Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Mon 12 Sep, 2016 8:47 am
| Jean Thibodeau wrote: |
| Or sell the blade to someone wanting to use it for a DIY project ? A shame to waste a good blade and it could be mounted with a hilt and pommel similar to the Albion Knight the blade style that is was was borrowed from ? |
Yes Jean, I plan to put the original blade up for sale here once I'm satisfied the project is complete (and I get it back!). There is also a very nice custom scabbard to go with it. Apparently it was the first custom scabbard that Valiant produced. There used to be a nice picture of this sword and scabbard (before I owned it) on the Valiant web-site but I can't find it now.
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Mon 03 Oct, 2016 1:57 pm
A few updates on this one: the original blade is sold, the scabbard currently for sale on this site, and apparently the picture shown above was with the new blade and old handle just stuck together for the photo, but work's still being done on the handle to get it to my specifications. Hopefully done soon and more nice pictures to look at. :)
Posts: 235 Location: Maryland USA
Sat 08 Oct, 2016 12:57 pm
JD, I've always wanted a Caithness, for similar reasons. I really like the blade type Albion uses for that sword. I also understand the motivation for your project, and expect the result should be quite gratifying. It would have been nice, at least in my opinion, to have both swords. I've often wondered if Albion would make a Caithness with a Laird guard. The grave slabs you posted and others I've seen pictures of mostly feature that shape guard.
I say a Caithness with a Laird guard, rather than a Laird with a Caithness pommel. The blades are very similar, but the Caithness blade is the nicer of the two......
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Mon 10 Oct, 2016 6:01 am
| Greg Ballantyne wrote: |
JD, I've always wanted a Caithness, for similar reasons. I really like the blade type Albion uses for that sword. I also understand the motivation for your project, and expect the result should be quite gratifying. It would have been nice, at least in my opinion, to have both swords. I've often wondered if Albion would make a Caithness with a Laird guard. The grave slabs you posted and others I've seen pictures of mostly feature that shape guard.
I say a Caithness with a Laird guard, rather than a Laird with a Caithness pommel. The blades are very similar, but the Caithness blade is the nicer of the two...... |
Greg, I Understand what you are saying about the guard. The enlarged tips of the Laird guard are more typical of the originals, although they are angular compared to the somewhat bulbous guards depicted in grave art and on some surviving pieces.
So far as I know the Caithness, Laird, and Knight blades are identical, although the different hilts could affect the way they appear to the eye.
Posts: 235 Location: Maryland USA
Mon 10 Oct, 2016 4:18 pm
The dimensions listed on the Albion website are different for those three, mainly in the width at the guard. Laird 2", Knight 2.0625", and Caithness 2.125". Length 31.5", except Caithness, listed 31.375". No great differences, but slightly wider with slightly shorter changes the proportions ever so slightly......
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Mon 10 Oct, 2016 6:22 pm
| Greg Ballantyne wrote: |
| The dimensions listed on the Albion website are different for those three, mainly in the width at the guard. Laird 2", Knight 2.0625", and Caithness 2.125". Length 31.5", except Caithness, listed 31.375". No great differences, but slightly wider with slightly shorter changes the proportions ever so slightly...... |
I'm sure you're right Greg, but I don't know how much stock one can put into such small variations, even with CNC in the mix. I owned one Albion blade that differed in length from the listed length by one inch. That's not a criticism of Albion (they are probably the most consistent out there), it's just one of the realities of hand-made or hand-finished objects.
Posts: 727 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Mon 10 Oct, 2016 7:01 pm
It's a fact, the three swords do in fact share the same blade.
Posts: 578 Location: Georgia
Tue 11 Oct, 2016 7:54 am
Yeah, the variations can be accounted for by the fact that while the blades are cut out into rough form with CNC, the finish grinding is done by hand. There's a thread around here somewhere on the Albion Knight where people were listing the dimensions of theirs and there was a pretty healthy degree of variation.
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Thu 20 Oct, 2016 5:44 pm
Here's an update, some stats and new pictures. Seems to be exactly the blade that I wanted. A nice, broad XIIIb and not too heavy for its size.
Specs:
ol: 40.25"
bl: 33.2"
bw: 2"
grip: 3.5"
COG: 6"
weight: 2.8 lbs/1277 gr
Craig says it's a cleaver.
Only problem is that I'm not crazy about the grip wrap.
Attachment: 100.56 KB
Attachment: 134.84 KB
Posts: 4,393 Location: Northern California
Thu 20 Oct, 2016 7:31 pm
I really like that XIIIb blade. Do you have any measurements on blade thickness?
Posts: 235 Location: Maryland USA
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 7:39 am
Great result, JD. The word "cleaver" appears to be good description based on the proportions and overall look. I'd say this is quite a unique example of the period as far as reproductions go.
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 7:44 am
| Roger Hooper wrote: |
| I really like that XIIIb blade. Do you have any measurements on blade thickness? |
Not yet Roger, but it has a lenticular cross-section and must be fairly thin. From my experience, swords with these dimensions are usually a bit over 3 lbs. For comparison, Albion Tritonia has a similar length and profile but slightly wider blade, and weighs nearly a pound more.
I think I can live with less extreme swords from now on. My physiotherapist says I'm 'strong as a bull' but at 53 the joints are starting to ache.
By the way, Craig is going to fix the grip to my specifications. That's one of the benefits of dealing with A&A.
Posts: 589
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 2:14 pm
That's a good looking XIIIb! Love the regional flavor, and the sourced slabs....great stuff. Is there any particular reason you opted for the three very narrow fuller, as opposed to a single medium fuller or some wider double fullers? Are the three thin fullers depicted somewhere on more/other source material?
Posts: 818 Location: Oak Lawn, IL USA
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 2:27 pm
That blade is perfect for the hardware. I think that it was a good decision to go this route and as usual Craig and the rest of the A&A crew did a beautiful job. What are you going with for a grip?
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 2:37 pm
| Kai Lawson wrote: |
| That's a good looking XIIIb! Love the regional flavor, and the sourced slabs....great stuff. Is there any particular reason you opted for the three very narrow fuller, as opposed to a single medium fuller or some wider double fullers? Are the three thin fullers depicted somewhere on more/other source material? |
Thanks Kai. I like to hold back my full praise until I get the sword, but I'm happy with the way its going. The triple fuller was a personal choice, as I like multiple fullers and already have a couple of swords with double fullers (Albion Vigil and another custom XIIIb). It seemed plausible enough since there are surviving multi-fuller examples from the XIII family in that time frame. As I mentioned at the beginning of the thread, the specific inspiration for the blade was Oakeshott Records, XIII.1
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 2:45 pm
| Scott Kowalski wrote: |
| That blade is perfect for the hardware. I think that it was a good decision to go this route and as usual Craig and the rest of the A&A crew did a beautiful job. What are you going with for a grip? |
Scott, I've asked for a simple smooth leather wrap with no risers, darker brown/black, maybe with a reddish tinge (like one of their other swords), and riding up a little higher on the cross piece like the original Albion grip. I think that with all the detailing already present in the hardware, a simple grip is called for. I'm trusting that the space between the pommel and guard is snug enough that grip slippage is not an issue.
Posts: 818 Location: Oak Lawn, IL USA
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 4:37 pm
That sounds like it will look great J.D. I am looking forward to hearing about how it feels in hand. 2 inches does not sound that wide for a blade like this until you realize how little
profile taper the blade has.
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 4:51 pm
| Scott Kowalski wrote: |
| That sounds like it will look great J.D. I am looking forward to hearing about how it feels in hand. 2 inches does not sound that wide for a blade like this until you realize how little profile taper the blade has. |
Exactly. Looks like there's still a lot of blade near the tip.
Posts: 370 Location: Philadelphia
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 5:35 pm
Wow J.D. that looks great. I gotta think there is a lot if taper,
distal taper on that wide blade. 32 inch with very little
profile taper and still only 2.5 lbs....love it. I agree a no nonsense XIII blade absolutely works with that hilt furniture. The world needs more XIII swords...I think we can all agree on that :D
Posts: 1,903 Location: Toronto
Fri 21 Oct, 2016 5:53 pm
| Bryan Heff wrote: |
| Wow J.D. that looks great. I gotta think there is a lot if taper, distal taper on that wide blade. 32 inch with very little profile taper and still only 2.5 lbs....love it. I agree a no nonsense XIII blade absolutely works with that hilt furniture. The world needs more XIII swords...I think we can all agree on that :D |
Hell yeah. And its 33 inches. :)
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