generally speaking the idea is that it is a sword with a slab-o-steel hilt thingie like this:
this is all cool and what not but there's a problem: the big slab-o-steel hilt really messes up the handling of the sword.
well now wait a moment you might be saying, Gus has been making these for years and no one has complained about how they handle! well, maybe not and maybe so but when the bullets run out and the zombies are still coming you need a good reliable blade that is agile, tough, sharp, and not going to flinch at a little bit of mud. that slab-o-steel really doesn't add any thing, it messes up the harmonics and the mechanical and dynamic balances and can be damned uncomfortable to hold. who really wants something uncomfortable in their hand when facing down the legions of unmentionables fresh from their uneasy graves? not me, I want a sword that is a joy to swing.
ATrim swords have always been all about performance so why not make an ATrim tactical that stands up to ATrim performance standards? well Gus has done just that. there's no reason for a tactical sword to have a slab-o-steel for a hilt, but it does need something durable, something that won't get ruined by a little muck
here's a look at a prototype for our new line of Tactical ATrim swords
so what's this guy all about?
well the basic blade design was inspired by a 19th century saber and a Chinese willow leaf saber. the hilt is traditional in that it has the right sized tang and a pommel.
The grip is a poplar wood core just like normal but it is wrapped in nylon and sealed with resin. Turks heads are used in place of risers. this is basically the same grip construction as we are using on the I-beams now. we liked it so we decided to use it more.
the new tacticals will come permanently assembled with a mechanical peen because you don't want zombie guts to get down inside the hex nut now do you.
this sword is heat treated using the standard ATrim formula but the finished models will be a higher hardness and selectively tempered to have a tough and springy center. they should fall in about 58-59 HRC on the edges and something in the 40's near the center. this will give a sharper, harder, more wear-resistant edge so you can cut off more zombie heads before needing to resharpen it.
the guard on this one is also not the final design. we are going to strive to make furniture for these swords that is somewhat reminiscent of the ancient weapons they have evolved from but not close enough in appearance that anyone could mistake them for an attempt at doing a copy of a historical guard.
we have a Tactical Jian in progress ad there might be a Tac Viking, and who knows what else.
at this point a lot of thing can change, or be introduced so discussion is welcome.