[Lukas MG]

Hey guys
I'm proud to present you my latest project, a XVIII single hander!!



Stats:
overall: 95cm (37.4")
blade: 77cm (30.3")
weight: 1080g (2.4lb)
width at guard: 5cm (2")
width guard: 17cm (6.7")
PoB: 12cm (4.7")
CoP: 50cm (19.7")

Steel is 5160, heat treated to 53-54RC. This blade was originally intended as a blunt practice weapon, therefor the lower hardness and the steel. Usually my sharp blades are 56Si7 hardened to 60RC but after heat treat I decided to sharpen it up as I had found a cheap but serviceable training sword elsewhere. So this sword does not have the normal edge retention of my other sharp blades but certainly is good enough for everything reasonable, just don't chop nails, etc.

This blade has a convex distal taper, making for a very rigid and stout blade that thrusts very well. At the base it's 6mm thick and tapers very little on the first third. Then it tapers aggressivly to 3mm at the CoP and then slowly to 2mm before the tip.
The guard is a heavily reground Windlass classical medieval, the pommel I made myself. The guard is wedged, back peened and epoxied in place, the pommel wedged, hot peened and also back peened. The tang is full 6mm thick, has round shoulders and the edges of the tang are rounded too, just like on ATrim tangs. The grip is thick leather wrapped with cord and thin leather.





The way this sword handles is quite distinctive. It has definite blade presence and the stout blade really packs a punch. The PoB is also rather forward compared to other XVIII (Albion Poitiers or Kingmaker). This isn't a light, floating sword but a brutal tool of war. It's however still quite fast and easy enough to manouver for sword and buckler play.

While it cuts light targets very well, it really shines when pitted against hard targets like branches, etc. I was shocked how easily it severd branches of impressive thickness. I wished I had tatami mats and the like but my current funds don't allow that. I dare to say that it would not have problems even against double mats.

Note that the grip is not wrapped yet in two photos and shows the cord wrap beneath the leather.

Here's the cutting: http://forum.sword-buyers-guide.com/viewtopic...901#p47901







Sorry for my feet, didn't mean to include them :?
Comments and critics welcome!!

Btw, this is the first time I post a project here so if I'm doing anything wrong, please correct me!!

[Scott Woodruff]

Lukas, I am most impressed. By my standards, your swords is fairly small, but I love everything about it. I see the slightly softer steel as a positive rather than a negative, and I think it is grand that you are not afraid to go a little on the blade-heavy side, especially on such a short, light sword. As to your post, great pictures (I'm no photographer) and you covered all the most important tidbits of information that a spathophile like myself wants to know. I am curious, are you as young as you appear to be in your video? If so, I am doubly impressed. I am short on time now, but will revisit with some questions and more comments when I can.

[Lukas MG]

Thanks!!
Yes, indeed, I'm just turning 19 in June. So I guess fairly young

[Simon G.]

Dangit, I'm jealous! To be able to turn out such a good sword at age 19 while I (at age 25...) am only in the merest beginnings of tinkering with such things.

This sword looks good. I like the simple but elegant lines of the blade and how it looks stout (not heavy, just a good stoutness). Many blades today (esp. in low-end repros) look and feel flimsy, like young, vapid anorexic girls. This blade on the other hand looks like it means business, a pretty but muscular shield-maiden I like the guard, too.

If I had to criticize, it would be about the pommel. It's perfectly OK but... perhaps it looks a little flat or plain? Ah well, in general I don't like wheel pommels on today's swords, they are often left unadorned whereas to me, such a pommel screams "decorate me with a cross/crest/recessed thingie..."

But really, that's just jealousy talking. Because I'm very jealous of your bladesmithing abilities, Lukas (did I mention it? )

Congrats! Hope we'll see more from you in the future.

[Scott Woodruff]

Did you forge this blade from scratch? When I initially read your post, I was under the impression that you had re-ground and hilted an already existing blunt blade. How stiff is this blade in the thrust? It can be difficult to describe stiffness in a scientific way, as there is no agreed upon way to test and quantify this quality as far as I know. I test stiffness by violently dry-thrusting with a good whipping action at the end and observe the resulting oscilation. Having a good idea of the resulting stiffness along with the accurate measurements that you have already provided would provide me with invaluable information to help me with my own similar project, which I have been contemplating for some time.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your pommel, though I agree that some simple decoration would add some wow-factor. I always disliked wheel pommels, but lately they are growing on me.

[Lukas MG]

Yes, I did make the blade from scratch but it was made via stock removal, not forged. It was originally intended as a blunt practice weapon but after heat treat I decided to sharpen her up.
Stiffness, you're right, it's hard to define. When you hit the pommel, the blade wiggles very little, less than 1cm to each side. When flexed, it flexes only in the last third and really takes some effort to bend. I'll take a pic of the flexed blade, hang on.

I have thought about decorating the pommel but am unsure how to go about it. I'd love a coin but don't know here to get one. Any idea??

Edit: here's a pic. This is about as much flex as I can get with one hand. My arm was already trembling when I took the photo.



You can see how the blade flexes only in the last half, especially in the last third.
Another way to test stiffness is to thrust through a tire. Any sword that goes through both sides of the tire sidewall is a good thruster in my opinion.

[Julien M]

Excellent work Lukas, whether you used stock removal or not, your blade and finished sword looks really good.

[Scott Woodruff]

Stock removal is a perfectly historically valid way to shape a sword, especially one of this type and time period. I grabbed the three blades I have laying around and flexed them in the same way as shown in your picture. The finished Albion type xvi bare blade looked almost identical to your picture. The type x-in-transition-to-xii/xiii easily bent way further with no effort, while my one truly stiff blade bent only a tiny fraction as much as yours did. Making a direct comparison is diffcult for a number of reasons, but this still gives me a good enough picture that I would be unlikely to be surprised if I were able to actually handle your blade. For one thing, though the Albion showed a similar curvature, it is some 15cm longer than your blade, which is enough to make a huge difference. Comparison to the thin-blade cutter is obviously apples to oranges. The stiff blade I have is only 3 or 4 cm longer than yours but much, much stiffer, despite its lenticular section. Also, differences in individual strength and perceptions of how much force is applied can effect the comparison. It seems that your sword is a very nice compromise, maybe not the super-thruster my stiff blade is, but a good working stiffness while still thin enough to be a good cutter. I am still developing an idea of how stiff is stiff, I have a personal preference for stiff blades ( though I still love my slightly-whippy cutter.)

So once again, great work and thank you very much for the info and pics, they have been most helpful.

I am sure a quick google search will show lots of sources for replica coins (not too expensive I hope) but I am no nusmatist. spp? Is that the right word for a coin collector?