Well, this was not the first post I wanted to make, but here it is...

I purchased a hand forged sword from Albion Armorers back when Randal Graham was working for them. It was to be Randal's interpretation of one of the Kraghul bog swords. It is a beautiful sword.

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However, I recently noticed that the tip was damaged:

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I'm not sure how it happened. I have never hit anything other than wet newspaper and pool noodles with this sword. But if I had to guess, it looks like someone hit the tip against somthing like concrete... it is missing a tiny, tiny chip at the end.

I have tried to contact Randal Graham about getting it repaired but cannot reach him anywhere - the email on
http://www.rhgraham.com/ bounces back and the forum on that site is dead. I contacted Albion but they are hesitant because they no longer deal with forged blades.

Can anyone suggest a way to contact Randal Graham? Or can anyone suggest an alternate person who might make repairs on this sword?

Thank you very much.[/url]

You could just do it yourself. Use a fine file, perhaps polish with various grits sandpaper if necessary. Not hard at all - I've done it a couple times myself.

I agree with C. Gadda.

It's a very minor thing to fix.

It doesn't even look damaged, just oxidized. If there is any actual damage to the point, welcome to the club. An acute point is damage waiting to happen.

I'd suggest getting something cheap, like a 10 dollar fantasy dager, messing up the point and reshaping it with sharpening stones (they are the most forgiving and easy to work with). Once you get good at it, fix this sword.

For your own hapiness, I'd suggest just giving up on the idea that the sword must be exactly as it was or it is imperfect. A sword is never perfect, because all swords are made by people. A point different from the one it came with is no worse than the original. Unless of course you do a horrible job fixing it. :)

If you look at my Albion Talhoffer, my most heavily used sword, you'll see that it looks like new. If I had never repaired the various damage it has suffered, you'd be horrified. The point used to look like one of those paper airplanes whose nose you fold back upon itself and then forward again.

I agree with what Michael said. A sword will never stay the same along the time, be it stain, rust, bent, dent or chipped. I understand how it feels to have my prized swords suffering damage, no matter how minor. It happened to me too. However, after it happened again and again, I've learned to accept these as the inevitable events. After all, as long as you don't put it through a battle, it is most likely to out-live you. Hence such minor damage doesn't warrant an overly concern. :)

Hope you feel better this way. :)

I am unable to discern any real damage from the pictures, but as others have noted it is not difficult at all to fix minor edge damage, in most cases it involves nothing more than sharpening/polishing. Fresh impact damage usually looks worse than it is due to the material being raised around the edges of the nick. Once you have honed this "flash" off the surface the damage is usually much less noticeable. From that point it is a judgement call whether to continue removing material until the nick itself is gone, if the sword will be used at all I wouldn't bother.
If you don't have sharpening stones, 220 grit sandpaper can be used, wrapped around a flat object for backing. Once you are done with this you can re-polish the edge with finer grits to match the original finish, or as you see fit.

Curse you for betraying me Google!

Alright, since Google searching failed, what's with the pitting all along the blade? A strange type of fuller? Is it period or just something Graham thought would be cool?

If I remember correctly, Randal used to leave forging/hammer marks in almost all his fullers....it was kinda his trademark.
Dan

Andy,
I can't advise how to fix the point of your sword. Once you do an easy way I've found to protect the acute point
(and anything it comes into contact with) of my First Gen Albion Mainz is to push it into the side of a synthetic
wine cork. The synthetic cork doesn't absorb moisture or discolor the tip (kept clean of course). A bonus, the cork
gives the Glad' a better balance and it will stand up without falling to one side more easily.

Good luck with the tip,

Doug Gentner

You will los 1 cm ca of blade length but you should re-grind it, if it really bothers you so much.

As it is a rough blade it will be a thing that a decent hobbyist knifemaker could do with some good files and some sandpaper. Not difficult tor e-create the surface's rough look.

220 grit sandpaper did the job, 600 grit followed by 1500 grit restored the polish!

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!! :D

This sword is kind of a weird one... I thought I had ordered Albion's Kraghul Bog Sword with (I think it was Angus Trim's) a type X blade. This was before they even had the First Generation line. But they had discontinued that sword... somehow I wound up with Randal Graham making this blade for me - I think they felt badly that I had waited so many months for a sword they did not have.

I did not know what to expect at all but was still surprised at the needle-like appearance when I got it. Talk about a thrusting sword!!

I have never seen another sword quite like it and I love it. There is no fuller, just Randal's hammer marks. The blade itself is lenticular.

Anyway, I have got to go to bed, I have work early in the am. Here are some pictures of the patterning on the blade.

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Again, thanks![/img]