Sword conversion -- myArmoury.com

Jason Torres · Posted: Sat 16 Jul, 2016 3:28 am Post subject: Sword conversion

Hey Ladies and Gents, new to this forum but I have been lurking for a while. I have a question regarding sword conversions.. and by this I mean....
I love the Longclaw from Game of thrones and the one that is sold is a stainless steel wall hanger..
I want to buy another sword that has a functional blade and switch it out with Longclaws stainless blade.
I was thinking of using a Deepeeka Triple lobed Godfred Viking Sword or something similar.
I wanted to stay with similar widths (50-55mm) and close to the length (33in)
any suggestions? Can this be done?

Luka Borscak · Posted: Sat 16 Jul, 2016 5:46 am Post subject:

Try to get a bare Hanwei Tinker blade, longsword or bastard. But I'm not sure fittings would fit on it without some modifying of the parts. Did you try to pull your sword apart?

Jason Torres · Posted: Sat 16 Jul, 2016 7:05 am Post subject:

Didn't pull it apart yet. I haven't received it yet.
I have a Sword of Robin hood that the tang is very tapered.. other wise I would have used that one. I want the tang to be pretty substantial and not thin or rat tailish.

I would think that the Wolf head pommel would have to be bored out a bit to get a thicker tang

Dan D'Silva · Posted: Sat 16 Jul, 2016 8:13 am Post subject:

What are the fittings made of?

Sam Barris · Posted: Sat 16 Jul, 2016 8:44 am Post subject:

Assuming you want a functional sword rather than a wallhanger that just happens to have a nicer blade, I would be very worried about the hilt components. They're the obvious point of failure here. Do they require (and can they endure) modifications to get them to play nicely with the new blade? How is the thing put together now, and if it isn't already peened or tightly screwed, can the hilt components endure that? Can the hilt components endure the uses to which a functional sword may be subject, assuming you get the whole thing together and want to try some test cutting? Are they suitable for that, meaning, what does a plastic pommel (I'm assuming it's plastic, or resin at best) do to the handling?

Personally, it's been a while since a fantasy sword appealed to me, but were it me, I think I would take some additional time and money and go custom to be sure everything was done right from the ground up rather than try to put a functional blade on a hilt that might be made of extremely substandard materials. Stone and crystal pommels were not unheard of on historical swords, and finding a craftsman to make a stone wolf head isn't impossible (It was stone, right? It's been forever since I read any of those books). Everything else about the project should be pretty straightforward.

But if you're not going to be too hard on the finished product, one of the Hanwei Tinker blades might be good, and would be a comparatively low cost way to go forward. Albion also offers bare (though also unpolished) blades, and sometimes a good blade turns up in the "moat," so there are options out there. One problem you might run into with the blade you're thinking about is having to weld an extension on the tang.

I'm curious to see how this turns out. Good luck! Happy

EDIT: Of course, there's always this. Eek!

Terry Thompson · Posted: Sat 16 Jul, 2016 5:28 pm Post subject:

"Jeor gives the sword to Jon Snow as a reward for saving his life from a wight. Before passing it on to Jon, he remarks that the name "Longclaw" is just as suitable for a wolf as a bear. Mormont has had the pommel remade, replacing the bear with a direwolf, the sigil of House Stark."

I would have suggested going with a "meaner" looking direwolf's head if you're going the fantasy sword route. Finding a walking cane with a wolf's head could be good. This one pictured below is cold cast impregnated with steel. I wouldn't use it as is. But you could use it to make a mold to get someone to cast a bronze version for you. At $75 from Dellamorteco, it is probably cheaper than having an artist sculpt it.

And then going with a fantasy sword (VALYRIAN STEEL!) (since we don't have Westeros armorers in our world) I would look toward a Kit Rae sword, or maybe the Museum Collection Glamdring sword, as a blade.

http://www.kultofathena.com/images/POUC1425_l.jpg

The above option looks like it would be well under $1000 to do (figure $250 for casting the pommel from the wolf's head you provide). Less if you get a cheaper longsword blade.

-Terry

Neil Schiff · Posted: Wed 20 Jul, 2016 2:33 pm Post subject:

There is also this one currently available (if you want to spend the money). Sorry for the link to another forum, but it doesn't seem to be up on his website yet.

https://sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/48409/update-sale-longclaw