Thinking of Buying a Sword

[Peter Remling]

Every peened sword I've had has come loose at some point.

Yes they will come loose eventually, either through use or just when the wood grip begins to shrink. If you catch it early, several light taps with a mallet will tighten it up.

[theowl]

I know, just hoping to put some of the peened/threaded debate to rest.

[Manveruon]

I understand that a peened sword might come loose, but in my head it just seems more secure than a threaded one. I've had a Windlass infantry hanger for several years and that thing has NEVER stayed together, even after I've cranked it down with all the strength I've got. The other issue for me is that a peened pommel is decidedly more period, and therefore has a better look, overall.

[theowl]

I don't know about decidedly, but it certainly seems more period.

[Jonathan B.]

To be honest with you, nothing is really "putting me off" Valiant, other than the fact that they don't really have a style I'm all that crazy about at the moment. I do really like the look of their Bristol, but it's way too late period for what I'm looking for, and if I wanted a two-hander I'd probably jump on their Kriegschwert. But I just don't particularly love the look of their basic one-handed crusade-era swords. It's a purely aesthetic thing, in all honesty. Otherwise I've seen some of their stuff in person and was VERY impressed. Still, the idea of doing a custom sword through them is tempting. I never realized before that they even did custom work. My only other gripe with them is that they all have threaded nut pommels instead of peening their swords. I think I would prefer a peened sword over one with a threaded pommel. There's no chance of a premed sword coming loose like there is for something threaded.

The Krieg is a great sword and is one of the two Valiant swords I own, the other being a Warder.

[Manveruon]

At any rate, here is a sketch I did a while back while trying to nail down a look I would be comfortable with calling "my sword." So far Ernie at Yeshua's Sword seems to think it's pretty doable, and said he'd do some research and get back to me. He seemed intrigued by the flaired shoulders, and said we'd probably have to go with a custom blade for that feature, but I told him I'm not totally dead-set on that design. Honestly, I'd be perfectly happy with a plain Type XII blade, or something like it.
Overall though, I think this is basically the sword I'm looking for (in an ideal world). Obviously I'm willing to make some sacrifices in order to actually afford it, but there you go.

[Peter Remling]

Very pretty. What are the apprx dimensions and weight yo're shooting for ?

[Manveruon]

To be honest, I'm not totally sure. I think I'd like a blade about 31" to 32", but no longer. Light is good, but it should still have enough heft to deliver a good cutting blow. Mostly, I'm trying to follow what others have described as a good arming sword, because I don't have any actual personal experience with them. I've never owned a really nice sword like this, so I don't have much of a frame of reference. I've had the opportunity to hold a few really nice examples over the years, but I haven't had the chance to train, spar, or cut with them. I figure if the final product is similar in most ways to the fit and feel of an Albion blade, I could certainly do worse.

What I do know is that I don't want a bastard sword or a two-hander. I prefer a one-hand weapon, and actually, I find that I like shorter more than longer. I always feel like I have more control with a shorter blade. But of course, tastes may change over time. This is, after all, my very first foray into this particular hobby.

[mcapanelli]

Incidentally, below are the website and Facebook page for Yeshua's Sword. I'm pretty impressed by his stuff. I think I'm going to contact him and see what something like what I'm envisioning would run me. Does anyone here have experience with his work?

http://www.yeshuas-sword.com/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/yeshuas.sword

If I were you (And until I finish school I'm on a tight budget myself) I'd get a bare blade from Albion and send it to Ernie at Yeshuas sword. You'll definitely be under your $800 budget and you'll get one of a kind sword. You'll wait to the tune of 6 month for everything but if you want quality and individuality you have to wait for that. In the end you'll have a blade close to your sketch with a top quality blade.

[Manveruon]

Yeah, I've been in contact with Ernie for a little while now, and I think I'm going to go with him. His price seems very fair, especially for the custom details I want. I wasn't able to get an Albion blade for this project, as there does not appear to be one of this type (or even close to this type) being offered as a bare-blade through Albion. However, we have decided to go with the Hanwei/Tinker Early Medieval Single Handed Sword blade. Overall, including shipping, the price he quoted me for this sword was $548.00.

The features we have discussed are as follows:

- Hanwei/Tinker Early Medieval Single Handed Sword blade, with Ernie's custom re-grind (which apparently takes what I have been told is already a pretty nice blade up to a whole other level of finish and performance).

- octagonally faceted pommel (I described what I was looking for as being similar to that of the Albion Prince: http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/alb ... ce-xvi.htm)

- Straight cruciform crossguard, either of an octagonal or diamond cross section (I described the diamond crossguard on the Albion Chevalier: http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/alb ... ier-xa.htm)

- plain wooden grip, which I will finish myself with leather and risers, etc. I also asked if he could include some decorative metal bands, similar to the ones on the Windlass "Sword of Tiberias": http://www.reliks.com/products/2069/4.jpg (this did raise his initial quote some).

- And finally, Ernie said the blade comes with a threaded tang, but he can peen it if I wish. Personally, I think I'll probably go with the peened finish. Just seems more period, more secure, and more elegant to my mind.

Overall, I feel I have been fairly picky about what I'm looking for, but he has been extremely accommodating. The price seems to fall somewhere between the Albion "Squire Line" swords, and their higher priced "Nexti Generation" line. So it would also be significantly higher than most of the Valiant Armoury swords, and sadly would not include a scabbard like theirs do. However, for what I'm getting - essentially a totally custom sword, practically from the ground up - it seems to be a pretty good price.

[sgainbrachta]

Do a fake peened "nut". I take the usual socket bolt thingy make it into a sort of flat-sided blob with a bit 'o weld. This way, it can be tightened if necessary, as every single peened blade I've had gets loose, and you can only go so far in tightening it up before the tang may choose to fail at the peen.

Robert

[Manveruon]

That definitely sounds like an interesting idea, but I'm afraid I don't quite know what you mean by it. Can you explain it in more detail? Or do you perhaps have any pics?

...Incidentally, we're still waiting on some pics of your wife's wicked cool Hobbit premier costume there, boyo! Just sayin'

[sgainbrachta]

I know, I know!! We have yet to get the last doublet finished, as we have been doing some pretty major house projects!

Let me see... the tinkers are what I prefer to use for my blunt swords- as they dance so well, and are fairly cheap, and are of a rather high quality, especially for the money. The pommels have a tubular "nut", one end threaded to fit the tang, the other with a hex shaped interior- 5mm wrench fits it perfect. What I do is to make a sort of "cap" on the hex end. I take this cap, and shape it to cover the hole in the pommel. Now there were quite a lot more threaded swords "in period" than most folk think, but yes, peened was the norm. in any case, I tend to file sculpt the cap part so it has a couple of flats, or even a diamond sort of taper to it. This way, I can tighten it if I need to. One major difference is that you need to engage a lot of the threads, not just with a small nut, but rather you should use about 1/2" or more of the threads- so a tubular, threaded nut is really the only way I'd do it. Again- like the T-H swords.

ANy sword I fight with I will have threaded. This is for 2 reasons- first, good steel (most swords have garbage welded to the tangs~) will take much higher tension for threading, and second- I like to be able to change hilts, handles and pommels should I desire to do so. Never had any issue with the good swords- the Tinker-Hanweis and the Hanweis have all done very well. Even the Hanweis I've taken the peened pommels off of do fine, partyly because I use drill rod (oil hardening, usually~) to extend the tang if necessary.

For example- my double ring sword pictured in my gear post has a threaded pommel. Because it is basically round, no issues with where it lines up. The new pommel I'm making for it will have a tubular nut, with a sculpted "peened" top to it. The current pommel holds about 1 1/2" of thread, the new one will do almost the same amount.

Hope that makes sense...

Robert

[Manveruon]

Okay, yeah, I think that makes sense. Basically what you're saying is that the nut holding the pommel onto the tang has a hex-shaped hole designed for an allen-wrench or something like that, so you just create a cap to go over it and disguise the hole, right? If so though, what do you use for this cap? I'm afraid I have no metal-working skills, but this does sound like a pretty cool solution.

[Elemmakil]

Do a fake peened "nut". I take the usual socket bolt thingy make it into a sort of flat-sided blob with a bit 'o weld. This way, it can be tightened if necessary, as every single peened blade I've had gets loose, and you can only go so far in tightening it up before the tang may choose to fail at the peen.

Robert

What manufacturers have you had where the peen comes loose or fails? I've never had that issue. Hilted correctly, with proper technique (to include wedging the cross and grip in place) you should never have a problem.