[Lloyd Clark]

Medieval Crusader Sword

While I am far from an expert, I don't think that I have seen a fuller that runs through the tang as this one does. Has anyone else?

[Shae Bishop]

I've never seen a fullered tang before. It seems like it would weaken it. I guess it might be possible that the sword was shortened after the original tang broke off and a new one was ground out of the already fullered blade. Also, the width and bowed out sides of the tang make me wonder. It seems like it would either make the guard impossible to get on or it would be loose from an oversized slot. Plus it is so wide that any wooden grip added would have to be extremely fat. I haven't sen anything like it before. But who knows, I'm definitely no expert.

[Nathan Robinson]

There are some oddities with that sword that are likely to throw you off, but the fuller passing through the cross-guard and up the tang is not an uncommon feature.

[Eric McHugh]

Nathan is right. The fuller running up the tang was not uncommon. I think it is more rare (on fullered swords) to see the fuller end abruptly. There could be several reasons for this feature, but I think the biggest reason is that when you grind a blade, it is difficult to come to a dead stop right at the shoulders. In addition, wide tangs were not uncommon either. Yes, they would have made for a big grip but that was how some medieval swords were made.

On a related note, I am suspicious of ebay swords. People are so good at faking these now a days, it is hard to really tell. In fact, it is often hard to tell when you see them in museums.