[Joel Chesser]

Well, i have done it.
Tonight while handling my MRL European sword i noticed some loosening of the pummel. Fearing a crack in the wood handel i removed the leather and cording. When i had it off i figured oh well might as well go ahead and just finish the job
So i removed the wood handel. I sound that the epoxy or what ever the stuff is that is filling the gap between the tang and the pummel was coming out, so may be the whole thing was a blessing in disguise. I was also happy to find that the sword had quite a nice full tang. no rat tail crap here. Now unfortunately i am stuck with a handelless sword. so i need a a little help from any one who can give it. First things first, i need to fashion a new handel, i have a thick piece of dowl rod, about an inch and a half or more i would guess, that i was going to carve down and use. Any other or better ideas would be great. For a wrapping i am going to use leather thong, or a wire, i haven't thought that far ahead yet. NExt i need to know if any one can give me some pointers as how to do the wood grip, and what i need to use to fill the gap between the pummel and tang. sorry for all the misspellings, it is 4:15 in the morning here and i am rather sleepy.
any help would be great
thanks in advance.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Joel;

I have a suggestion about a way to rebuild a new handle that is TOTALLY non traditionnal, if you want to build it like Albion does it, completely ignore the following.

First I am assuming that it is a screwed pommel and that you can tighten it even with no handle in place.

I am also assuming that permanently epoxying it in place is acceptable to you.

As to the handle itself I would build it up using either cloth fabric or cord that I would saturate with slowdrying epoxy resin this should solidify into a homemade micarta like mass that you can file down if needed to refine the shape.

Once you get to a bit under the final dimentions desired you can do a final layer of cord covered with leather.

The handle should behave like one solid mass and the assembly would not depend on how tightly the pommel is screwed down.
I've use this technique using layers of white tissue paper to produce a bone or ivory "Looking" handle. (At least it looks like that to a not too critical eye.)

I would suggest trying this out on an old file first to see if it works for you. (This can be messy getting epoxy resin everywere!) Also you can see if it is durable enough for you by seeing what happens to it if you try to destroy with hammer blows..
In more detail: You first cover the tang with epoxy, you then wrap the cloth once around the tang, you then add epoxy and continue the wrapping and epoxy until it reaches the desired thickness. (If you use black cloth and transparent epoxy you will have a black handle if you don't wish to cover it with leather.)

I would not do this if there was any chance of returning it for repair or if it was a more highend piece.

[Sean Flynt]

Probably the easiest solution is to use JB Weld in the threads of the pommel and scew the pommel onto the tang as tightly as possible (but, of course, carefully aligning planes of pommel, cross & blade if it's a wheel pommel. You won't get a second chance with JB Weld). I've never done this next part exactly as described, but have done something very similar and it's not too difficult. Get two thin slats of hardwood, cut them into the rough grip shape and trim the length so that they fit VERY tightly between pommel and cross (because they might shrink a bit with age). Trace the shape of the tang on each and in each chisel out a channel half the thickness of the tang. Use JB Weld to glue the halves in place over the tang, then use rasps, files, chisels or a Dremel tool to finish shaping the grip. If you're going to use any sort of overwrap, make sure the wood grip is slightly smaller than what you want in the finished product. If you want a leather-over-cord wrap you could try the method I used to upgrade the grip of my MRL falchion. That's described here:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=1814

If you decide to go this route, be aware that you want to get the thinnest (cheapest) chamois you can find. I'd estimate that
1/32" thickness is about right.

Good luck! You're about to be much happier with your Windlass Steelcrafts sword.

[Allen W]

I've had success with the following-1.trace the tang onto two blocks of wood and carve out, 2.glue the scales together around the tang using the tang as a guide (I use Gorilla Glue), 3.carve to rough shape by removing all corners, 4.assemble sword with rough grip and clamp blade into Workmate, 5. strop grip to final shape with a broken 1" sanding belt then disassemble and finish grip (stain, wrap,etc.) I would then epoxy the entire sword together (after cranking down the pommel nut) by slowly pouring acraglass down the small openings in the guard until full. If necessary you can shim the grip with tooth picks(This also historically accurate).

[Allen W]

I've had success with the following-1.trace the tang onto two blocks of wood and carve out, 2.glue the scales together around the tang using the tang as a guide (I use Gorilla Glue), 3.carve to rough shape by removing all corners, 4.assemble sword with rough grip and clamp blade into Workmate, 5. strop grip to final shape with a broken 1" sanding belt then disassemble and finish grip (stain, wrap,etc.) I would then epoxy the entire sword together (after cranking down the pommel nut) by slowly pouring acraglass down the small openings in the guard until full. If necessary you can shim the grip with tooth picks(This also historically accurate).

[Joel Chesser]

oddly enough, this sword has no screw at all.
I found my digital camera recently and so i will get some pics of what we are dealing with asap, though it may be tomorrow, thanks to everyone for all the ideas. KEep them coming, the more i know before i get started, the less chance for mistake!

[Eric McHugh]

[Joel Chesser]

Okay here are the pics i promised giving some clue as to what is being delt with. I was rather pleased that no rat tail was used, having been burned by those dang things in the past.

[Joel Chesser]