[Chip F.]

My Lancaster recently developed a clicking noise in the grip. I read a previous thread about this and it seems to be a common issue that frustrates Albion owners, even if it really doesn't affect the performance of the sword. Being a picky person, I sought to repair the handle. In this case the noise was clearly coming from the grip and not the guard. I imagine this is either due to a swelling of the wood caused by changing humidity, or because some part of the wood grip did not bond to the tang when it was epoxied, leaving an air pocket.

I read about the solution of pouring locktite down the gap between the blade and the hilt, however another forum member reported that he had fixed the same problem by fully oiling his sword and leaving it in a blade-up position for several hours. I laid down a cloth and leaned my Lancaster against the wall blade up. I then took a spray bottle of Hanwei sword oil and sprayed the base of the blade, allowing the oil to drip down the small gap between the blade and the guard. I did this several times and then turned the sword around and repeated the process on the other side. I then let the sword stand in the upright position overnight so that the oil would run down the entire tang.

When I picked up the sword again, there was a slight swishing feeling in the handle at first, and then the problem disappeared entirely and the grip has not clicked or shifted for a few days since.

I am pleased at this but remain skeptical mostly because I cannot determine exactly how this would have fixed the problem. Did the oil have some effect on the swelling of the wood handle? If there is a gap between the wood grip and the tang, I don't imagine that the oil would fill it in and stay there, would it?

[Dean F. Marino]

How this worked: Oil flowed into the gap that has developed in the interface of your tang/grip. The wood swelled, absorbing that oil, and has tightened against the underlying tang.

This MAY, or MAY NOT result in a permanent solution.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Depending on the gap between blade and sword blade at the guard I might use wooden shims and/or use super glue into the gap.

I've fixed a few Del Tins that way with good results but it's always a risk that the super glue wont get down far enough into the handle to fix the problem and will block any later attempts to fill the handle gap with something else !?

But with a loose guard it did work fine for me most of the time.

Depending on the oil it might work or it might weaken or rot the wood, or dissolve the epoxy..... I'm really not sure, just guessing !

Some oils are really bad for leather if you get it on the outside of the leather covering ?

Improvised fixes are always a risk, but I've been lucky with those so far.

Wouldn't hurt to get the opinion of some industry professionals for a more reliable and less risky answer.

[Chip F.]