry sabers are neat, but production sabers always seem too big for me. Its nice to see what other people are doing with them though.
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Sean Flynt
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 11:16 am Post subject: |
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| Dan P wrote: |
Cavalry sabers are neat, but production sabers always seem too big for me. Its nice to see what other people are doing with them though. |
FWIW, this Foot Officer's Sword was surprisingly compact and lightweight--a far cry from the first L&R repro "floating CS" sword I owned. That piece was heavy and clunky. I don't know who made it, but I doubt it was Windlass. Now, a true cavalry sword is going to be a bit more ungainly than a foot officer's sword anyway, so it might be that you'd be happy with one of the Windlass officer's swords but not with their cavalry sabers. Their U.S. Model 1850 Staff and Field Officer's Sword has always caught my eye (athough its large brass basket would certainly add some weight). The CS equivalent might be nice, too. Windlass seems to be able to do this kind of thing pretty well when they want to. Their military contracts may make them more assured with these designs.
-Sean
Author of the Little Hammer novel
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
Last edited by Sean Flynt on Mon 17 Sep, 2007 11:31 am; edited 1 time in total
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Sean Flynt
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 11:30 am Post subject: |
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| Jean Thibodeau wrote: |
I think many people don't appreciate the amount of work that such articles take as it included doing the work on the sword and documenting it at the same time |
Well observed. Documenting one of these projects can dramatically slow progress. Although I'd much rather just dig in and finish a project, life dictates progress in five, ten and twenty minute increments. So I'm peening one rivet while passing through the garage to mow the lawn. That's not really possible when photography is mixed in unless I leave all the gear set up all the time. With a new baby, I'll have to choose new projects carefully, not repeating myself even if a new project (my German Bastard Sword) turns out better than a previously documented project (my estoc--or, actually, Bill Grandy's estoc). I had to forgo a Workbench article on my mortuary sword project because time was running out on some baby-related house projects. No regrets, of course.
I have an armour project under way and may document that for a Workbench article. That would be a welcome break from all the arms articles. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have some Workbench articles covering single specific skills such as how to make and peen a rivet.
-Sean
Author of the Little Hammer novel
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Jonathan Hopkins
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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Sean,
I really enjoyed all three of your articles. It was great to read something completely different from what I might expect to find in a myArmoury feature. I expected to find the visitor's experience to be the most relevant to my interests, but I found that the workbench article was quite a nice arena in which to discuss the specific features of period swords and to share the detailed research you conducted to make your Windlass piece as authentic-looking as possible.
In addition to French swords of the Napoleonic period, Confederate swords are amongst the most widely faked swords on the market. I am curious about your thoughts on the ethics involved in antiquing a reproduction of such a sword. I like that you kept the plastic grip, but would it be obvious to someone that the grip core is plastic? When the sword does leave your collection, what measures can you take to make sure it is not mistaken for an original?
Thanks for your great contributions this week!
Jonathan
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Sean Flynt
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Jonathan Hopkins wrote: | Sean,
I really enjoyed all three of your articles. It was great to read something completely different from what I might expect to find in a myArmoury feature. I expected to find the visitor's experience to be the most relevant to my interests, but I found that the workbench article was quite a nice arena in which to discuss the specific features of period swords and to share the detailed research you conducted to make your Windlass piece as authentic-looking as possible.
In addition to French swords of the Napoleonic period, Confederate swords are amongst the most widely faked swords on the market. I am curious about your thoughts on the ethics involved in antiquing a reproduction of such a sword. I like that you kept the plastic grip, but would it be obvious to someone that the grip core is plastic? When the sword does leave your collection, what measures can you take to make sure it is not mistaken for an original?
Thanks for your great contributions this week!
Jonathan |
Thanks, Jonathan! As you say, forgery is a real problem with some categories of antique arms. I think we have to keep this in mind any time we undertake a project like this. One of the reasons I do this kind of work and fully document it is to educate collectors about how easy it is to alter reproductions. If they're not paranoid, they should be, especially if they collect in these highly dangerous fields.
I think it's a good idea to somehow mark a weapon or otherwise leave some kind of modern calling card so a piece can't accidently be misrepresented somewhere down the line. Thus my plastic grip and E. B. Erickson's usual marks. But all those things can be removed by determined forgers, so there really isn't any way for us to control these things once they leave our possession. The good ethical news for myself and bad news for collectors is that anyone determined enough to remove these marks already knows better than I do how to forge an antique. They don't need my work, and might even prefer to start with a pristine piece so they can apply their own special techniques. Why buy from an amateur when they're already "professional" enough to know how to alter reproductions and pass them on illegally?
Since I sold this particular sword to fund a new addition to my collection, this is a good opportunity to bring up another fraud-defense idea--sell to people you know and trust. I sold this piece to a well-known member of the myArmoury.com family.
Finally, of course, collectors have to be personally responsible for what they buy.
-Sean
Author of the Little Hammer novel
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Jonathan Hopkins
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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Sean,
Thanks for answering my questions. I hadn't thought of it before your response, but your article does give insight into what to might distinguish a modern-made artificially aged sword from a genuine period piece--very valuable for antiques collectors.
Thanks again,
Jonathan
Last edited by Jonathan Hopkins on Mon 17 Sep, 2007 6:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Steve Grisetti
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| Posted: Mon 17 Sep, 2007 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Well done, Sean. The workbench articles are always enjoyable, and it was interesting to read what a bargain the WS sabre turned out to be. The big surprise for me was your article on the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Just from the name, I would have expected the place to just be a building filled with file cabinets and moldy old documents.
"...dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skilful, and deadly."
- Sir Toby Belch
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Sean Flynt
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G. Scott H.
Location: Arizona, USA Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Posts: 410
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| Posted: Tue 18 Sep, 2007 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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I know it's been a loooong time, but I just had to pop in and say well done, Sean. Your latest antiquing job is phenomenal! I have learned to appreciate Windlass' sabers too, so your review and workbench article caught my eye. Outstanding! Thank you.
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This is a standard topic
