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Sean Flynt




Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Fri 26 Jul, 2019 1:33 pm    Post subject: DIY: Riding Sword         Reply with quote

Here's a little riding sword project I cooked up from a discarded test tube stand (cross,) unusually stiff Windlass Steelcrafts blade of hexagonal section, and a stainless Albion maestro line Meyer pommel a far better craftsman gifted to me.

I thought this would be a plain infantry sword in the style of the late 15th c., but it got a bit nicer than that as I went along. I'll call it a riding sword because it's neat and compact at 37.25" overall (31.25" blade). The pommel and relatively thick blade give it a comfortable heft at 2 lbs and a POB 4.5" below the cross. The blade (from a WS spada da lato) is .5" wide at one inch above the tip and 1.5" wide at the cross. It had an ugly ricasso that I mostly eliminated. COP is 20.25 below the cross, but this piece feels like it prefers to thrust.

The chappe is just a plate of brass, embossed with a chisel and punch, wrapped around the tip of the scabbard and overlapped without any attempt to create a neat seam or solder/braze. It's just a cone, open at the end. It seems to have been a common method of making a chape, judging from examples in the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. https://finds.org.uk/database

The stray marks on the punching are due to my cutting into them with scissors to create the crown effect. If the piece looks authentically indifferent it's because that's the way I approached it. Good enough.

The buckle and plate are almost as simple as the chape.

This piece joins a close-knit family of projects with a very strong German/Austrian influence. I just love the forms, and although there's a sameness across this collection due to that and to a skill level that doesn't change much from project to project anymore, I do like to take projects that demonstrate something not already displayed--byknives, complex and simple hilts, waisted and tapered grips, etc.

I still haven't made the scabbard the E.B. Erickson Hauswehr deserves, but I'll get there. I have a reproduction of the RA German branch sword that will get a scabbard, too, and introduce something new to this family.



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-Sean

Author of the Little Hammer novel

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1


Last edited by Sean Flynt on Fri 26 Jul, 2019 1:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
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PostPosted: Fri 26 Jul, 2019 1:43 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That's really a cool little sword you crafted there. Wink I love a good DIY using what you have to make something one-of-a-kind that is the sole inspiration of the maker. Good job! Big Grin ..........McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Sean Flynt




Location: Birmingham, Alabama
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PostPosted: Fri 26 Jul, 2019 1:45 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

We'll call it the Scrounger Line
-Sean

Author of the Little Hammer novel

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Likes: 6 pages
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 2,294

PostPosted: Sat 27 Jul, 2019 5:37 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'll be adding a shield to the Scrounger Line come my winter break from work, along with a few armor and helmet stands. The trash dumpster at a woodworking facility produces some great DIY treasures. Big Grin ..... Laughing Out Loud .......................McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Sean Flynt




Location: Birmingham, Alabama
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Likes: 10 pages
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PostPosted: Sat 27 Jul, 2019 11:25 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

What kind of shield?
-Sean

Author of the Little Hammer novel

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Likes: 6 pages
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 2,294

PostPosted: Sat 27 Jul, 2019 5:25 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Not really a Viking...not really a buckler. It's about (?) 18" in diameter, 3/4 " plywood, 14ga. GDFB center boss, and covered in fine upholstery-grade leather. It will have a hemp rope wrap around the edge, and a straight, leather-wrapped grip. Not really "historically-accurate", but ultimately functional. Wink I don't plan on actually using it (because I'm old as dirt), but I want it built to take any, if not more, abuse than any original. Cool ..........McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
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PostPosted: Sat 27 Jul, 2019 5:40 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Now, my armor stands....talk about made of JUNK. Laughing Out Loud But, they hold up two full suits of plate...so.... Laughing Out Loud
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Sean Flynt




Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Mon 29 Jul, 2019 7:30 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sounds like a target or rotella. I look forward to seeing it!
-Sean

Author of the Little Hammer novel

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Likes: 6 pages
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 2,294

PostPosted: Mon 29 Jul, 2019 2:05 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I just call it my 'Mini-Viking/Mega-Buckler'. Laughing Out Loud It'll be 'historically feasible', if nothing else but functional. Didn't mean to derail your thread, Sean.
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Harry Marinakis




PostPosted: Tue 30 Jul, 2019 4:24 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'd like to see the suspension unwrapped. Happy
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E.B. Erickson
Industry Professional



Location: Thailand
Joined: 23 Aug 2003

Posts: 455

PostPosted: Wed 31 Jul, 2019 5:43 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That's a decent looking riding sword, Sean! Especially since you put it together from a random mix of parts, including a test tube stand.
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