[Dan Dickinson]

I'd like to share with all of you a project I recently completed for my brother-in-law. He had always admired my collection, but doesn't have the budget required to purchase an Albion etc. This was my attempt to get him a high quality sword at a price he could afford.The project started with a VA AT303s blade. I then modified a cross I had, and built a grip and pommel.. I was originally going to hot peen it, but my brother-in-law expressed an interest in having it with the take-down feature, so that's the way I completed it. For all you type D lovers out there, here's a shot of it next to its slightly larger cousin, my Albion Ritter.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Dan

[Nathan Robinson]

Hey! You did a good job. By the looks of it, you sure achieved your goal. Nice.

[Scott Hrouda]

You have any more sisters?

Excellent workmanship! Did you shape the pommel yourself? If so, did you take progress pictures? I know the DIY junkies here would drool over them, myself included.

[Tim Lison]

Impressive! The pommel is top notch. You really captured the feel of the type D. Did you use any inspiration for the pommel?

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

Niiice

I'm still trying to get my hands on that type.

[Scott Kowalski]

Wow that looks great Dan. It does look just like a scaled down Ritter. Did you do the pommel all by yourself from a block of metal or modify an existing one to end up like this? Either way that is a great job and your brother-in-law is one lucky guy. I know I am still very happy with the scabbard and belt you made for my Squire.

[Matthew Stagmer]

Nice and clean. These pommels are groing on me. I like the handle.

[Marc Bloom]

Very nice. How does it handle, has he cut with it?

[J.D. Crawford]

Hey Dan, can I marry into your family too? Can I be your brother in law?

Nice work, it reminds me of the high-quality job you did for me. I would have gone for the hot peening, but family is family.

Should that cross look familiar? Looks like a shortened version of something I sent you once.

-JD

[Dan Dickinson]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments.
To answer a few questions: The pommel was about the only salvageable part from my brother-in-law's first sword...an Indian made SLO that was advertised as full tang etc. When he expressed an interest in cutting, I inspected the sword for him. It turns out that it had a stalk tang with a screw on pommel. Worse yet, the recessed threads in the pommel turned out to be nothing more than a nut glued into a recess in the bottom of the pommel and covered over with a washer. Needless to say I did not approve it for cutting and that was when this project began. The pommel was a nickle plated lump of steel vaguely resembling a cocked hat. I used my drill press to drill through it and to add the recess for the hex-nut. I used my dremel with carbide bit to key it to the tang. I then removed the nickle plating and began shaping it by a little forging, some angle and belt grinding, filing and finally several grits of hand sanding. Unfortunately I didn't take any progress photos (I'm afraid I rarely do). As far as inspiration, I used several examples from this thread. http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...l+examples
I would have liked to have the central peak be a little more pointed like many of the originals. However, I needed to leave enough room for the nut, hence its present shape.
As far as the cross, good eye J.D. ...yes that is a reworked Windlass Tiberias guard. I shortened the arms, filed the tang slot to fit and changed the shoulder slot a bit.
As far as how it handles: It's very light and maneuverable and performs quite well at bottle cutting.
Scott, I'm glad you still like the scabbard. I quite liked that one myself.
Feel free to ask any further questions,
Dan

[Isaac H.]

Wow,very impressive work indeed.In fact,I like yours better than the Albion