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Fabrice Cognot
Industry Professional
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 Posted: Tue 01 Mar, 2011 5:50 pm Post subject: Basilard...for a change.... |
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As this thing is about to leave me for realms far too much to the West of here, I present you a big, fat basilard with a lot of presence.
The entire H-shaped hilt has been hand-forged and shows (well, under the scales, that is) a profile very similar to what's visible on period examples (browse this site's galleries for a quick check) with a deep groove in the grip resulting from the hand-forging, and a flattened ring forming the upper bar - but that was also the point. The 'quillons' also were drawn from the same stock of 1075 40x6 mm bar. As you can see, the grip thickens towards the top, as observed again on several examples.
The blade shows (fainlty) a differential temper, the thicker areas near the spine remaining unhardened. The fullers were first hand-forged in, then ground to shape.
Scales are elm wood from my father-in-law's very own garden, with brass tubular pins.
The scabbard is vegetable-tanned leather, naturaly dyed with vinegar and iron oxydes ; the fittings are mild steel.
Though basilards of this era tend to have a more triangular blade, 'fat' examples such as this one are also known, and the customer wanted something to match his remarkable physical presence. Oh, and until recently my thumb was here to prove it does cut too - I was simply hand polishing the blade when I noticed this red, liquid thing on my right hand. Healing proved far more painful than the faint brush I barely felt....
Dimensions :
Length : 403 mm
Width : 71 mm
Blade : 281 x39,8 mm ; 5 mm thick.
Max tang thickness: 8 mm
Making this beast of a basilard (for such an early type, I mean) helped me to answer several questions and test a few theories I had about the processes involved.
The only bad thing......is that I now want to make more of these !
PhD in medieval archeology.
HEMAC member
De Taille et d'Estoc director
Maker of high quality historical-inspired pieces.
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Peter Johnsson
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Tue 01 Mar, 2011 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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Well that one came out really nicely!
Good work Fab :-)
(nice to see you have time for this kind of work in between your writing: satisfying, I´m sure ;-)
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Andrew McKinnon
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| Posted: Wed 02 Mar, 2011 1:03 am Post subject: |
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What a lovely piece! Nicely Done.
Andrew McKinnon
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Fabrice Cognot
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 02 Mar, 2011 3:02 am Post subject: |
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| Peter Johnsson wrote: | Well that one came out really nicely!
Good work Fab :-)
(nice to see you have time for this kind of work in between your writing: satisfying, I´m sure ;-) |
Frustrating, you mean ! Took me well over a year to finish - but you know the feeling.....
See you soon I hope & thanks for the kind words 
PhD in medieval archeology.
HEMAC member
De Taille et d'Estoc director
Maker of high quality historical-inspired pieces.
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Philip Melhop
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| Posted: Wed 02 Mar, 2011 3:52 am Post subject: |
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Blimey that is a good looking dagger  
Phil
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Danny Grigg
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| Posted: Fri 04 Mar, 2011 1:44 am Post subject: |
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Fabrice
Great looking Baselard. Is it based on a surviving example at all?
If so have you got any pics or information on the original?
What's the weight by the way?
Thanks
Danny
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Fabrice Cognot
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Mon 07 Mar, 2011 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Danny
It's not a slavish copy of an original, if that's what you're asking. But its dimensions and features (and details and, well, flaws) are closely inspired by several examples that I should be able to list if I could manage some time for that (which is hard for me at the moment).
I haven't weighted it, but I suppose it's in the 300 grams range (with the scabbard).
And thanks
PhD in medieval archeology.
HEMAC member
De Taille et d'Estoc director
Maker of high quality historical-inspired pieces.
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This is a standard topic