[Alexander Hinman]

It's been almost ten years since I received my Albion Hospitaller, and it's still a lovely piece. However, over the years I've noticed that I can't perform test cuts or whatever other swinging without the pommel catching a little on my pisiform bone in my wrist and, frankly, annoying the hell out of me. Gloves mitigate this somewhat, but I much prefer the feeling I get with bare hands.

Here's some pictures of the problem, to give a better idea:



Rather than sell the sword or send it back to Albion for some kind of re-shaping which might not even fix the problem, I think the best option might be to tackle it myself with different grades of abrasive paper and, maybe, a small file.

So let's have a look at the pommel more closely:


Notice that the pommel is thicker at the top than the bottom (the top being the side that rubs against my hand). This, I think, is the first problem, and probably the most difficult one to tackle. The second problem is that the corners of the pommel are quite pronounced, being nearly 90 degrees, and I am sure that I'd be able to round those off and make the angle a little more oblique with a few dozen strokes of a file and some abrasive paper.

However, I'm not really sure which option is best. Should I send it back to Albion? I doubt they'd have to do more than replace the grip to get to the top part of the pommel, but without my hand there to compare it to, I don't know how many trips it might need to take. Should I fix it delicately, with the paper etc as outlined above? Should I go more aggressive, taking the grips off, getting out a coarse-toothed file and really going to town on it?

Any advice would be welcome.

[Philip Dyer]

What is your grip like when your swing? Some pommels are designed to be sadistically painfully if not gripped correctly while swinging.

[Alexander Hinman]

[Jeffrey Faulk]

Have you tried wearing gloves or sleeves long enough to cover your wrist when wielding the sword? That might extend you a layer of padding.

That said, if you must modify it, the only thing I would recommend is rounding off the arrises (corners). That won't change the weight distribution appreciably. A more extreme modification to remove a chunk of the pommel may be more comfortable, but would take some time to execute and would be an aesthetic issue.

[Mikko Kuusirati]

I'd start with simply chamfering the edges, a 45 degree bevel maybe 2 or 3mm wide and deep all the way around the disk on both sides (just make sure it's even and uniform; marking the future edges of the bevel with a permanent marker before you start filing helps). That might well be enough to stop it from catching on the bone. Shape with a file, polish with papers.

[Craig Peters]

Alex,

Before you alter your sword, I would recommend playing around with your grip a bit more. By subtly altering your grip, you can modify the placement of the pommel, and probably prevent it from catching on the bone in your wrist. Try, for instance, to have the face of the pommel placed against the various muscles in your hand just above the pisiform bone- along the abductor digiti minimi and flexor digiti minimi brevis. It should be possible to still grip your sword and no longer have pommel hit the bone.

I have a St. Anastasie bronze sword by Neil Burridge, and if you’ve ever seen the pommel on it, you’ll know it’s like a nightmarishly wide brazil nut pommel. I say “nightmarishly” because it is extremely easy to have it dig into your wrist or forearm. It was only by fiddling with my grip that I was able to find a way that still allowed me to strike comfortably--without having to alter the pommel.

[Márk György Kis]

The grip is way too long. You shouldn't be able to grip it with your whole hand and still have that much space. 9-10 centimeters are just fine, the pommel is supposed to be supporting your hand (with your pinky around it).

[Philip Dyer]

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Alexander Hinman]

Sorry for my delayed reply folks, I've been giving this a lot of thought. While I appreciate your advice, Lafayette's response in particular caught my eye.

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Addison C. de Lisle]

Beveling the edges maybe 1/8" in on each face of the pommel (as in the face and the side) might make enough of a difference to resolve the problem. I don't imagine it would take long assuming the parts aren't tempered (I assume they're not). Get some fite sharpies for marking, a 6" cut 0 and a cut 2 file (and a cut 4 if you're feeling like it) and it should go quickly and leave a nice finish assuming you keep the file clean (also get a little wire brush from the hardware store and a brass or copper rod to clean the file). At least it would be much less of an ordeal than drilling out the pommel, cutting the tang, refitting the pommel, and redoing the leather...

[Alexander Hinman]

[T. Kew]

If you want to have the pommel lock into your hand (which is one viable way to wield a sword), you can do this fine with a wheel pommel simply by moving the hand a little further down towards the pommel. Get the ring ringer roughly to the area where the pommel transitions to the grip, and then grip onto the pommel more directly with the little finger.

Obviously, this can be uncomfortable depending on the exact layout of your pommel, grip, gloves, what calluses you've developed, and so on. But it works just fine with pretty much any pommel that's quite a bit wider where it joins the grip - wheels, brazil-nut/tea-cosy style, and so on.

[Luka Borscak]

Maybe somebody with a Gaddhjalt would trade with you?

[Kai Lawson]

The Gaddhjalt and the Hospitaller are quite different in terms of handling. The former has more authority in the cut, but the stroke recovery isn't as quick, and overall it seems a slightly less 'agile' sword, I think. The grip on the Hospitaller feels appropriate to me, whereas I actually would prefer the Gaddhjalt's grip to be a touch shorter, to better control the hefty blade presence and bring a bit more snap to the cuts, which I feel it is perfectly capable of, if somewhat more difficult to pull off (compared to the Hospitaller).

[J.D. Crawford]

There's another, more experiential way to learn to use a Viking or high medieval sword with a difficult pommel. Once learning the proper hammer and handshake grips, loosen up a bit and allow the hand to naturally transition through different grips for different positions. Don't think about it, just practice drills for an hour a day with just that one sword. Pain is an excellent teacher and will tell you which positions are wrong without even looking. After about a month, the pain will magically go away as your cerebellum unconsciously adjusts your body motion to the sword. Unless the sword has an outright wrong design (unlikely for an Albion) this will work.

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Mark Moore]

Damn, J.D....You sound like a Jedi Master teaching the ways of the Force. Good, sound advise though. I've had to learn to do this myself with several swords over the years. Sometimes the problem is the pommel, sometimes the guard, sometimes the grip. I've never permanently altered any sword. I've always altered the way I hold it. Hold your sword like you hold your woman, in highest regard, with care and strength, and the more you do this, the better the result. ........McM

[J.D. Crawford]