| Please rate the upgrade to this MRL sword (1 being less than an improvement and 10 being the best improvement) |
| 1 |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| 2 |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| 3 |
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10% |
[ 2 ] |
| 4 |
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5% |
[ 1 ] |
| 5 |
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5% |
[ 1 ] |
| 6 |
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5% |
[ 1 ] |
| 7 |
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26% |
[ 5 ] |
| 8 |
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47% |
[ 9 ] |
| 9 |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| 10 |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 19 |
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Nathan Gilleland
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 Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 12:34 pm Post subject: MRL Sticklestead upgrade |
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As the title says, my brother's MRL Sticklestead viking sword received an upgrade (done by me). The grip and scabbard cover is done with cord-wrapped chamois and left in it's original color, sealed with mink oil.
 Attachment: 43.42 KB
the Sticklestad hilt in it's original form
Attachment: 82.13 KB
The Sticklestad hilt in it's upgraded form
Attachment: 84.89 KB
The Sticklestad's new scabbard
Attachment: 98.36 KB
The new Sticklestad sword and belt angle
Attachment: 59.63 KB
The Sticklestad original full length with scabbard [ Download ]
Seek Honor before Wealth,
Truth before Honor,
God Before all
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Nathan Gilleland
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| Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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Comments and thoughts are more than welcome!
Seek Honor before Wealth,
Truth before Honor,
God Before all
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Kenton Spaulding
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| Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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I like it, and personally think it's a definite upgrade on the original look of the sword. I gave you an 8 on that account, although my personal preference would have been to dye the grip...I would have gone some shade of brown I think, although I'm torn between a deep chocolate color and a light brownish tan, just slightly darker than you have it now. The scabbard looks great the way you have it now, IMO.
Nice work.
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Scott S.
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| Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice Nathan!
How did you deal with those copper rings on the grip? I've been considering buying that sword myself but have been wondering if it would give me any grief regarding a rewrap. Any insight as to the sword's construction would be most helpful.
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Josh MacNeil
Location: Massachusetts, USA Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 197
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| Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome! I'm in the process of reworking my Sticklestead too. I'm going to be making a whole new scabbard for mine. Wrapped the grip in 2mm round leather cord, cut off the copper (actually copper plated zinc) rings and am in the process of replacing those with copper wire. Feels much better in the hand already. The scabbard will be covered in chamois and accented with copper wire and leather cord to match the grip.
I think you did a nice job with yours. I gave it a 7, although I'm leaning more towards a 7.5. I also think that it should be died a darker color. To me, the natural chamois just looks unfinished. The risers are also a tad odd looking, but based on how the sword handles, I think that that configuration would make for a very comfortable grip. And it's how it feels that's more important. Your scabbard and belt suspension looks great. The angle and height at which the sword sits looks very comfortable and smooth. Overall, I think you did a good job with this upgrade. Very nice craftsmanship!
A couple of questions: 1) Did you keep the chape? 2) How did the stock scabbard look once the leather was pulled off? 3) Do you have a closeup of the scabbard mount loop?
Cheers,
-JM
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JE Sarge
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice work. Thanks for posting! 
J.E. Sarge
Crusader Monk Sword Scabbards and Customizations
www.crusadermonk.com
"But lack of documentation, especially for such early times, is not to be considered as evidence of non-existance." - Ewart Oakeshott
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Nathan Gilleland
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| Posted: Wed 30 Sep, 2009 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Scott S. wrote: | Very nice Nathan!
How did you deal with those copper rings on the grip? I've been considering buying that sword myself but have been wondering if it would give me any grief regarding a rewrap. Any insight as to the sword's construction would be most helpful. |
I just got a pair of handheld bolt cutters and mutilated the copper plated zinc.   Other than them being very tight against the suede, they were very easy to cut off.
I agree that the chamois would have looked better dyed, but at the time of this upgrade, I had had no experience in dying, and my brother wanted a "buckskin" color, which was achieved very well when I applied the mink oil to finish the leather.
Josh: I did keep the chape, but I used it on another scabbard. To be honest, the chape was where I cheated the most on the upgrade. Because my brother did not give me any money to cover cost for the upgrade, and college costs beating me into the ground, I used a large frosting cap. I got the cap, the kind that attach to the fancy cake frosting syring-type-things? at a craft store for about $1.00, bent the tines into a smoothish dome, flattened the whole thing so that it fit the scabbard and soldered the end to make it more finished looking. Then I glued the sucker on and crimped the back side onto the scabbard to hold it on.
I was fairly impressed with the stock scabbard once I got the leather off. However, you will want to pull the slats apart and take out those cardstock inserts. Underneath them are some adhesive foam tabs   which started to corrode the blade pretty badly until I took the scabbard apart looking for the problem. That was what started the whole thing. You need to scrape those tabs out and sand the inside of the wood slats a bit, but once that's done, the fit is actally pretty good for a stock scabbard. It saved me time and money! I don't have any pictures of the scabbard loop, and I intend to replace that pretty soon anyways. It looks too unfinished to me.
Thanks for the comments! I really appreciate them and am taking any criticism and compliments into consideration for my next upgrade project.
Seek Honor before Wealth,
Truth before Honor,
God Before all
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This is a standard topic
