[Michael Pikula]

I recall reading somewhere??? that some pommels were, or could have been, constructed from two pieces being welded together like a sandwich, with a slot for the tang being carved or forged into each half. I can't find the source and I'm wondering if anyone has any documentation or evidence as to if this technique was actually utilized or if it is someones individual concept. If this process was used was there a time period that it was more relevant then others?

[Scott Woodruff]

Yes Michael, pommels were indeed sometimes made by joining two pieces. The examples I have seen pics of were made of fairly thin sheet and were brazed together, similar to the hollow spherical pommels on Brithish basket-hilts. All of the examples that I have seen were found loose, so we do not know if they were left hollow or if they were filled with some sort of matrix. On another thread (Scandinavian longswords?) Peter Johnson suggested the possibility of their being filled with molten lead. The medieval conception of what a pommel should be was rather different from our own modern ideas. Today, we think of pommels as being a solid chunk of metal tightly fitted to the tang, but most medieval pommels are at least partially hollow and are only tightly fitted to the tang near the button. The hollow part could then be wedged with wooden wedges or the wood grip core could extend into the pommel.

[Peter Lyon]

I have handled a sword very similar to the construction Scott describes. A scottish longsword c.1410, a disk pommel with the long neck to the pommel button characteristic of this period, it is made of four pieces - two dished faces and two side strips which create the space for the tang, clearly brazed together (the iron is corroded, the brazing still clean bronze). Also lots of space around the tang, which doesn't seem to be caused by corrosion, so presumably the grip core extended into the pommel. I suspect most examples of this construction are to allow a bulkier pommel without it actually being heavier.

[Dustin R. Reagan]

[Michael Pikula]

Thanks for the replies and the information! I'm going to be giving welding up and brazing pommels a try and see what kind of results I end up with.

Dustin, thanks for the link! No wonder I couldn't find the reference, I was looking at the wrong forum...

Another way to prevent as much deformation would be to split/drift/punch the hole for the tang into a sizable portion of bar stock, since the metal will have more support and be harder to deform in the operation you choose to do. Not to mention you can weld a handle on the bar and it makes holding on to your work piece much easier. Once you have your hole set you can trim, pinch, or hot cut off the section and forge it to shape to get your pommel stock.

[Scott Woodruff]

Hey, that deformation is a good thing! Practically all disk pommels that I have ever seen have some degree of deformation of the type you described.