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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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 Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 12:43 pm Post subject: German Bastard with a "twist" |
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Here she is. A custom German Bastard Sword made for a steel on steel fighter on the West Coast. It has a custom 36" blade that is diamond ground with a polished out fuller. The guard is made from 3 pieces all forged and welded together. We then sanded the rings flat on the inside,taking about half the wieght off. The pommel was hand spiral faceted and polished.
The customer wanted a german bastard sword with a "twist" theme with a 36" blade. That was all I had to work with.
Hope you like.
Any comments? I would love to hear what you think. We plan on keeping this twist theme going through the year. Last year if you remember we did a yatagahn type piece with that twist theme, the tripple fullered gemstone sword and few others.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Chris Artman
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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Beautiful sword... Looks like you really put out some seriously high quality swords. The triple-fullered sword is a beauty as well as all of the others....
Do you charge extra for Steelers Fans?
Last edited by Chris Artman on Sat 14 Mar, 2009 1:07 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Tony Brass
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, that is really impressive. It looks like it belongs on the cover of a fantasy novel. It looks very powerful, but it also looks really heavy.
How does it handle?
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Dan P
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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That's very freaking intimidating. I'd hate to have to fight the dude who could use that sword one-handed.
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Randy W
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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I really like the pommel, I really like the twisted blackened hilt. I do not however care for the combination on the sword. Having said that, I love the sword, although I agree, that must be a monster to heft (at least it gives that impression). Very nice
Randy Westgate
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Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 2:36 pm Post subject: Re: German Bastard with a "twist" |
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| Matthew Stagmer wrote: | | Any comments? I would love to hear what you think. We plan on keeping this twist theme going through the year. Last year if you remember we did a yatagahn type piece with that twist theme, the tripple fullered gemstone sword and few others. |
Hi Matthew,
First of all, very good metal work. I think the blade looks very clean, and the twists look well done.
Since you asked for comments, I will provide some constructive criticism, though please understand that I mean this to be helpful, not negative. I think the proportions of the sword are good, but it seems to be about 15-20% too big. If you look at most German swords (or from any European country, for that matter), the guards made of far thinner stock. I know you guys focus more on stage combat, so perhaps this is a factor as to why the proportions are so large. But from the perspective of someone wanting a sword that looks historical, the sword doesn't look right to me.
The twist design of the guard and the pommel don't really match, either. If you look at most of these types of blades, they tend to match in design really well. Your sword appears to have two different designs, and it is made even more noticable with the two starkly different finishes.
Again, this isn't meant to be a dig on your work: You clearly are a very talented craftsman who understands how to shape metal very well. I'm just commenting on it in comparison to historical weapons (since you say it is supposed to be inspired by German pieces).
HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand
"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks to you all. First off yes I do charge extra for Steelers fans. 2nd I guess I should have stated that I wasn't going for 100% historical.
The customer asked if I could make him a sword like the one below but in german bastard hilt style with double rings.
We were going for historical shape with an agressive twist.
Here is an example of a similar sword with a much lighter hilt. This was a much longer blade with no fuller and fully diamond ground.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Randy W wrote: | | I really like the pommel, I really like the twisted blackened hilt. I do not however care for the combination on the sword. Having said that, I love the sword, although I agree, that must be a monster to heft (at least it gives that impression). Very nice |
Yea, I agree. We should have prob blackend the pommel as well. It is just a shame to mess up such a beautifuly polished pommel. 
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Chris Artman
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Full length views would be nice also....
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Chris Artman wrote: | | Full length views would be nice also.... |
Sure thing. I dont know why I forgot to post those.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Addison C. de Lisle
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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Nice looking sword, it looks well done 
I also have some constructive criticism, which I hope you will take as such. I do not mean this offensively or as a put-down of your work.
I really like the twists on the guard, but it looks overbuilt. I think the piece would look much more elegant with a thinner guard. I also wish that the ends of the quillons curved more; as they are they look like the curve is intentional, but I think they would be much more aesthetically pleasing with a larger/more exaggerated curve. Also, to me the ends of the quillons (the part you look at to see the profile) look under-addressed. I also wish that the handle wrap was a bit more even, it seems somewhat out-of-keeping with the attention to detail that is obvious on the rest of the piece.
Overall, it looks like a pretty nice piece though.. Good work.
www.addisondelisle.com
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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One thing is for certain. Seems the overall feel for this is that we should try to do one a bit more dainty. I will certainly do that.
After completing this one Kerry and I both looked at each other and agreed that it was a shame leather wraping this sword. It is what was paid for. Did I mention that this was only an $800 sword. I think we both are eager to do one soon and go all out.
This turned out great for the first one. Big swords are always fun and we do love the fully forged guards.
Thanks for the feedback so far. It seems to be pleasing to the eye to most people but they want to see a lighter version with a handle wurthy of the hilt and the furniture should match in finish. Either both polished or both dark. Sounds good to me.
I am thinking of using a beautiful piece of Ironwood that I picked up at the Chesepeak Knife show with bronze fittings for the handle on the next one. Maybe even with a damascus blade.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Christopher Gregg
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| Posted: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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Ooooh! Ironwood AND bronze, now THAT would look super nice!!! Please do, and post pics as soon as you complete it (he says hopefully). I love the bronze work you guys do, and wood grips are my favorite - they're just so beautiful. Looking forward to seeing more of your work in person at the Ohio Renaissance Festival.
Christopher Gregg
'S Rioghal Mo Dhream!
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Allen Andrews
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| Posted: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 5:28 am Post subject: |
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| Matthew Stagmer wrote: | | I am thinking of using a beautiful piece of Ironwood that I picked up at the Chesepeak Knife show with bronze fittings for the handle on the next one. Maybe even with a damascus blade. |
there are very few woods I prefer to a really nicely figured piece of ironwood. I can't wait to see how that turns out. I also love the twisted iron. I agree with others on the scale and such, but I still think it looks cool. I especially like the twisted pieces that end in little dragons heads, but thats just me.
" I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood. "
Faramir son of Denethor
Words to live by. (Yes, I know he's not a real person)
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G. Ghazarian
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 9:36 am Post subject: |
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Beautiful work Matthew.
I specially like your faceted pommel.
Would it be possible to know the weight and the COG of your sword. Just curious.
Thanks.
G. Ghazarian
http://gloryships.com/
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 9:56 am Post subject: |
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| G. Ghazarian wrote: | Beautiful work Matthew.
I specially like your faceted pommel.
Would it be possible to know the weight and the COG of your sword. Just curious.
Thanks. |
The sword is shipped and I never got the COG. I will be in contact with the new owner on Monday and I will get him to get me some stats. I only had about 10 mins to handle it once it was all together before I stuck it in a box.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 10:10 am Post subject: |
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I didnt get any great shots of the full sword. I took a ton but the blade got flushed out on most of them. Here are a few so that you get the idea but I will get more pics from the owner soon.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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The guard looks a little less overbuilt in the context of seeing the whole blade and the overbuilding makes sense if it's going to get a lot of steel on steel use and for it to be durable.
Sort of looks too nice to want to slam it against other swords unless it's done with moderate force and under control ! But then it depends on how " pristine " the owner of the sword wants it to remain and what degree of use or abuse he wants expose it too.
Aesthetically I would prefer the guard to be about 20% of thinner stock but still robust.
Overall a very nice piece even if we all wanted to give some positive criticism.  
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Mon 16 Mar, 2009 10:35 am Post subject: |
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Yea, even to me the guard looks a bit smaller when showing the full sword. Remember I am a much smaller guy then most sword makers. My hands may have messed up the perspective.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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Matthew Stagmer
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Tue 17 Mar, 2009 2:12 pm Post subject: |
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Just got specs from the new owner
weight 3lbs 15 ounces
POB 3" from the guard
1 7/8" wide at hilt to 5/8" at before the point
Seems he loved it.
Matthew Stagmer
Maker of custom and production weaponry
Youtube.com/ThatWorks
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