And here we have the result..........................
[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]

Soon after posting this thread, forum member Mike Jia contacted me with a solicitation. Through his business, The Printed Armoury, Mike had several pommel marker designs available. These are manufactured using 3D printing. I chose this quatrefoil design since the other two choices were a bit too high gothic for this sword. The original marker was a perforated disc, as seen here: http://www.shapeways.com/product/ME6QYMCG4/qu...d=42931292

I specified a .25 inch thick, solid bronze disc and Mike advised it wouldn't be a problem. The pommel's cavities weren't quite the same size, with one being a bit larger in diameter and the other being a bit deeper, so the measurements I supplied were an average. I expected to do a bit of final fitting, but both discs dropped right in without any fitting. Mike also delivered them two weeks ahead of schedule. I'm quite happy with the result.

That's really nice, a great finishing touch on the sword. Does the quatrefoil pattern have any historical ot other meaning or reference?

Holy cow, that is really really nice! Great job!

Yes! Excellent choice. That is fantastic.

Hello
That looks pretty sweet .Congrats!

That looks great Patrick! It really fits with the design and just completes it as it were.

A very nice choice Patrick. Aesthetically pleasing, and a nice color differential to the otherwise cool colors of the steel and grip. I've been waiting to see what you had chosen! It's exciting to see that you've had success with a 3d printed design. I saw a few threads here a week or so ago discussing what's possible now, and what could be in the near future - very exciting indeed.

Thank you for the kind words gentlemen, I'm very happy with the results. 3D printing opens up a lot of possibilities for our hobby, it's an exciting development.

Roger,

The quatrefoil is a design that becomes quite common in gothic and renaissance art and architecture, but I don't know of any special religious significance attached to it. I chose this design from those Mike had available because the other two, while nice, were far too gothic for a sword of this period. With the christian cross being such a common motif for this kind of decoration, I chose to orientate the disc in a cross like manner, so as to appear more period appropriate.

While the sword's blade is perfectly finished the guard and pommel are not. Nothing bad, but rather just evidence of the forging and finishing process. If you're familiar with Leo Todeschini's work you'll know what I mean when I say it's a Tod level finish: aesthetically pleasing but with evidence of the hand made process. The pommel cavities are the only place where obvious modern machining marks were to be found and they looked a bit out of place, so they needed covering. The bronze pommel inserts also go well with the scabbard appointments.

Great solution. As a designer on Shapeways myself (3d printed scale modeling parts) I was actually going to suggest that you look into finding a designer and CADding up a design acceptable to you, or doing it yourself, but someone beat me to it. That looks really great!

Quote:

3D printing opens up a lot of possibilities for our hobby, it's an exciting development.

Concur! In the future, I plan on creating my own pommel and cross designs and creating some custom swords for myself. The technology now allows all of us to design and create our own Grail Swords. As prices come down further, and more "structural" parts capable of withstanding impacts like cross guards become capable of printing, the future of our hobby will become even brighter. Give it about 5 years and I really believe we'll be there.

Bob

That sure turned out nice. I had been thinking about an Albion Caithness for the pommel, but considering asking about a Caithness with a Laird guard. This makes me think of the Laird, perhaps with something in the pommel......

For some reason it never crossed my mind until today, but when matched with the vine work on the grip, the quatrefoil design almost looks like the petals of a flower.

[ Linked Image ]
Ancient Greco-Roman coins as sword pommels? That's somewhat unique to me. :eek:
But it looks cool to do so.

Albion Agincourt. Gold plated charms for a bracelet set in wet enamel paint then covered with acrylic , all topped off with a couple of watch glasses. Aiming for a sort of rock crystal jewel look. The symbology is probably a bit anachronistic but there again it is a modern recreation of a medieval sword ;)

---

 Attachment: 203.59 KB



 Attachment: 192.19 KB

Excellent effect David.

If I may ask, how do all you folks insert these various jewels/tokens? Are you using epoxies/glue? Are you fitting them with compression? They look really clean and it's something I would certainly be interested in doing with a sword from Mr. Regenyei that's coming with a Münich pommel next month. All of these look really nice, neat to see something 3D printed…