A Source for Pommels -- myArmoury.com

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 12:46 pm Post subject: A Source for Pommels

A gift certificate to American Fencer's Supply compelled me to track down some information that will be of interest to the DIY community here, and is not available anywhere else online.

AFS doesn't show many of it's "Armoury" products online. They were kind enough to scan a page from their old print catalog and send me that and a list of discontinued items.The pommels I've marked in red are not available. Everything else is available, and I've tracked down photos so you can see what some of those look like in the flesh.

Match those part numbers to prices here: http://www.amfence.com/html/parts_armoury.html and order by phone.

I've just ordered three "Claymore" pommels at $35 each. I'm thinking that is likely to be the most useful. I'll post photos here ASAP.

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

American Fencers was about 2 blocks away from my loft. They moved and I have, but I'll always remember browsing their Armory section and seeing their various parts and pieces alongside completed swords of their own and from Oscar Kolombotavich. Good times..

Julien M · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 1:30 pm Post subject:

Nice one Sean. I knew this website but never brought myself to order (put off by the color of the carpet on the sword shots maybe... Happy

)...so looking forward to your pictures!

Actually the 116 looks pretty decent too...looks like brass but is supposed to be steel.

Julien M · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 1:58 pm Post subject:

Spent hours browsing for hilt parts... still hoping to find a goldmine such as this one of these days Happy

Jeffrey Faulk · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 2:06 pm Post subject:

Seeing that these are fencing-style swords, wouldn't these pommels tend to be on the small side, perhaps unsuitable for anything over small-sword size? I can't see anything as far as sizes go on the website...

Of course that's what you're finding out, I suppose Happy

Mark T · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 3:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks Sean!

I'd been putting off trying to order from them, as their site is so clunky, and they didn't have pictures of the pommels!

Does anyone have images of the following they list?:

Bastard 112C/1
Medieval 115C/1
Medieval 117C/1
Double ring swept hilt 151C/1

Julien M · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 3:41 pm Post subject:

That's from the Vorarlberg Museum. I just hope the collection was not put together by some eccentric with a weird sword pommel fetish, butchering swords to pile these up! There are some wonderful pieces there.

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

Dean F. Marino · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 4:34 pm Post subject:

This could be a goldmine... THANK YOU for the data. I may very well email these folks, and explain how they are tossing money out the door - this stuff needs to be LIVE on the net, with a "BUY ME" button next to it Happy

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DarkWOOD armory has several pommels - all described as "rapier", but it's the WEIGHT and PLACEMENT that counts. I've built up several Hanwai Bastards with these - all ending up at about 4" POB.

(Edit) - sent 'em a note. They need to SHOW this stuff, and give people a genuine way to BUY it.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 25 Mar, 2014 7:28 pm Post subject:

i'm not sure there's much to work with in their guards, but the pommel prices are comparable to Darkwood, and possibly of more useful size and form. I'm hoping the " claymore " will be hefty.

That pommel collection! Here's your master's exam--pick a pommel at random and draw the rest of the sword it's from.

Mark T · Posted: Wed 26 Mar, 2014 12:27 am Post subject:

Julian: Thank you! I think I've learned more from that photo than any other single image. Amazing.

Glen A Cleeton · Posted: Wed 26 Mar, 2014 4:28 am Post subject:

Chevalier still lists parts in their theatrical section.
http://www.chevalierdauvergne.com/

Cheers

GC

Julien M · Posted: Wed 26 Mar, 2014 4:36 am Post subject:

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 04 Apr, 2014 7:06 am Post subject:

Here's the scoop on the AF "claymore" pommels, showing scale as much as I'm able. The sword setup shown here is the HT fullered bastard sword. The dagger is an approximation of how the pommel would be mounted on the Atlanta Cutlery large dagger blade, which has a 12" blade and 7" tang (this one is shortened at both ends, but you get the idea). The old-style A&A Henry V pommel (hollow) is shown for purposes of size comparison. The AF pommel is only slightly smaller in diameter, but thinner through the body.

My overall impression is that this pommel is a good deal if the size is right for your project. It would look a bit small on a blade much wider than than the HT bastard, but for a narrower project, I think it's fine. Some will not like the extent of protrusion on the faces. Those are easily ground down, and I'll almost certainly do that for my projects. As you can see, there's good consistency from piece to piece.

The threaded hole extends about 2/3 through the piece, which makes drilling an easy task.

Finish is not bad at all but you'll be spending some time with files and paper to clean up some of the rough spots from turning.

I think this pommel is fine for narrow single hand and possibly even some narrow bastard or longsword projects. It would be beautiful on a robust dagger.

Julien M · Posted: Fri 04 Apr, 2014 7:19 am Post subject:

Thanks Sean, very useful.

I thought this pommel looked smallish from the claymore pictures from their site. For further comparison, 2 inches wide is bang on the length of a yeoman pommel ( up to dawn, the shorter side of the oval).

That's a bit small for most of my projects, yet likely too large and heavy for a dagger - otherwise they look very good for the price.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 04 Apr, 2014 7:26 am Post subject:

Yes, I would say that it's somewhere in between a dagger and a sword. Great for one of those neat little riding swords, perhaps.

I don't know enough about sword-hilt daggers to know how much size variety there is in surviving examples. Thinking of the magnificent dagger Peter Johnsson made for Nathan Robinson ( http://www.myArmoury.com/dagg_pj_dagger.html ,) there must have been some big, beautiful daggers of this type.

I'm thinking about getting another of those $15 AC dagger blades and trying a dagger project.

Dean F. Marino · Posted: Fri 04 Apr, 2014 11:51 am Post subject:

Sean - great photos regarding the physical size of these pommels. Of the ones you have ... any idea of the apx weight? They are probably quite different, as one has quite a bit more metal to it. Something in the 320 gram range will balance an HT Bastard pretty nicely, about 4 1/2" POB with an overall 9" grip Happy

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Also - there is some threading... any thoughts on the size? 6x1 mm ?

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 04 Apr, 2014 12:42 pm Post subject:

Dean F. Marino · Posted: Fri 04 Apr, 2014 1:40 pm Post subject:

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 26 Oct, 2015 11:13 am Post subject:

Forgot to follow up on this thread. Here's what I did with the AFS pommel. http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=282185