Your Opinion On A New Sword Project -- myArmoury.com

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 13 May, 2009 6:35 am Post subject:

Thanks, Peter! I'll experiment with different means of stiffening the leather. I wonder if it would make a difference to soak it in a thin natural glue....

M. Eversberg II · Posted: Wed 13 May, 2009 8:22 am Post subject:

From what I recall, if you cut some thin slits into it, the glue will impregnate better and it will become stiffer.

M.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 15 May, 2009 7:13 am Post subject:

I'm (very) tentatively considering this an Oakeshott XVIII variant--maybe "a" or "d". I'm open to suggestions, though. It's not really necessary to categorize, especially since it's so late, but it's still an interesting thought exercise.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 19 May, 2009 7:39 am Post subject:

As requested, some in-progress photos (what's that? you say you want properly lit and focused images? Well, you should have said.... Big Grin

)

What you see below is crude clay modeling (using now-filthy Sculpey polymer clay,) which is extremely helpful. This allows me to quickly try different things and spot problems in advance. Other views show the shortened steel cross before any shaping, filing and finishing. The poplar grip core is almost finished but I still have a bit of refining/sanding to do as it's slightly asymetrical. It might also be too fat. I haven't yet tried it with cord and leather to judge the final size. Most likely it'll be slimmed down a bit in its final form. The blade will need sharpening and refinishing. Pommel needs refinishing to match blade and cross. New nut/peen block of short pyramidal form. Grip wrap, chappe, etc. So, I figure this is approximately 1/4 finished after 1.5 hours per night over the last four nights (my wife is out of the country so what would normally be time with her is time with this project).

The blade is now 32", with a balance point at 2.5" below the cross.

Jonathan Hopkins · Posted: Tue 19 May, 2009 8:21 am Post subject:

Sean,
I love following your projects. I enjoy witnessing the process from inspiration to completion. In this case the artwork that has inspired you will surely lead to a unique sword. At this juncture it already looks amazing. I can't wait to see your next progress report!

Jonathan

Etienne Hamel · Posted: Tue 19 May, 2009 2:01 pm Post subject:

Looks absolutely gorgeous im looking forward to the finished product. Big Grin

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 20 May, 2009 11:47 am Post subject:

The grip was definitely too fat. I put it on a crash diet of coarse grit last night and bought red dye today. I'm studying the cross and summoning my courage. Worried

It's very interesting to be able to do so much work on a project every night. I think it makes a difference in the character of the piece because it's sort-of always with me. There's no time when it's far out of mind, so I don't have to get reacquainted with it every time I pick it up to work.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Thu 21 May, 2009 7:48 am Post subject:

Success! I recurved the cross last night. It was shockingly easy.

Lessons learned:

It seemed that I could get the .25" thick steel of the cross up to orange about as quickly as I can get 22 ga. brass sheet up to red, and using the same cheap propane torch. Orange proved to be plenty hot to do the work.

Trying to hold the opposite arm of the cross in locking pliers (with a thick leather pad to protect the piece) didn't really work except during the heating. For the hammer work I had to hold that end in a gloved hand. That end was too hot to touch, and warm through the glove but manageable.

Striking the inside of the curve didn't work nearly as well as striking the outside, with the piece resting on the horn of my little anvil. That was perfect.

I worked in two stages--heating and curving the far end of an arm, then heating and curving the middle.

I estimate that each stage required about two minutes of medium-hard blows.

I considered making a template but decided to "eyeball" the progress and adjust later because I knew that what looked right on paper might not look right in three dimensions. To check symmetry later, I traced one arm and placed the opposite arm on the tracing. Perfect fit. So, now I start filing.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 7:00 am Post subject:

I did one-quarter of the rough filework on the cross last night. Many of you will immediately know my inspiration(s) for this decoration--the Bayerisches museum's XVIIIb (see first photo, below) and at least one other sword possibly by the same cutler. This is the first filework I've done on a sword and I found it very enjoyable.

Looking at the recurved cross from above, you can see the filework at top left. At lower left you can see a half-moon shape filed in the otherwise untouched side of the cross. This is how I created the concave transition up to the non-faceted part of the cross. This is easily done with an small file of lenticular section.

The last photo shows the more refined grip core and the pommel with the mirror finish sanded down.

Julien M · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 7:33 am Post subject:

Fantastic job Sean!

The wodden grip looks great, and I'm especially impressed by your alterations on the cross. This project is really taking shape!
Wish I could get some windlass on the cheap to experiment more ambitious things too!! (Damn you VAT!)

Cheers,

J

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 7:58 am Post subject:

Surely there's a Windlass dealer somewhere in the UK(?) There are some on the continent but I guess you'd still have the tax problem. As long as the pound continues to whip the dollar you should just plan to come over to Georgia for the big MRL warehouse sale next year. Big Grin

Straight shot from London to Atlanta. You could load up! Failing that, keep an eye on the MRL "daily special" page. You can get stuff there so cheap that it might be worth it even given the extra shipping and taxes.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 8:24 am Post subject:

I don't think I've mentioned before that this grip is of the "sandwich" variety, which I find to be both the easiest to make and most perfectly form-fitting. Y'all probably know the drill--two poplar slats with the tang traced on each (be sure to flip the sword over when tracing onto one of the slats), then removal of half the thickness of the tang from that area in each slat, then gluing and clamping of the slats, followed by shaping with chisels, Surform tool and sandpaper, in that order.

Artis Aboltins · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 8:33 am Post subject:

Looksvery impresseive, Sean. makes me want to get some of those MRL daily deal blades and get busy... *sigh* too many projects, too little time.

Thom R.

Just a quick note that today 5/22, the Windlass Saxon Hilt Sword is the MRL "deal of the day" at $97.50!

excellent work on the cross Sean! I have been thinking of doing a recurve on Gus' standard type 5 cross and you did a great job on that, nice smooth curve. Looks great. tr

Sean Flynt

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 11:27 am Post subject:

Some notes on handling, now that I have the sword pretty close to it's final form:

This sword is unlike any other I've handled. I've handled only a few good quality reproductions and no medieval antiques, so I don't know enough to say whether this is good or bad.

At maybe a bit over 2 lbs, ~41" overall, with a 32.5" blade and POB at 2.5" below the cross, it is lively, to say the least. In fact, it has a somewhat eerie quality when drawing it from an imaginary scabbard at my side. It almost seems to "turn on" and position itself, as if it's semi-independent, a dowsing rod tuned to blood. I don't say that lightly because I try to avoid romantic or fantastic ideas about swords. There's just something about the proportions and balance that make the piece feel incredibly light and agile but still capable of effective cuts. It feels like it's running on a track in the thrust. I'm pleasantly surprised. I wish I had more hands-on experience with a fine weapon with a similar POB.

Felix R. · Posted: Fri 22 May, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject:

Hi Sean, it looks really great. Keep up your very inspiring projects.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 01 Jun, 2009 9:12 am Post subject:

A few more in-progress shots of the rough assembly and unfinished steel. Note, especially, the unfinished chappe/rain guard. This "exploded" view gives a good idea of how to make the tubular style. The little tongues--of a piece with the grip wrap--will be stitched to the chappe itself, and the edges of the chappe will be stitched together to form a tube of lenticular section. I'm a bit farther along than this (scabbard is mostly finished now) so the next shots will be of the finished piece, probably minus the scabbard chape. Still not decided on the kind I want, so the tip of the scabbard is a bit rough in anticipation of that work. Final finishing and assembly this week, if all goes according to plan!

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 01 Jun, 2009 9:39 am Post subject:

One other note of interest about the scabbard. I've now made two of these tubular chapes, using the Bayerisches XVIIIb as a guide to proportion and construction. The first time was absent a scabbard. This time I made a scabbard (my first). My chappe shrunk a bit after the dying, and that presented a fit problem, which I'm trying to solve by simply thinning the section of scabbard covered by the chappe. This makes that section very thin--probably not a problem since it's very short and covered with glue and leather. If you look closely at the photos above you can see the notches where the scabbard steps down to this thinner section. But this was initial work, and I'm having to make it even thinner.

Even without shrinkage it seems to me that to maintain the proportions suggested by the Bayerishces chappe the corresponding scabbard section must be very thin. The photo below shows that sword in it's scabbard, so its chappe does not appear to have shrunk significantly over the centuries. That makes me wonder if the topmost section of its scabbard also is very thin-walled. I consider my scabbard to be under-built, especially compared to all of the over-built scabbards of rectangular section we see so often now. But maybe mine is within historical range. I just don't know. I'm pretty ignorant on this subject.

I've used a cord riser under the leather of my scabbard to delineate the chappe-covered section of the scabbard, and another running vertically down the center line of the scabbard. It's a good effect, but my experiment to see how inexpensively I could make a leather-bound scabbard (around $10 in materials) is somewhat disappointing at this stage. I found a huge, thick chamois for the cover, but it has a slightly grainy look to it even after dyeing and waxing. I'll reserve judgement until it's completely finished, though. I need to choose a chape design.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Thu 04 Jun, 2009 8:04 am Post subject:

I decided against red. It reveals every little flaw, it's difficult to match color in different kinds of leather, it calls attention to itself rather than to the steel and generally looks just a bit too "souvenir-of-Toledo," if you know what I mean. I think the sword and scabbard look much more businesslike in black. The problem is that I'd already waxed the red leather, which means the black dye has trouble penetrating evenly. I would describe the current color as "Ebola," black with some red flecks showing through. Most likely, everything will buff back to a mottled red/black--perfect for you ARMA folks. Laughing Out Loud

The scabbard looks SO much better in black....and it fits perfectly, or at least it did before I re-dyed the chappe. Maybe that has shrunk a bit. We'll see.