[Mark Millman]

This listing is marked SOLD and is no longer available

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Folks,

I'm selling the old and rare Hanwei 1219-GT Combination Rapier. It's based on a c. 1580 original illustrated in Kombinationswaffen des 15.-19. Jahrhunderts which has a concealed dagger in its hilt. This sword reproduces that feature. It's big (bigger, in fact, than the original inspiration); its blade is 36" (91.5 cm) from the tip to the front of the guard, with a 2.5" (6 cm) ricasso, for a total blade length of 38.5" (98 cm). The blade's width at the base is 1.25" (3 cm). Overall the length is 47" (119 cm). The quillons are 11.75" (30 cm) wide, and the grip is 5.5" (14 cm) long. The upper port (the larger oval guard ring) is 5" (13 cm) wide by 3" (8 cm) deep, and the guard's overall depth is a bit less than 7" (18 cm). The weight is about 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) with the dagger in place in the hilt. For all that, it's well balanced, with the balance point 1.5" (3.8 cm) from the front of the guard. The hilt is gold-plated brass; there's some minor loss to the plating, especially at the center points of the guard's ports, but it doesn't detract from the overall appearance. Please note that the plating is more or less absent over most of the pommel button, but the sword came this way and it appears to be a result of the production process. The grip's wire wrap is even and tight. The blade is firmly mounted and solid, although when twisted hard there's a very slight click in the grip without any noticeable movement. The grip is also quite thick to accommodate the dagger (1.25" (3 cm) in diameter and nearly round in cross-section), so if you plan to use it it may be best if you have big hands; obviously this won't be a problem if you only plan to display it. The sword is not sharp.

The key feature of this sword is the dagger hidden in the hilt. It has spring-loaded arms that pop out to serve as quillons. Regrettably, on this example one of the springs has come loose from its mounting so that the arm it serves doesn't automatically spring out, although a quick snap of the wrist will make it swing into place. The spring itself isn't in danger of coming out of the dagger and isn't likely to be lost, but by the same token it's hard to reach. I believe that the spring could be reseated, but I don't have the right tools or the patience to do it. The dagger's blade projects 7" (18 cm) along the sword's blade, lying in a shallow groove on the reverse side. Its overall length is 15.5" (39 cm), with a 10" (25.4 cm) blade, of which 7.25" (18.5 cm) is moderately sharp and 2.5" (6 cm) is a narrow "ricasso" where the quillons lie when the dagger is inserted in the sword's hilt. The width is 0.75" (2 cm) below the ricasso and 0.5" (1.3 cm) across the ricasso with the guard open. The quillons' spread when open is 5.25" (13 cm). The leather-wrapped grip is 4" (10 cm) long, and the dagger's balance point is 1" (2.5 cm) from its cross. It's too light for me to get even an approximate weight (as I use the bathroom-scale method), but it must weigh around half a pound (225 g).

The whole contraption fits into a leather-covered scabbard with gilt chape and locket. It fits well enough, but it will slide out if inverted. I suspect this is inevitable given the need to accommodate the dagger's blade alongside the sword's blade.

You can see photos at this Google Drive link.

I'm asking $395 shipped in the U.S.A. for this rare and interesting sword; non-U.S. buyers will have to discuss shipping. Sorry, no trades. I accept PayPal (for Goods and Services, please add 3% in the U.S. to cover the fee, or 4.4% for international sales) or check or money order. Please send me a PM if you're interested.

Best,

Mark Millman