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Bryan Heff




Location: Philadelphia
Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Likes: 8 pages

Posts: 370

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 6:31 am    Post subject: First attempt at a wire wrapped grip         Reply with quote

I traded for this really cool older model MRL/Del Tin piece a few weeks ago.

I built a new wood core. I shored up the pommel and cross with metal shims and then epoxied/glued the 2 wooded slabs that make the grip (similar to the Albion way) to the tang. The sword rings like a bell now. Everything tight and right. The blade had an uneven tip that I reprofiled an I did my best to remove the diamond cross section that was on the final portion of the blade when I got it. I really like the sword. The blade has some stains and some very small pits and the hilt furniture (besides the new grip) is worn looking and has some stains and a few marks, so the sword has a lot of character, which I actually like in contrast to some of my higher end pieces that I don't modify and keep in pristine condition. This sword looks like its been through some hard times but its still very sound.

The wire I bought at a Michael's craft store. It was 24 gauge (pretty thin) and it is sold for making jewelry (beads etc). I bought a copper and a steel and twisted the 2 together by stretching the wire the full length of my basement, attaching the far ends to the wall and then basically running my hand drill with a little do-dad thing I also picked up that sort of spins the wire, and twists it together. At first I thought the wire experiment was shaping up to be a disaster but it somehow worked out, right down to having enough wire by 1 or 2 wraps left, got lucky there.










The church is near but the roads are icy. The tavern is far but I will walk carefully. - Russian Proverb
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Kai Lawson





Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Likes: 7 pages

Posts: 589

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 6:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That looks very clean and even. I really like the look of the copper and steel together. Nice!
"And they crossed swords."
--William Goldman, alias S. Morgenstern
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Radovan Geist




Location: Slovakia
Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Likes: 5 pages

Posts: 399

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 8:24 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

thatīs really nice! those two metals give nice contrast.
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Jonathan Blair




Location: Hanover, PA
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Likes: 9 pages
Reading list: 2 books

Posts: 496

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 10:38 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Looks amazing. How did you attach the wire at each end?
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." - The Lord Jesus Christ, from The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, chapter x, verse 34, Authorized Version of 1611
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Bryan Heff




Location: Philadelphia
Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Likes: 8 pages

Posts: 370

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 12:30 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jonathan Blair wrote:
Looks amazing. How did you attach the wire at each end?


Basically a small hole drilled into the wood at the pommel end and then at the cross end, wire gets inserted in that and epoxy to lock it in place.

Thanks all for the nice comments.

The church is near but the roads are icy. The tavern is far but I will walk carefully. - Russian Proverb
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James Cunniffe




Location: chicago/ireland
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Likes: 9 pages

Posts: 108

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 7:29 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

You did a beautiful job Bryan the sword looks great....
Though the pen is mightier than the sword,
the sword speaks louder and stronger at any given moment.
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J. Hargis




Location: Pacific Palisades, California
Joined: 06 Feb 2012
Likes: 22 pages

Posts: 350

PostPosted: Tue 25 Feb, 2014 8:31 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

What a difference. Excellent work, Bryan. You moved that sword up a notch or two. I've always loved the type D pommels.

Also, nice background for the photos.

Thanks, Jon


A poorly maintained weapon is likely to belong to an unsafe and careless fighter.
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Jeremy V. Krause




Location: Buffalo, NY.
Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Likes: 1 page
Reading list: 1 book

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 1,717

PostPosted: Wed 26 Feb, 2014 5:18 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That's neato- Good job!
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Carl W.




Location: usa
Joined: 07 Aug 2008

Posts: 182

PostPosted: Wed 26 Feb, 2014 9:14 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Well done, & thank you very much for sharing. How long is the grip & how long was the wire that barely made it?
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Bryan Heff




Location: Philadelphia
Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Likes: 8 pages

Posts: 370

PostPosted: Fri 28 Feb, 2014 5:04 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Carl W. wrote:
Well done, & thank you very much for sharing. How long is the grip & how long was the wire that barely made it?


Thank you.

Well, I just measured the distance I had the wire stretched out across my basement. It was about 45 feet.

The grip was 4 3/4" long. So it basically took 45 feet of wire to wrap 4 3/4" of grip. Obviously the thickness of both your grip and wire would also factor in to the ending number of amount of wire needed. I would suggest going more than you think you need for sure. Or test it out to a degree with cord that is of the same approximate width as the wire you will use to get a good idea how much you would ultimately need.

The church is near but the roads are icy. The tavern is far but I will walk carefully. - Russian Proverb
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