[Matthew R.]

Greetings everyone,

I have been looking to purchasea sword for some time and have noticed that various sword grips come equipped with rings that I assume are for gripping a finger around. I was just wondering what people thought of these grip rings and if they are useful?

Also, I will be purchasing Albion's Baron soon and I wanted to get an upgrade to the grip that included adding a grip ring or two. Unfortuneately, having someone else to a custom upgrade such as this voids their warranty. Would a great sword such as the Baron be better off without grip rings or should I get the grip rings added for better handling?

Thanks for your help.

-Matt Resmini

[Nathan Robinson]

What you're talking about are what are occasionally known as compound hilts. For the most part rings are intended to serve as protection. Many sword hilts developed into complex forms as a means of attempting to solve the issue of hand protection when a gauntlet was not available or appropriate for the type or era of the weapon.

The various rings and other guards are not there to improve handling. Having said that, certain types of rings such as the finger-ring, are there to provide protection of one's finger when "fingering" the cross-guard (wrapping the finger around the guard). Doing this provides better point control and so many improve handling (if that is what one is seeking), but the ring itself is there merely to provide protection to the finger when doing such a thing.

One exception might be the thumb-ring found on some weapons. This ring does aid in handling and does not serve as a guard by itself. The ring itself is actually gripped, unlike other rings and guards found on compound hilts.

It would not be historically appropriate to simply add rings or guards to the hilt of an Albion Baron. The sword is from an era that would not have seen such a hilt configuration. The blade type, however, could be fitted to a compound hilt type that contains rings and guards, but it would have different hilt components (guard, grip, pommel) to be something found in history.

The Oakeshott Type XIIa blade type found on the Baron saw a long lifespan with many hilt configurations (though later period examples with complex hilts are not entirely common for sure!). If you're looking for a compounded-hilted Type XIIa sword, I'd suggest getting one custom made. Buying the Baron and using only its blade would be quite costly.

[Matthew R.]

Sorry for the confusion. The rings I meant can be found on the Albion Steward.

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/ne...xiiia3.htm

Is this a compound hilt? Or something different?

[Dan Dickinson]

Matt, are you possibly talking about risers such as the one in the center of the Crecy grip?
See below:
http://www.myArmoury.com/view.html?reviews/alb_crecy_b.jpg
If so, I tend to like risers on my grip, but I know that some people find that it is uncomfortable for them while the sword is in motion......it tends to be personal preference....perhaps you could simulate it with a tightly wrapped rubber-band around a grip sized item (if you don't have any other swords to try it on) to see how it feels. If you like it, there's a good chance that Albion will put one on at no extra charge, or very little, when ordering it from them.
I hope this helps,
Dan

Edit: I see that you posted while I was typing....yup you're talking about risers.
I would definitely give Mike at Albion a call and see what they could do, but i doubt it would be much trouble...and you'd still have the warranty.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Matthew R.]

Haha,

It is my fault for not knowing the lingo.

Thanks Dan for clearing that up. I did E-mail Mike and asked if they could give me the Steward's grip on the Baron. He said they can't do that however, and having Christian Fletcher do it would void the warranty. Do you think it is possible that he just misunderstood what I meant and adding risers wouldn't be a big deal. I am not sure if Albion actually provides any customizations or not. Maybe someone out there can let me know if they had Albion do a minor alteration to one of their swords, such as adding a riser, without too much trouble.

[Nathan Robinson]

[Matthew R.]

ya, that is the impression I got. Ah well, It is not really a big deal. Thanks for the help.

[Bryce Felperin]

You can probably go to Christian Fletcher (http://www.christianfletcher.com/Christian_Fletcher/Welcome.html) and have him make a customized Albion with the grip risers you want. He did a similiar job for me a year ago.

He also sells Albion swords and offers customization options for those as well.