Many years ago I first laid my eyes on the 16th century hand-and-a-half sword shown below. I fell in love with the silver-inlaid hilt with its design motifs that borrow from nature. There's just something about the German aesthetic of design in that period that really calls to me.

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I've only seen this one single photo of the original and I must admit, I have always found it difficult to render the two-dimension photo's shape into what I imagined it would look like in three-dimensions. The pommel, in particular, confused me. It's such a unique shape and the bottom part of it, the end, was just a super confusing thing for my mind's eye to fully understand. This, and the striking details of the silver and black hilt treatment, really made me want to get my hands on it!

I had not seen a quality reproduction of this sword and so commissioned ElJay Erickson to create one for me. It took ElJay several years to complete because of the difficulty of the hilt, particularly with the inlaying of all that silver. His many years of hands-on experience with antique arms really helped him nail this one. He had no problems translating the photo into real life!

I snapped a few quick photos just to show the world. It's just a hilt with a tang-plug in it so is attached with a small nut rather than a peen as would be found on the final, completed sword.

I hope to have a Type XVII blade with some shallow hollow-ground edges created sometime in the future, but that will have to wait for now. In the meantime, have a look at this unique hilt made of blackened steel with high-grade silver inlaid details:

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Amazing work. Can't wait to see it mounted on a blade. Thanks for sharing.

That looks fantastic. This is not the first time you have had a hilt made before the blade. It's a clever process because these are beautiful enough to display on their own while you wait for the blade or rebuild funds.

Wow! That's great Nathan. I've always liked the hilt and ElJay really nailed it. Your collection gets better and better. Please post again when you have the blade and scabbard made. This is a real treat! Congrats on a helluva piece.

Fabulous and unique - that will one day be an amazing sword -

Really crisp detail and beautifully executed.

Tod

Masterful - always floored by EBE's work...whatever the style of hilts but especially those few would tackle for being too complex - like this one!