[Russ Ellis]

Well, I actually got this sword from Rob some time ago. I submitted it to Nathan but there was a difficulty getting nice pictures. In the meantime I managed to sell the sword to another gentlemen here insuring that there would be no new pictures at least from me. A couple of weeks ago Nathan said to just go ahead and post the review here with pictures so here goes:

INTRODUCTION
The history of the baskethilt is a much debated topic. Some maintain that the earliest baskethilts were the Dalmation shiavona and that the style eventually made its way to Scotland. Others argue for a German pedigree and still others maintain that the baskethilt is probably a case of parallel development. They maintain with the increasing disuse of steel gauntlets that new hilt forms became useful in protecting the hand. Perhaps there is some truth to this. Whatever it’s origins the Scottish baskethilt in all its many variations is as much a symbol of Scotland as the thistle and both period pieces and quality reproductions are in demand from collectors everywhere.

Rob Miller of Castle Keep has been a practicing bladesmith since 1990. In the main he has been self taught which makes him success in the field that much more impressive. Rob typically produces, weapons indigenous to the area where he lives and works (The Isle of Skye) claidheamh cuil, (basket hilted backsword), claymores, sgian dubhs, dirks, viking style swords and high medieval period swords are all part of his repertoire. Rob is however always willing to accept new designs, as with many artisans he has discovered that making the same thing day in and day out grows dull from time to time.

Interacting with Rob Miller has been a pleasant experience. He has been extremely responsive in his emails and has gone out of his way to provide all the information that I have requested of him. The sword that he sent me proved to be well packaged and arrived safely with no damage. Rob had coated it with a thick coat of oil to insure that there would be no rust damage as well.

OVERVIEW

Rob Miller uses EN45 in his sword’s construction and he tempers between 55 and 62 on the Rockwell scale. I was initially concerned about this hardness as the upper range sounds like it might perhaps be getting a bit brittle. Rob however states that he has had few problems with customers having damaged blades, despite heavy usage. All of Robs blades are hand forged the machinery he uses mostly consists of belt grinders for finishing work. In his construction Rob uses a threaded tang and a screw on pommel. He does not however employ any sort of nut mechanism at the end of his tang but relies on the pommel itself to be the nut.

CastleKeep Baskethilt

Overall Length: 38 inches
Blade Length: 32 inches
Point of Balance: 3 inches from cross
Center of Percussion: 18 inches from cross
Weight: 3 lbs
Hilt length: 6 inches
Width at basket 1.75 inches
Width two inches from
tip .75 inches
List Price 760 dollars U.S.


HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS
I am by no means an expert on baskethilts, in fact this is the first quality reproduction I’ve ever held in my hand, so I can’t claim to know how one is supposed to handle. I can however say that this particular sword seems to be light and well balanced. Mechanically all of the balance points seem to be where they are supposed to be and the sword came with a reasonably sharp edge.

FIT AND FINISH

This is a very pretty sword. Rob hand forges all of his blades. Frequently this is used as an excuse for a rough finish but with Rob this does not seem to be the case. The blade is very well done, this particular one was mirror polished. It does not appear to have any grind marks, waves or uneveness whatsoever. The tip is nicely symetrical, this one was rather spatulate but I am sure that a more acute point could be provided upon request. Rob also etched a motto for me on the fuller “Pro focis et Patria which I am told means “Home and Hearth.” The etching was well done with nice even spacing and well formed characters. Rob then applied gold leaf to the etching. My only quibble with the blade itself is that the fullers are slightly off. One on one side is slightly longer then the other.

Now on to that distinctive feature of the baskethilt. The basket! Again the basket was built by hand. This particular basket is of the XXXXXX style. The basket seems to have been made in as many as eight pieces and then welded together. The pierce work on the basket is very authoritatively done and is symmetrical etc. The welds themselves are perhaps a little rough, that is they are noticeable although not jarringly so. This particular basket was browned. There was a leather washer at the top of the basket where it meets the blade. One would assume that this would keep the basket from rubbing against a metal chape at the top of a scabbard.

The grip on this sword is sharkskin over wood. Rob tells me that someone in the village near him catches the sharks and tans the hides right there so he has a ready supply. The sharkskin is rough but not painfully so, rather it provides a good grip without wearing on the hands. The grip also has a single wrap of twisted silver wire accented on both sides by strands of gold wire. The wire was ever so slightly loose at the bottom of the hilt before it went under the ferrule.

CONCLUSION
I believe that this sword is a good value for the money spent at 760 dollars (670 for a piece without the etching) there aren’t really any other hand forged pieces even close. The sword did have the minor aesthetic problems that I mentioned above, namely the asymmetrical fullers, the welds on the basket and the slightly loose wire wrap, however these are trivial problems at worst.

[Steve Grisetti]

That's my baby. I bought this sword from Russ a couple of months ago, and remain very pleased with it.

[Henrik Bjoern Boegh]

That's a real beauty! I really can't understand why you parted with it...

Cheers,
Henrik

[Russ Ellis]