sword project

[RikJohnson]

Last year I was at the swap meet and saw the sword dealer selling a cheap chinese Celtic shortsword.

He wanted $30 but settled for $20 because, frankly, cheap chinese stainless....
BUT I wanted the hilt.

Kult of Athena had a Tinker longsword blade (OH2396) on sale so I snapped it up.
It arrived by UPS last night so I got the knob off the s/s and took the thing apart. Yup! as I suspected. Not only a rattail-tang but a short tang with a very poor weld attaching the bolt to the 1" tang.
Blade went into the junk pile, maybe I can make a gift for a friend who doesn't know any better..

The Tinker is much thicker so I will have to file the guard to fit the blade.
Then make a wood handle, oak? cherry?
finally a scabbard.

Something to do this weekend along with my bow projects.
need to re-epoxy my carriage bow and begin work on my horsebow.

[Eothain]

Sounds like you have a lot planned out! I just recently rehilted one of my swords, I may upload some pics of that soon. Have fun!

[grimwulf]

can't wait to see how it turns out.

[Beornmann]

Yes, the handle does have a very Celtic look, much like Hanwei's Celtic Sword. Can't wait to see the finished build.

[RikJohnson]

PHASE II (spelling errors corrected on 12 Jan)
A LOT of careful filing on both blade and hilt and it fits!

the tang of the tinker blade was much heavier than the el-cheapo chinese blade so I had to file hilt bit by bit to get the tang to fit through the hilt.
here is the result.


Tomorrow the weather promises to be decent so I will choose some wood and begin on the handle.

once done, the sheath.

[grimwulf]

looking good. were u thinking of leather wrap the grip or staining the wood?

[RikJohnson]

looking good. were u thinking of leather wrap the grip or staining the wood?

I have not yet decided.

Here is the next phase.




I still need to finish the fit add the hanger and decide if it will be covered or stained or what. Maybe covered in leather at the ends of the scabbard and stained between???
Should I carve the handle and scabbard Or paint a decoration or what.

I had to add a horn bulb to the tip of the scabbard because it was a tiny bit short... you could barely feel the tip of the Tinker blade on the bottom so added something to decorate and protect it.
Later when the glue is dry, I'll polish the thing and consider making or buying some brass fittings for the scabbard.
I have some red sharkskin I'd love to add but... Period gets in the way<g>.

I also have to find that brass nut for the pommel. I put it someplace safe and it is too safe.

Also re-epoxied my carriage bow and made a few charcoal prefilters for my water filters and recalked the bulkheads in my kayak. With the 3-day weekend coming up, I really need some exercise. My pants are a bit tight from the holidays.

[Manveruon]

Love how this is shaping up. I'd say leather-wrap is the way to go, on both the hilt and the scabbard, with some suitable decorative risers, etc. But then, I'm partial to that style. I do like the idea of only wrapping part of the scabbard and staining the rest.

[Peter Remling]

I'd suggest against carving, the pommel is intricate enough. A carved grip would make it too busy. Try staining the grip to match the scabbard when it's ready.

Looking great so far !

[Kortoso]

Wow, really cool, Rik.

[grimwulf]

that looks great. what are the stats now, blade , handle length . point of balance… I'm needing details lol how does it handle?

[RikJohnson]

that looks great. what are the stats now, blade , handle length . point of balance… I'm needing details lol how does it handle?

right now the only thing that is possible is the blade length.
everything else will change as I progress. As I finish the handle, it may lighten a bit which will shift the POB a tiny bit. I may or may not shorten the handle a bit or even replace the wood with another kind depending on my mood.
Plus, until I find the brass nut for the pommel, I am afraid to swing the thing as i put a temp-nut on to keep it together.

But when finished, I'll post this all.
you can check with KoAthena for the bare blade stats though.

My weekend plans fell through (Maria had wild bunny sex with her bf and reinjured her back and no one else wants to go kayak camping this weekend in the cold so I may spend the 3-days working on the sword.

[RikJohnson]

next phase.

Gave the handle and scabbard a final sanding then a light staining.
added leather wraps at a few stress points but may change them to a much darker leather. Or maybe even a sheet of leather?




I am still working on the hanger.
I have ideas but what would be more in Period for the Celts?

ideas?
thoughts?

sorry, I didn't have time to get any weights and measurements.
Daughter's mom is in Peru with her 'doctors without borders' thing saving babies so I am watching her house and demented grandmother and cat until she comes home.

[Kortoso]

Very impressive, bro!

Early swords were so short they could hang straight down without hindering walking. I don't know that this will be practical for this blade.

[Ursus]

What a fun project! This makes me want to do one similar.