Ballockdagger questions! -- myArmoury.com

Martin Wallgren · Posted: Tue 29 Jun, 2010 4:25 am Post subject: Ballockdagger questions!

I´m looking at having a friend do a repro of this dagger
http://www.allenantiques.com/W-2.html
But as we have no hands on experience with it we have to guess a few things. For example the plate between the blade and the hilt at the ballocks, is it forged out of the same material as the blade or is it just a "washer"?

What do you guys think? How should we do it?

//Martin

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

Those are typically separate plates. It may be corrosion that's causing it to look like it's of one piece with the blade.

Martin Wallgren · Posted: Tue 29 Jun, 2010 5:29 am Post subject:

Do you think it has been welded (don´t know the correct word for it) on or is it loos and just peened into place?

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

Martin,
The more I look at this one, the more it seems that the hilt plate is molded to form a collar around the base of the blade.

As far as construction go, it's not so different from sword construction. The pieces are usually held together with varying combinations of tight fit and compression from the peened end.

Peter Johnsson · Industry Professional

I think the plate is simply a washer of sheet iron. These plates are as a rule fitted so they slip on from the tang and are kept in place between blade shoulders and grip by compression. Sometimes there is a pair of rivets that protrude on the top of the balls that pierce the front plate and keep it securely in place. This dagger seems to lack this feature.

It is common to see rivet washer and front plate of different materials. In this case iron and bronze for the rivet washer.

Leo Todeschini · Industry Professional

The method of construction is indeed as Peter and Chad, all that I would add is that there are sometimes pins passing through the plate and into the 'balls' and sometimes not and these pins may pass right through, often with small decorative washers on the top surface, or may not pass through the balls at all so there is no exit hole/feature to the pins.

Tod

Martin Wallgren · Posted: Tue 29 Jun, 2010 12:17 pm Post subject:

Thanx a million guys! I´ll will make Magnus take alot photos of the forging of the blade and alot from my own work with the fittings and such!

Chad Arnow · myArmoury Team

Peter and Tod,
What do you make of the junction between hilt platr and blade? There appears to be sloping from blade to hilt plate and an uneven line at the base of the blade as if the hilt plate is more moulded/shaped to fit around the base of the blade.