[Peter Lyon]

I need to tap into the myArmoury hivemind.

I have assembled and finished a sword, but when I flex the blade or wobble it vigorously in my hand, there is an audible clicking noise in the hilt, as far as I can tell in the cross/collar area. I dismantled it (a bit of a mission as it was all glued and the tang peened) and found the clicking was happening when only the cross was still in place. So I wedged and glued the cross with high strength resin and mild steel wedges. No more noise. Rebuilt and reassembled the grip and pommel. No more noise. Peened the (new) tang end - and the noise came back. Very frustrated, and looking for a solution before I look at dismantling it all again (no point doing that until I do have a solution or three to try out). I have made a few of this pattern of sword now, but this hasn't happened on any of the previous ones. I have had it happen in the past on occasion, but the only trend I could see is that it seemed to happen on swords that had crosses with long langets pressed against the blade, which shouldn't be a problem on this one (only 20mm of length in the cross).

One possible source I'm considering - the cross is mild steel and there is a tight-fitting mild steel collar against it. Perhaps a tiny bit of tang flex in that area is making them rub and click? The metal faces are both fairly smooth, so I don't see how that would be happening though.

The clicking had been there when I only had the cross in place and glued during disassembly, and disappeared when I reassembled it with steel wedges as well as glue.

Would putting a very thin washer in the gap help (EG thin plastic, like 0.3mm so it won't show)?

I am particularly keen to hear about the experiences of other professionals, what circumstances you've had this happen, and what solutions you found.

[Christian Short]

Am interested to know what this is. I’ve experienced this in two swords from different makers

[Tim Harris]

Peter, this is only guesswork of course, but might it have something to do with how the shoulders of the blade meet the cross rather than the tang and slot?

[Lancelot Chan]

I also want to say that I have sword that has this problem. In my case the rattling seems to come from inside the grip though. And the clicking sound does not always come, only occasionally.

[Luka Borscak]

Have you tried pouring epoxy or something into the slot from the blade side?

[Mark Moore]

I had a couple of wall hangers with similar issues. I used a putty knife and dabbed J-B Weld into the tang slot. No more click. The trick is to mix it on the thin side. Mixing it by the directions makes for a very hard set. Mixing it on the thin side sets up more like a rubberized glue. Whatever is causing your 'click' will still be there....you just won't hear it. That may sound like kind of a BS solution....but it works. .......McM

[Johannes Zenker]

Interesting to hear that the sound is apparently caused by the contact point of the crossguard.

I also experience that sound when wobbling my Swordmaker longsword, though not very loudly and not all the time.
I can provoke it by accelerating the blade in one direction of the flat with some force so it bends a bit, and then again by doing it in the other direction, not in the same. Hence I am pretty sure that, at least in my case, it is some part of the sword, most likely the crossguard, slipping into an ever so slightly different position depending on which side it flexes to.

Nothing is loose and it has (subjectively) become rarer and quieter, so I'm not really worried about it.

[Mark Moore]

Could also be from an expanding and contracting wooden grip, depending on the temperature and humidity at the time. I have an older Windlass sword that talks back to me every time I pick it up....but only in winter months. Go figger. ....McM

[Peter Lyon]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to dismantle the sword and reassemble it with a thin leather washer between the cross and the steel collar. I isolated the sound to that area and it is the only thing I can think of making the noise, I just don't know why as this hasn't been an issue before.

[Ant Mercer]

I'm not a professional, and can't add any more to the conversation than what's already been said and tried (glue and shims being my suggestion!). But I just wanted to pipe up to say that I'm very pleased at the level of care you're taking over this sword and with trying to figure out what the issue is.

I have a Sword of Boromir currently on order and I must admit that one of my concerns with ordering such an expensive piece all the way from New Zealand is the possibility of there being problems with it when it finally arrives. I'm sure we've all been burnt before now with receiving something that we're not quite happy with or has had issues in transit, and knowing that you're doing everything you can to ensure that the finished piece is without fault prior to dispatch is very comforting!

Cheers,

Ant

PS - really looking forward to my sword!!