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Post by Vincent Dolan on Feb 7, 2013 4:54:25 GMT
Actually, the version I didn't like was the very first one I did, the XIX, and then only because I didn't really know enough about what I was doing back then to do it justice. The only difference between the two XVIIIe is one has cord markings, the other doesn't, though, strictly speaking, it actually shouldn't, since the design of the risers would interfere with the cord marking.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Feb 15, 2013 12:20:58 GMT
So, I meant to post these two yesterday, but I kinda slept through most of yesterday; I guess that's what happens when you don't sleep for about 24 hours on end. Anyways, these are actually my most recent designs, but I'm posting them before the other four swords, mainly because I've been posting everything out of order in accordance to how well I think of them. Gotta save the best for last, right? :lol: I figured if I'd posted everything in order, certain among them would be overshadowed completely. Overall Length: 33" Blade Length: 15" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1 1/16" @ profile taper (2 5/8" from tip) Haft Length: 31 1/4" Hammer Length: 1 9/16" Hammer Diameter: 1 1/4" This is the first of two polearms I designed for my novel, Dragon Fall. It is used by soldiers from the Vengal nation, whose name is derived from a combination of the Vendel and Vandal peoples, and they are among the most feared warriors in this world. Why, then, do they use a scythe-like weapon, when a scythe isn't exactly the most practical of weapons? Because, for the most part, their sole purpose is to mop up the dead and take the heads of those they finish off. While there are plenty of other weapons that would be much better suited to such a task, few quite inspire the visceral fear that a scythe might and that is key. Allow me to explain. The Vengali are conquerors. That's basically all they do and they're good at it; in this world, they could be considered the pioneers of psychological warfare as they make use of war elephants (something most people in this world have never seen until they come up against them and therefore have no way to counter), wade into battle wearing half-masks that look like the mouths of snarling demons, make use of suicide troops whose sole duty it is to spirit into the enemy camp and kill as many people for as long as possible to demoralize their army, etc. Basically, their entire strategy is to terrify their enemy and it works. Anyways, on the whole, their war elephants tend to kill or maim most of their enemies front line troops in their initial charge (the archers and arballistas on their backs certainly help, as well), so their foot soldiers come in afterwards like a thousand grip reapers and clean up those who are still alive. Now, about the scythe itself. It was actually supposed to have been longer overall (about 36" total compared to 33"), but I didn't notice the mistake until I actually measured it just now to post the specs and didn't feel like going back and changing it, so for all intents and purposes, it'll be 36" in story. I modeled the size off of some Danish war axes (the haft itself is taken directly from the Hanwei Danish War Axe) and envisioned the weapon being used in a similar fashion to them (and poleaxes) in universe, though with exceptions made for the lack of stabbing points. The hammer head on the back is actually a fairly recent innovation to the weapon in story; while the Vengali tend to roll over most opponents like a flood, they've been stopped time and time again by the Tilanzians (the owners of the Migration Sax from awhile back), due to the fact that they've seen elephants before and know how easily frightened they are, allowing them to disrupt much of their formation. The hammer head on the reverse side of the Vengali scythe was developed as a way of inflicting damage to the Tilanzian soldiers, since they couldn't cut through their armor or pierce it with the scythe consistently. Overall Length: 72" Blade Length: 26"; Clip Length: 9 1/4" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 5/8" (4 9/16" from tip) Haft Length: 40 3/4" Mace Diameter: 2 3/8" Outside of battle, the Tilanzians rely on two primary weapons: a long bladed, lugged spear and a deeply recurved bow, as well as their clip-pointed swords to serve as backup. In battle, their primary weapon is this, a heavy bladed swordstaff with an equally heavy mace head on the end. The mace on the end serves two purposes, first as a counterbalance to a blade that has almost zero profile taper and little distal taper, second as a weapon for demolishing shields, which, in this world, are fairly small and disposable, as well as strapped to a soldier's arm. Since I can't seem to remember anything else I was going to say about this design at the moment, about the weapon itself: The blade is roughly the same shape as their bowies, albeit a bit larger, wider, and lacking the fuller. There's a studded, boiled leather bolster right behind the blade to sturdy the haft and reduce the chances of someone cutting through the wood there. The mace head was modeled after the mace used by Ali Pasha (you can see a picture of the original which I used for reference on the Wikipedia page for maces), albeit much simplified and probably a bit bigger. Well, that's all for now and for those wondering about the two XIVs I mentioned in my last update, don't worry; they're coming. I just figured I'd post these two beforehand since they're much simpler.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Mar 7, 2013 16:25:01 GMT
So, I meant to post these awhile back, but, well, I kinda spaced it sometime between designing a board game for my novel Vanguard (after designing a card game for my series Grimoire back in November) and getting back into playing Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, which I stopped playing after getting my ass handed to me by Dhoulmagus so as to take a step back and reassess my strategy. Kinda sad that it took me a total of 4-5 tries to best the fiend, yet I've defeated every boss after him (so far) in one go; then again, none of them had two forms. Anyways, for those who still follow this thread, that means it's finally time for those XIVs I promised. Overall Length: 36" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Length: 1 5/8" (2 3/4" wide) Some of you (not too many, I'm hoping) may remember my old unusual XIV, which I dubbed the Firenze that I did back in January of last year. It was unusual in many aspects in that it had 5 fullers, a straight cross, and a Type M pommel. It... It just didn't work, to be honest. The fullers aside, the straight cross just does not look right on a XIV. Don't ask me what brought this redesign on, because I honestly don't remember; I'm not sure I even knew when I did it. If I had to guess, I'd say it had more to do with that guard than anything. Anyways, about the sword. As you can tell from the specs, at least if you have an impeccable memory or view the original here, it's a bit longer than the original, which I think works in its favor, as does the gold-colored furniture. The blade now features only two fullers as opposed to five and the guard is a simple Style 6, similar to what can be seen on the Albion Mercenary, though I don't recall that being part of the design process, so perhaps it's just a coincidence. The pommel is still a Type M, but more flattened and smoothed out, retaining the vaguely brazil nut shape; I don't think I realized just how well a Type XIV can wear a brazil nut until I designed my Rider sword some time back. As for the grip and such, pretty much everything remained the same, albeit with slight stylistic changes. The risers now have flattened ends as opposed to the rounded of the original because, for whatever reason, they give the sword an almost noble bearing to my mind. The chape changed some, but not enough to be worth discussing, while the buckle of the sword's suspension system changed a great deal, and is part of the reason I feel this sword is still deserving of its name of Firenze. As opposed to being a plain old steel oval, it's now more buckle-shaped with little cutouts along the corners to give it an extra bit of decoration without making it more decorated than the sword itself. Overall Length: 40 7/8" Blade Length: 32" Blade Width: 30" @ base; 1 3/4" @ profile taper (7 7/8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Length: 2 1/2" (1 3/4" wide) I call this sword the Merovingian due to its roughly Gothic styling and the fact that the Merovingian dynasty happened to rule parts of Germany and the Goths were a Germanic peoples... At least, that's what I tell myself. Really, I just like the name. It has such a pleasant ring to it. Anyways, in its earliest stages, this sword was actually slated to be an XVIIIa rather than the Dolan XIVa it ended up being. I wanted to design an XVIIIa with a blackened half-wire wrap and a scentstopper pommel; I also wanted a crack at rendering that guard (which was heavily inspired by the one worn by Elheru Aran's WoT ring saber, but is also reminiscent of the guard on Strider's sword from LoTR, albeit with a slight different on the blade end of the guard). The two ideas just kinda mixed, but when I actually set out to render the blade, the XVIIIa didn't sit right with me and I came to the conclusion that the relatively slender XVIIIa blade just didn't really look right with this hilt, so I went with the wider XIVa and the rest is history. There's really not much else to say about this blade, except that the pommel is the same one I used in my Steward falchion, albeit with flattened surfaces rather than the scalloped ones on the Steward's pommel. The riser at the mouth of the scabbard is extra large for no particular reason than that it looks good, while I'm quite fond of the chape, difficult though it was to render (and probably harder still to make in steel).
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2013 4:16:11 GMT
So, funny story; I actually meant to post these some time back and when I went to post them... The forum was down for the migration, so I put it out of my mind, but since I'm going on vacation tomorrow and may or may not have a decent internet connection, I figured I'd get a couple posted now. Well, anyways, better late than never, right? Also,since the issue with the pictures resizing hasn't been fixed yet, just right click and go to 'View Image' or the equivalent to see the full image. Overall Length: 21 1/8" Blade Length: 15" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ top of cutouts; 1/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 4 5/8" (each tine is 3 1/2" long) Pommel Length: 1 3/4" (1 1/2" wide) I actually designed this one about 2 weeks ago, whereas the two after this I designed back in January. That said, this design came about because I was trying to picture what kind of weapon one of peoples in my book might use and this is what I came up with. This dagger belongs to the Sylvyn people, a seafaring culture that live on what could best be described as a very shallow continental shelf; for several miles from the shore, the water only rises to about knee height. Unfortunately, the "ground", for lack of a better word, is too unsuitable for traditional construction methods, so it's worthless as a pier in what would otherwise make a perfect harbor. Well, a few hundred years ago, the Sylvyns, then a minor ethnic group, split off from the Ellfarian Empire during its collapse and, using a lightweight wood and some special construction techniques managed to turn this worthless land into their own nation and eventually into the leading seafaring nation in the Eastern hemisphere. Anyways, I pictured the Sylvyns as having a primarily fishing culture with houses built quite literally on the water, generally descending to walk in on the shelf to travel between buildings and such. I thought, what kind of weapon would a people like that carry? They wouldn't use longswords or arming swords, or even really cutlasses. Then I thought, what's the most iconic weapon associated with the sea? The trident. But I didn't want everyone lugging around full length tridents; that'd be a bit odd. Then I remembered reading about the trishula, which in India & Thailand is a short weapon that can be attached to a staff. It's a lot like the Okinawan sai, except unlike the sai, it's mostly bladed (something a lot of people get wrong). That bit about it being able to be attached to a staff was something I really liked, as it could easily turn a dagger into a spear for self-defense or even a bit of spearfishing, but how to do it in such a way that you don't end up with a flimsy weapon? Look closely at the pommel; that circular section isn't just for decoration. It's actually a metal retaining pin, similar to the mekugi on Japanese swords. The idea is, you remove the pin, slide off the pommel & grip, slip the tang into a slotted staff, and replace the pin; also, though you can't see it with the grip on, there is a second hole near the guard so you could double pin the blade for extra stability. It may not be the quickest method to turn a short weapon into a spear, but it's probably the most secure. Now, about the blade itself. I based the blade on the Oakeshott Type XV as I wanted something really narrow and needle-like; the pommel is actually based on the T1 variant of the scent-stopper and it came about as a bit of an accident, as I couldn't make up my mind on the pommel other than I wanted something that, when combined with the rest of the design, would evoke the lines of an Okinawan sai (if a bit more angular). Lastly, though I normally really don't care for cutouts on a blade, I remembered reading a review on MyArmoury (I believe it was for the Albion Doge) about how fingering the cross aided tip control. Problem was, the blade was a little too wide to do so comfortably, so I added one cutout... Then my overwhelming need for symmetry led to the second one. Afterwards, I realized the dual cutouts made it so you could grip it like an overlarge push dagger if so desired, which is rather funny, since that's one method of using the sai you often see in Hollywood (or, more accurately, primarily TMNT). Overall Length: 33" Blade Length: 24 7/8" Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (5 1/4" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5" (Total grippable length: 8 1/8") Guard Width: N/A Pommel Length: N/A This is the sword of Altan Solak from Dragon Fall, the novel that came about shortly after I designed Wyrmfell & Drake, and it's the answer to all my troubles with this character. I envisioned Altan as being an incredibly skilled swordsman and fairly composed normally, but a bit naive of the outside world and rather fanboyish towards his heroes, the Hunters Miria & Galen, the other protagonists. I also wanted at least one protagonist from each book to wield a bastard saber (bastard in that they can be used one handed or hand-n-a-half), something that started with Vega and Ithin. Well, Altan is from the Far East of Terra (though it's not technically the East; if it were on Earth, it'd be more appropriate to call it the middle of the Atlantic, but since most of the action takes place in what would be comparable to the American mid-west...), so I wanted something that looked significantly different from the rest of my designs for that world, but familiar at the same time; more importantly, it had to conform to my self-imposed rule that the majority of swords in this world are rarely longer than 2' long. Then I came across a user on Deviant Art who forged a large Viking style blade called a hiebschwert (hack/cut/slash/etc. sword in English). Several of the design elements were inspired by blades he made, so I'm forever grateful to him (and especially Google, since that's how I found his stuff). Now, as for the significance of this blade in the world of Terra. It is a phoenix-marked blade, which has the same connotations as the heron-marked blades in the Wheel of Time, but for a different reason. If memory serves, the reason heron-marked blades were the sign of a blademaster was because most of them were Power-wrought weapons from the Age of Legends; after the War of Power, the Aes Sedai took a vow not to make weapons anymore and the art was lost, so they're in limited supply. Basically, an exceptional sword for an exceptional swordsman. In Terra, the phoenix is a mythical bird in the Far East, where Altan hails from; because it bursts into flames when it dies and is reborn from the ashes, it is seen not only as a sign of immortality, but also a form of supreme power. After all, what's the first thing everyone thinks of when you say "dragon"? It flies and breathes fire (less immediate is that it's also a gigantic murder beast with razors for fangs and claws). In their eyes, this is seen as redirecting your enemy's power into your own, a core concept of quite a few forms of martial arts and something essential to anyone small taking on someone larger and what's larger than a dragon compared to a human? The prime difference between the heron and the phoenix is that there's nothing inherently special about the phoenix-marked blade; it has no special abilities and it's not made of special steel. In fact, it's often an exact replica of the sword the person trained in swordsmanship with; in rarer cases, the same one. Overall Length: 46" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 13/16" @ profile taper (3 1/2" from tip); 1 1/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7 1/4" Guard Width: 6" Pommel Length: 2 1/2" (1 5/8" wide) Remember my old Vakha'Eket design on the first page? The one with the really skinny blade, awkward hilt, and just generally looks half-assed? Well, I came across an image of a fantasy-styled paladin holding a sword with an entirely white hilt (not to mention a rather complicated looking guard); that made me think of Vakha'Eket, the white saber that I designed before the Sentinel Saber I did in September '12, so I figured, what the hell? Might as well take a crack at doing it some justice. This is what came of that thought. My very first inspiration for the Vakha'Eket was actually Hiei's sword from the anime Yu Yu Hakusho, just a little more finished (his sword wasn't what you'd call crude, just a little rough around the edges). I decided to keep traces of that original inspiration, but also take a bit from the image that prompted this design in the form of the pommel. The rest of the design more or less came about as I worked. The grip is the same style as that on my Vanguard and for the same reason: it's reminiscent of tsukamaki, hearkening back to its original inspiration. For that same reason, it retains the short habaki and the scabbard is made of lacquered wood like a saya, with a kojiri and whatever the proper term for the locket is (which I borrowed from an antique I found while looking for a kojiri I liked), however it has a more Western style suspension system. Since I finished this design, I've actually decided to re-add it to the world of Alterra (the world on which Grimoire takes place; yeah, I know, I'm no great shakes at naming planets), albeit in a small way. Rather than being the standard sidearm of the Sentinels, it is now something of a functional dress sword for the Warders, though some actually do use it for its intended purpose as a weapon. Anyways, that's it for now; I've still got about a dozen designs left to post, but those can wait.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 14, 2013 4:19:37 GMT
So, I'm back from vacation, which sucked. On the way, it rained in every state we passed through with the possible exception of South Carolina; when we got to our destination (Newport News, Virginia), Tropical Storm Andrea decided to hit. Add in some really crappy motel beds along the way plus a vehicle that apparently has shock issues, because you can feel every single bump in the road (and I mean every one), and then toss in some pranksters who like to play ding-dong-ditch in hotels, to say nothing of a trip planner (and driver) who doesn't believe in taking a break, and your vacation becomes a lot less relaxing and more likely to wear you down. Mind, it wasn't all bad, because I went to the Virginia War Museum that showcases the weapons of the military dating back to the mid-18th century and even got some decent pictures; speaking of, I need to get those off my phone and onto my computer. I also got to see the Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina that houses about 100 years' worth of classic motorcycles, plus some very nice classic cars. Anyways, I'm not here to gripe about my vacation. Before I left, I was on something of a knife designing kick (partially prompted by my Sylvyn design above); I've designed 11 so far (though, to be fair, a couple are more like shortswords than knives), plus about 7 swords. I'll be uploading them in batches of 3 over the course of the next month or so. So, without further ado, let's get started: Overall Length: 21 3/8" Blade Length: 16" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 2 5/16" @ clip; 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 5" Pommel Length: 1 1/4" (2 1/2" wide) After my Sylvyn design, this was the first of the knives I've recently designed and I call it the Cleaver... Apparently, I'm not so creative with names when it comes to knives. Or shortswords, if you prefer, given its size. Anyways, the blade was inspired by one seen in a medieval manual of Odin, where he wields a falchion with a similar blade profile, albeit a much fancier hilt. This really just came about because I happen to like that blade profile for whatever reason, so there's not much more to say about it. Overall Length: 20" Blade Length: 14 5/8" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 15/16" @ bend; 1 7/16" @ profile taper (2 7/8" from tip); 13/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" Guard Width: 1 3/4" Pommel Length: 1 3/8" (1 3/4" wide) As you can tell, this knife/shortsword was inspired by the Egypytian khopesh, specifically a shape I found through Google, though mine is shorter and slimmer. I don't really know what else to say about it other than the shaping of the guard and pommel (which are identical) allows up to 5" of total grip space without holding onto the pommel itself. Overall Length: 46" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (5" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7 5/16" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Length: 1 15/16" (1 5/8" wide) Show of hands, how many of you have seen Fate/Stay Night? Or, at least, how many of you have seen this sword around the web? That is Excalibur, the sword of Saber from the visual novel/manga/anime Fate/Stay Night, aka Arturia Pendragon. Even if you've never seen it before, I'm sure you'll agree with my thinking that even though it's got a decent grip-to-blade ratio, the guard is an obese chunk of metal and the pommel is nonexistent; despite this, someone commissioned Ollin Swords to make them one and in spite of them making the guard much thinner (but just as wide) than what is seen in F/SN, it still weighs 5lbs 3oz, though, in all fairness, the blade is 3" wide at the base, not to mention 5/16" thick. Anyways, back in about late-April, early-May, I stumbled across the Fate/Stay Night manga, something I was previously unaware of; curious as to how it differed from what I consider a fairly subpar anime adaptation, I began reading it. At one point, the protagonist, Emiya Shirou, sees a vision of Saber's past (this also happens in the anime, but much less in depth), and in a single panel, we're treated to a look of Excalibur's hilt, but of a completely different, more realistic style. While the actual components would look out of place from a historical point of view (the guard was reminiscent of a Style 2 while the pommel looked like a fancy Type R), there was nonetheless the fact that it looked much better than the version that appears in the present. Because of that, I decided to redesign it into something more functional. The blade is a the Dolan Type XIb, the guard a Style 4 designed to resemble the original (I tried the Style 2 lookalike that appears in the manga panel that set this off and, while it worked, I found I preferred the curved guard more) while the pommel is a prettied-up Type R like what appears in the manga; sadly, I couldn't get it to work properly, so it looks like an odd wheel pommel. That's all until I get around to uploading the next batch.
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Post by Deepbluedave on Jun 14, 2013 7:10:37 GMT
Hey Vince all I can see is the blade tips, might have to resize em mate, or maybe it's just my pc. either way keep up the good work
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 14, 2013 9:24:26 GMT
I know; it's the new forum setup that's causing it. Until it gets sorted, right click and select "View Image" to see the full design.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jun 17, 2013 13:44:43 GMT
I was starting to wonder if you were alive. Gone into school or gotten a job, have you, mate?
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 17, 2013 15:04:39 GMT
Nope. I've been around, I just quit posting unless I've actually got something to say.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 20, 2013 16:15:26 GMT
Okay, so the other day I redesigned three of my older sword designs (though one wasn't so much a redesign as I just re-rendered Mikko's rendering of my design and added a scabbard) and added a new one to boot, which made me think that I'm getting something of a backlog of designs; at the moment, I have 23 swords & knives waiting in the wings with a couple more on the way if I can get them to translate from my mind properly. Well, with that said, I think it's time for another batch. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 13 1/2" Blade Length: 9" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 2 3/8" Pommel Length: 3/8" (2 3/8" wide) Because I'm rather unimaginative when it comes to naming knives, I call this one simply "Fighter". As you can see, it's a medium size bowie style knife with a, for lack of a better term, C-guard. The grip is rosewood and the sheath is stitched leather with a belt stud. Not much more to say about it than that. Overall Length: 18" Blade Length: 12" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (5 1/8" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 2 1/8" Pommel Length: N/A Again, I suck at naming, so this one is just "Bowie", but of the knives I've designed, this one is, oddly, one of my favorites, despite just being a combination of a couple elements; the hilt styling is based on that of Mikko's old Slasher design while the blade is based on the United Cutlery Gil Hibben Cody Bowie, which I have a real fondness for. Of course, my one issue with the Hibben bowie is that the hilt just seems too insubstantial for such a knife. My version of this knife is 100% full tang with green micarta scales, bronze bolsters, a black leather sheath with bronze furniture, topped with a belt stud. By the way, I almost forgot, but the back edge is 5 3/8" long, meaning it should pierce real easily and making some nasty back cuts. Overall Length: 30 5/16" Blade Length: 24" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 7/8" @ belly; 2" @ swell; 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Length: 2 1/8" (Includes peen; 2" diameter otherwise) Now, I'm a little better at naming swords than I am at naming knives, so I call this piece Nightshade after atropa belladonna, more commonly known as Deadly Nightshade. Nightshade is a deadly plant because nearly all parts of it are quite toxic: the berries are attractive looking and have a somewhat sweet taste, so they are a great danger to children, though consumption of 2-5 berries by an adult is potentially lethal, as well; the root is generally the most toxic, but this can vary from specimen to specimen. However, ingestion of a single leaf can be fatal to an adult. This sword has, to my eyes anyway, pleasant lines that just make you want to pick it up and handle it, but the leaf shaped blade would be quite deadly, hence the name. I set out to design a leaf-bladed short sword with a ring pommel, since the last one I did so very long ago was before I knew how to do ring pommels, so it didn't turn out that well; plus the blade was a bit too angular and the guard just looked awkward to me. I guess, in a way, this is something of a spiritual successor to that sword. Anyways, everything else is self-explanatory about it, though I will say that I feel the belt buckle may be a tad much. Well, until next week ladies and gents.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 27, 2013 20:53:20 GMT
Another week, another batch. At this rate, I should have them all posted some time around August... Assuming nothing new comes to mind between now and then, like the other day. Anyways, let's get to it. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Throwing KnifeOverall Length: 10" Blade Length: 6" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1" @ belly; 1 3/8" @ swell; 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 5/8" Guard Width: 2 1/8" Pommel Length: 1/4" (1 5/16" wide) Seax KnifeOverall Length: 18" Blade Length: 13" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 11/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4 7/16" Guard Width: 2 1/2" Pommel Length: 1/2" (1 9/16" wide) Any fans of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan? Well, for those unfamiliar, Ranger's Apprentice is a 13 volume young adult series (12 main volumes and 1 collection of short stories about the characters) about Will, an orphan who becomes the eponymous Ranger's Apprentice in a fantasy counterpart to Europe; particularly the counterpart to Britain, named Araluen here. Rangers are roving peacekeepers attached to one of the 50 fiefs in the Kingdom and, during wartime, act as scouts, spies, marksmen, and even battle commanders depending on the Ranger. The main weapons of a Ranger, as explained by Halt (Will's mentor), are his speed and stealth; failing that, they have their longbows. If worst comes to worst, they have a pair of knives worn on the left side in an iconic double scabbard: a shorter throwing knife and a larger seax knife. When Will is first presented with his knives, they are described in a fair amount of detail, but are ultimately left up to the reader to decide their final shape. As such, these are my interpretations of those knives. The throwing knife is described as having a blade that is narrow at the base and then widens significantly for 3/4 of its length before tapering to a sharp point; the seax knife is described as having a large, heavy blade, being almost a short sword. Both are described as having a brass pommel and crosspiece and a stacked leather hilt. Because of this, the first thing that came to mind the very first time I read the books was that they had a hilt like a Ka-bar knife and, despite the seax being balanced for throwing as well (and being used as such in a pinch once or twice if memory serves), my image of it always had the classic flat edge with the sloping, almost wharncliffe point. The throwing knife, oddly, is mentioned as being used as a regular knife on a number of occasions (notably in the second novel where another Ranger is teaching Will a technique involving both knives), so it made sense for it to be big enough to actually be used as such comfortably compared to most "throwing" knives you see on the market today that aren't really meant to be held like a knife. Overall Length: 17 5/16" Blade Length: 12" Blade Width: 1 11/16" @ choil; 2" @ edge; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (2 7/8" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 3 3/8" Pommel Length: 11/16" (1 1/2" wide) Another bowie and, for those tired of bowies, my second to last one. This one is actually one of my better named bowies; I call it the Sandbar after the Sandbar brawl that I think really got Jim Bowie's legend started. Anyways, the blade is based on a generic bowie shape while the grip was inspired by the Cold Steel Natchez bowie, particularly the SK-5 version with the brass fittings. Not really much else to say about it. Overall Length: 45 1/2" Blade Length: 35 7/8" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (3 3/8" from tip); 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7 1/2" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Length: 1 5/8" (2 3/4" wide) I actually designed this sword about a month ago out of, perhaps not curiosity, but that's about the only thing I can really think of. Rather than constantly type out "two-handed viking sword" when referring to two-handed Type X's, I took to calling the style the Xb for convenience. Then I noticed something: all of my forays into this type were indeed two-handed vikings, outside of what I consider to be a rather terrible example I did for my Oakeshott series some time ago. So, I set out to rectify that and this is the result, the unimaginatively named Xb. The blade is not technically a Type X, actually being a Geibig Type 8, but I think it works. The guard is a curved Style 2 while the pommel is a Type M, both in bronze; the grip and scabbard leather are a dark greenish-teal. The chape was supposed to be a shield with the quarters carved out so that the edges were raised, but it didn't come out quite as I'd hoped. Well, that's all 'till next week, folks. Ja mata.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jul 5, 2013 2:26:23 GMT
So, the spring anime season is over and pretty much everything worth watching had its season finale last week, so I'm a bit depressed I no longer have anything to look forward to on Thursdays. Ah, well, I've still got 6 more batches of swords & knives to upload; well, 5 after this one. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 11 7/8" Blade Length: 7" Blade Width: 1 1/8" @ base; 1" @ profile taper (2 1/8" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4 1/4" Guard Width: 1 3/4" Pommel Length: 3/8" (1 3/8" wide) 1 year and 9 months ago, about 2 weeks after I started using Inkscape, I designed what was essentially my first knife. This knife, dubbed the Ka-Bar Slasher (which you can still see here, was more or less your run-of-the-mill Ka-Bar knife, but with an upswept point as opposed to the standard clip. Don't ask me why, but during my recent knife kick, I got the urge to do a massive update of it and, well, you can see the result above. The hilt assembly is now completely identical to a Ka-Bar Next Gen knife; even the blade isn't that different from a standard plain edged Ka-Bar. The only thing that causes it to really standout is the tip, which does curve up slightly, but still features the swedge found on all clip point models. Updates to this knife from its original render include massively smoothing out the gradients, straightening the blade's spine (if you look at the original and compare the spine to the fuller, you'll see the spine is set at a slight angle), and the biggest accomplishment: adding in a kydex sheath. Because of the upswept point, I couldn't mimic the shape of the standard Ka-Bar sheath like I'd originally intended, which is a slight disappointment, but I managed to get around that by using the Cold Steel Leatherman Tanto's scabbard as a base and then reshaping it a bit to fit my design. Overall Length: 29" Blade Length: 26" (Cutting Edge: 25 1/2") Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 5/16" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" (3 3/4" total grip space) Guard Width: 4 1/16" Pommel Length: 1 1/2" (1 5/8" wide) On the net, there's a sword known as the Yatlass, a yataghan-cutlass hybrid (though given the blade's width, it'd probably be more accurate to call it a falcata/cutlass hybrid, but that's just me) designed by Iikka Keränen; a steel version was made by Michael Rader in '05. Overall, it's a real nice looking sword. Anyways, the hilt on it has always appealed to me for its simplicity and the blade collar that is reminiscent of what you might find on a Chinese dao (something that, sadly, didn't make it on the steel version); however, I'm not overly fond of forward curved blades, so out of boredom, I decided to work the guard, pommel & collar into a plain-jane cutlass design I wanted to do and this is what came about of that. Aggravatingly, due to an exportation error, a part of the collar didn't come out correctly (but it still shows up properly in the SVG file). Overall Length: 32 1/2" Blade Length: 27" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (5 1/2" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" (3 3/4" total grip space) Guard Width: 5" Pommel Length: 1 15/16" (1 7/8" wide) This sword has been sooo long in the coming, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get it done. More specifically, a sword with that guard and pommel rather than the sword as a whole. The guard was inspired by a reproduction of the guard on the sword of Mehmet II, albeit much simplified, while the pommel was inspired by what is found on traditional Tibetan swords. The blade is actually from a knife design I scrapped, scaled up to sword size. This particular blade was the result of quite a bit of trial and error, since I tried two-handed, hand-and-a-half, straight blade, curved blade, none of it really looked right. Then I wondered how that knife blade would look scaled up and it fit rather nicely. Well, that's all for now; next week I'll have a few rather special (to me) designs. Ja mata.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jul 11, 2013 17:56:15 GMT
Time for this week's update, which I mentioned last week as being rather special to me (assuming anyone actually reads these). Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 21 7/8" Blade Length: 16 1/2" Blade Width: 1 3/8" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (2 3/16" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4 5/8" Guard Width: 2 1/2" Pommel Length: 7/8" (1 3/8" wide) Here's a design I never thought I'd touch again after putting it through a 3rd or 4th redesign about a year and a half ago; however, given the next design in this batch, I was tempted to rework it and really make them a pair. And so I did. Interestingly, the entire design is now almost a full inch shorter and the blade 1/8" slimmer, while the grip is actually longer (though that could just be because I'm including the pommel/endcap in the measurement; the actual exposed wood grip is 3 1/2", which is shorter compared to the previous redesign). I decided to go back to the design's roots while mixing it with something of the previous redesign which my furthered skills in Inkscape allowed (my original design left something to be desired for that very reason. The blade now features the T-spine that was an integral part of the original design and something I was too inexperienced to truly bring out when I first dreamed up this blade. Due to the T-spine, which allows for a thick spine and a very thin blade, the fullers not only seemed a little out of place, but would have likely been detrimental to the blade's cutting ability, so I did away with them and I'm glad I did as the blade looks much better without them. The hilt is now something of a marriage of two different production bowies: the Hanwei Outrider for the guard & pommel/endcap and the Cold Steel Laredo for the organic lines. The scabbard is plain leather stitched together with a pain chape & locket to give it a more rustic feel, while the belt stud has once more been put on the edge down side (that is, when worn on the left hip, the edge would be down) more like a traditional bowie. For this reason, as well as to differentiate it from its predecessors, I'm now calling this blade the Creed/Outback. Overall Length: 17 1/4" Blade Length: 12 5/16" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1 3/16" @ profile taper (3 1/4" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 11/16" (on the knuckle-side) Guard Width: 2 1/4" Pommel Length: N/A I call this knife the Creed/Tactical and it's actually what inspired me to take another crack at my older Creed knife that gave birth to the Creed/Outback above. During my knife kick back in May, I felt like expanding my knife designs to include the more modern styles, including the "tactical" ones; the first was the redesigning of my Ka-Bar Slasher in last week's batch. The second was this. I actually started this design without any real idea of what the end product was going to be; I found a grip style I liked (borrowed from the shape found on the Miller Bros. Blades' M-20 and M-45) and basically just tossed blade shapes at it until I found one I liked. Incidentally, that blade just happened to be inspired by a reproduction of a large Celtic knife made by Finnish bladesmith JT PÄLIKKÖ which I've always liked (further, the same style of knife serves as the basis for the large knife carried by Vega, the owner of Ithin, my flagship design). As for the design itself, it has a kydex sheath with plenty of option for attaching it to just about anything, a flat gray duracoat finish, and a dark blue G-10 grip with a lanyard hole... Basically, all the things you'd find on a modern "tactical" knife; also, the blade is 100% full tang and has three heavy duty hex screws to hold the G-10 slabs in place. Overall Length: 32 1/4" Blade Length: 26" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Length: 2" Now here's an interesting sword. This blade came about because of a question I asked myself: if I could only have a dozen swords, regardless of cost, what would they be? I figured, if cost wasn't an issue, why not have some of them be my own designs? Thus came about what I call my "Circle of Swords", which consisted of 11 swords: Ithin, Mé'aré, Dalun, Vanguard, Sorin Dai, Sorin Sho, Sentinel, Vakha'Eket, Wyrmfell, Drake, and Rider, which left me one sword short. I had originally intended for some of them to be production swords that I had a soft spot for (a couple of the more expensive Albions), but that more or less went out the window by the time I realized that 11 of the 12 spots had already been taken. I also happen to be a little OCD when it comes to certain things, which led me to realize that of the designs listed above, only one was unrelated to my novels and only one was a Type XIV, which happens to be one of my favorite types of blade, aesthetically speaking. So I figured I'd design a new XIV that was unrelated to my novels, thereby killing two birds with one stone. That desire brought about this sword, which I call the Royal. I actually began this design with a standard curved guard and a ring pommel; however, I didn't want my second XIV to look like a recolored Rider with a different pommel, so I got rid of the guard. Out of curiosity, I tried the Style 12 guard I've previously used on Ifearnan and my XVIIId and, frankly, I love the way it looks, particularly blackened. However, compared to the graceful lines of the guard, a plain ol' ring pommel just wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I thought I'd add in a transparent gem like I did on one version of Undbitr from the Inheritance Cycle. That didn't turn out, so I scrapped the idea and made it a wheel pommel with an inset gem... Until I remembered I'd just done that with a different design not too long before designing this one; however, I really liked the way the red, black, and purple looked, so I fiddled with the pommel and added the claws you see on the finished design. I think they really add a subtle complexity to it that matches well with the guard. By comparison, the scabbard is quite simple and almost undecorated, though I wouldn't call it plain by any means. And now, in the immortal words of Porky the Pig: that's all, folks! Until next week; ja mata.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jul 20, 2013 16:36:50 GMT
So, I somehow managed to sleep through most of the last two days and completely spaced my weekly update. Better late than never, eh? Though, does it really matter since I'm probably the only one who still reads these? Maa ii; life will go on whether anyone reads these or not, so until something indicates otherwise, I shall carry on as if everyone is. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 18" Blade Length: 13" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ choil; 2 5/16" @ edge; 1 13/16" @ profile taper (3 13/16" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 3 7/8" Pommel Length: 3/8" (2 5/8" wide) I call this piece the Serpent, once again, because I'm rather unimaginative when it comes to knives. The blade is based on the United Cutlery Serpentine Bowie (where the name came from, too), which I have a bit of a soft spot for, because I really like the blade shape. The grip is based on the United Cutlery Gil Hibben Survivor Bowie, but with a slight modification: the guard finials are reversed; instead of the rear quillon point towards the grip, it's now towards the blade, and vice versa. Aside from the ridiculously deep notches cut into the blade's spine, that's the only little thing that I think stops it from being a really good looking bowie knife. Other than that, it's quite a plain, if large, knife. Overall Length: 42 3/4" Blade Length: 33" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 15/16" @ profile taper (4" from tip); 13/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6 1/4" Guard Width: 8 3/4" Pommel Length: 2 3/4" (2 1/4" wide) As many of you can probably tell at a glance, this sword was based heavily on the sword of Edward III; indeed, I did everything I could to ensure the proportions were true to the original because I really like that sword. While I don't care for how gaudy all the gold makes it, the Arms & Armor reproduction is probably my favorite XVIIIa. As such, I call this sword the Edvard. "Edvard" is a variation of the name Edward, and is in use primarily in Eastern Europe as well as Scandinavia, namely the Czech Republic and Sweden, respectively. Which, in and of itself, is rather meaningful to me as I'm part Czech on my father's side and part Swede (a very small part, mind you) on my grandmother's side. That aside, the most interesting thing about this sword is that it, like a select few of my designs, came about because of curiosity. I wondered how the hilt would look with a saber blade, so I grabbed the spare blade from my Unused Fittings and affixed it to the hilt. I liked how it looked, but the blade as it was was just too thin and didn't really look right when compared to the wide XVIIIa blade of the original, so I figured I'd widen it and you see the result before you. I think it came out rather well. SwordOverall Length: 42 1/4" Blade Length: 33 3/4" Blade Width: 2 3/8" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (3" from tip); 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Length: 2 1/8" (includes peen block; 2" diameter otherwise) By-knifeOverall Length: 8 13/16" Blade Length: 5" Blade Width: 1 7/16" @ base; 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 5/8" Guard Width: N/A Pommel Length: N/A This is another of those designs that are the product of curiosity and while I tend to like how most of them come out, this is one of those rare few I'm actually proud of. The idea was essentially a bastard sword with a Type Xa blade, specifically, that found on Albion's Chevalier. Speaking of, I drew many of the design elements from the Chevalier and I'd originally planned it as being a bigger brother, but I also wanted this one to be more the kind of sword you might find on the hip of a ranger in the wild forests of the world, as well as a sword with a by-knife; the latter desires won out and, indeed, the floral pommel didn't fit with the rest, so I opted for a simpler Type I pommel (interestingly, the same type is on Albion's other Xa with this blade profile, the Oakeshott). The by-knife was heavily inspired by a Jay Fisher knife I happened to find while Googling knives for inspiration, albeit with much plainer fittings to match the simplicity of the sword's design. Well, that's all for this week, folks; until next week, ja mata.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Jul 20, 2013 18:07:31 GMT
Well, I don't know about others but I am certainly reading this!! Really enjoy your designs, good work.
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Post by RiviaBlade on Jul 20, 2013 18:33:00 GMT
So I have finally decided to post a reply since joining this forum. I must say, I love all of your blade designs, Vincent. Several have helped inspire some of my own drawings (which, if I ever get my butt in gear and set up my scanner I will post some pictures on the forum, since I am not good with drawing programs).
Anyway, I must say I really like your Edvard sword. Personally though, I agree with you in that I don't really like the gold. I bet it would look absolutely awesome, though, if it was blackened steel instead of gold and a dark blue gem instead of a red one (similar to your Ruarc sword you shared a while back; another one of my favorites), but that's just my own preference (I like black steel a bit too much...). Well, keep up the good work, I love looking forward to seeing new designs from you in the future.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jul 27, 2013 21:54:42 GMT
Thanks for those kind words, Rivia. It's always warming to know I can inspire someone as so many others have inspired me. And, on that note, it's time for this week's update, one of which I think several people will like. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 19" Blade Length: 13 9/16" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (2" from tip); 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/8" Guard Width: 4" Pommel Length: 1 3/8" (2 3/8" wide) For those who were laughing at my pitifully named knives before now (I know I was), you'll be happy to know that the last three are somewhat better named, starting with this one: I call it the Youngling because it ended up looking like a youth's first sword more than a regular dagger. Interestingly, this is another of those designs that, at least partially, came about because of my curiosity. I wanted to make this dagger viking-themed, but I couldn't decide on a hilt style for it, so I got to wondering "what if I combined two different styles?" And so I did. The guard is a Type AE (I believe I took it from my Cynwrig sword and scaled it down to fit the dagger) while the pommel is a Type S (specifically, borrowed from the Albion Jarl, perhaps my favorite viking sword, aesthetically speaking). I think that in spite of the two being completely different styles, they actually manage to look quite nice together. It's kinda got me wondering what other styles might look good together. Overall Length: 37" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (6 3/4" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4 1/8" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Length: 2 1/2" (1 7/8" wide) Almost a year and a half ago (has it really been that long?), I posted the XVIII entry in my Oakeshott series of designs, meant to be simple representations of the various Oakeshott types. The base XVIII was... Okay, but the blade was somewhat straighter than it should be and the fishtail pommel is the rather blocky style I had been using on my original design Ifearnán up until that point. Plus, the chape I put on its scabbard was just, well, dumb. Anyways, a while back, I got the urge to do a proper XVIII with my new, more organic fishtail design and thus this sword was born. The blade was taken directly from the Gus Trim 1557 that so very many people love (albeit a few inches longer), while the guard was inspired by that of In Nomine Domine, the knight's templar sword made by Brendan Olszowy over at Fable Blades and the scabbard's chape is inspired by one I found online, I believe at Armory Marek, but I don't remember exactly; the original looked like it was meant for a dagger or rapier, but I rather liked the styling of it, so I adjusted it to fit this sword. Funny story, but the black and purple combo, reminiscent of my relatively recent Royal design, was something of an accident; I wanted to use blackened steel for it since I'd already done this pommel in both plain steel and gold and purple for the leather just happened to be the first color that came to mind. The good news is that this sword's grip is more of a true purple while Royal's is more of an indigo. Semantics, I know, but because of that, I call this sword the Prince. Overall Length: 38 1/4" Blade Length: 29 15/16" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 7/8" @ belly; 2" @ profile taper (10" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 11/16" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Length: 2 1/4" (1 5/8" wide) As one or two of you may notice, this is a redesign of a sword I did almost a year ago, named Skülkivér, which I designed for my novel Dragon Fall; on Terra, the world the story takes place, steel is a precious commodity better reserved for arrowheads, spearheads, and the various anti-dragon weaponry developed in the world to combat dragon raids, which are sporadic, but not uncommon. As such, most swords generally have blades under 24" in length with the vast majority being about the size of a Roman gladius (although most swords have viking-styling, because that's just how I picture the world). Due to that, the three named swords on Terra, Cynwrig, Skülkivér, and Wyrmfell, are all considered very unusual and even bizarre due to their length. Anyways, Skülkivér was originally heavily inspired by the Windlass German Bastard Sword, but without its side rings and with a leaf-shaped blade. However, truth be told, the longer I looked at it, the more I realized how awkward it looked to my eyes; especially for the general setting of the story. It just didn't flow, so I sought to correct that. I kept the pommel the same, but I changed virtually everything else. The blade is now the same one I used on my Nightshade short-sword design awhile back, but with a reinforced spine, as I felt that was a central part of Skülkivér's design. The guard is the same one from my Merovingian XIVa while the grip is a much simpler straight taper design. I darkened every aspect of the sword's design, from the steel of the blade, to the leather of the grip & scabbard, to the bronze of the fittigns; I felt that, this way, it better exuded the age and power I wished to convey with it. I may end up doing the same with Cynwrig, perhaps changing it ever so slightly in the process. Well, ladies and gents, that's it for this week; preventing a bunch of new designs popping into my head, I should be done with my backlog of designs by Saturday after next, but I think y'all should look forward to them all the same, as I'm bringing back quite a few older designs that have received a major upgrade, as well as a couple new ones (one of which is a serious redesign of a sword I never uploaded). Ja mata.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Aug 3, 2013 20:58:56 GMT
Time for this week's update, which actually has an additional sword since I made a slight change to Cynwrig, as I mentioned I might a week or two ago... As well as a couple other swords, including one that got a complete and total redesign with only a relatively minor detail of its original design left over. Anyways, let's get to it. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 14 7/16" Blade Length: 9 7/16" Blade Width: 1 3/8" @ base; 1 1/16" @ profile taper (2 9/16" from tip); 11/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 7/8" Guard Width: N/A Pommel Length: N/A Based on a LARP knife I happened to stumble across on Google (albeit, likely quite a bit shorter), I call this blade the Woodsman, because I imagined it as a plain knife that a forester might carry for general purpose use. Thanks to its simple design, there's basically nothing more to say about it, which is probably a relief to those of you tired of reading the huge walls of text that usually accompany my designs. Overall Length: 31 3/4" Blade Length: 24" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 15/16" @ profile taper (5 3/4" from tip); 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 5/8" Guard Width: 3 1/4" Pommel Length: 1 3/4" in diameter As many of you can likely tell, this sword is heavily based on the Chinese dadao; in fact, the only thing that separates it from the antique that served as its base is a shorter grip, itself more of a Western style than a Chinese style (same goes for the scabbard). Anyways, if anyone here still remembers, I at one point had a novel in the wings wherein a conquered people would rise up and rebel. I am, of course, vastly oversimplifying, but the point is that several of the swords intended for that novel (Stigandr, the sword of Harvey Sykes, the Endycion) were posted here before I scrapped the entire project. Recently, I realized there was an extremely easy way I could bring it back and tie it into my overall universe with just a few small tweaks to its setting; by putting it in another part of Alterra (the world on which Grimoire (the Sentinel Saber, Ruarc's sword, Vakha'Eket, Aelfwing, Iomhair, and Ifearnan are all from this story) is set), I could easily explain away a few of the issues that were originally plaguing it. Due to this, I had cause to revisit several of my designs from this series, including one I never got around to posting because I wasn't satisfied with it. This is not one of those designs, though you'll be seeing one of them next and the rest next week. In the early plotting of the story's setting, I eventually wanted this conquered people to begin forging their own swords rather than taking them from their foes; primarily, this was to avoid one of the main logistical problems with such a route, which is arming and then training an army when only about a half-dozen men have any experience with a sword. I wanted them to have a sword that would be a better fit to them and their fighting style. Long story short, I could never figure out a decent design and then I came up with Stigandr and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, during my bout of redesigns for this story, I found the antique dadao this sword is based upon and realized it would be perfect for my purposes; particularly since the real world dadao served the same purpose in Chinese history. As such, I just call this sword the Peasant. Overall Length: 41 1/2" Blade Length: 30 5/8" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (2 3/8" from tip); 1 1/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 8" Guard Width: 4 1/2" Pommel Length: 1 11/16" (2 1/4" wide) For those who don't remember, this is Stigandr, the longsword from a Viking-esque culture (though, oddly, their most revered weapon is the spear) called the Hulern. As I mentioned in the Peasant's description, this sword wasn't actually supposed to be the sword of the uprising at all, but became such when I couldn't come up with anything better; plus, I really liked the concept of a two-handed viking sword with a single-edged blade. While it'll still have a place in the story, it'll now be more of a hero sword, limited to only the more important characters. Quite some time before I began using Inkscape and was still limited to designing my swords the old fashioned way (i.e., pencil and paper), I came up with three designs that I just was not able to illustrate properly for whatever reason: Aelfwing, Harvey's sword, and this blade. So, I asked Mikko to help me polish them up and his rendering of my designs were more than I could have hoped for, particularly Harvey's sword, as I had originally imagined it as being a somewhat crude sword with rough fittings and a jute-wrapped grip. He turned it into something refined and, I realized, what the sword should have been. But I'm getting sidetracked. I've tried my hand at this sword multiple times, but none of them quite matched up to his original render and I'll admit to having been frustrated by it on multiple times, especially the scabbard, as I was still rather inexperienced with them at the time. So, in the end, when it came to reworking this sword, I just flat out copied the design in the SVG file Mikko sent to me, adjusted it to fit the 1/16th scale I use (which was, admittedly, a lot more work than it sounds like), added the gradients, and then reworked the scabbard now that I have more experience with them and added in a more viking-like suspension system, copied off my Geibig design; if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Aside from that, the only change I really made was to add cord markings under the crosswrap, but I think, as a whole, it presents a more refined image and I can really never thank Mikko enough for that early rendering. Overall Length: 33 5/8" Blade Length: 28" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (3 9/16" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 1/2" Guard Width: 5" Pommel Length: 1 3/8" (2 1/4" wide) Spec wise, Cynwrig has changed very little, save that the guard & grip are a bit shorter, the blade a touch longer, and it slightly shorter overall. Yet, at the same time, it's a completely different sword. The fuller is longer, not quite as wide, and doesn't taper near as sharply as in the original; the guard & pommel aren't as dark and to say that they've been changed the most would be an understatement. The guard & pommel on the original weren't bad, per se, but they did not fit with the blade, something that didn't really click until I mentioned maybe giving it the same aging treatment I gave Skülkivér. The new ones are much more proportional and, I think, smoother. This, coupled with the fact that the grip is now quite a bit more substantial, really makes it feel like a weapon rather than a badge of office which happens to be a sword. Aside from streamlining the entire design, the only actual change I made was to add a locket to the scabbard, which I think adds a little something to the design. Well, that's all until next week, folks; now excuse me while I go pass out for a few hours. Ja mata.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Aug 11, 2013 14:18:34 GMT
So, ladies and gents, it seems even I forgot just how easy it is to lose track of what day it is and didn't realize that yesterday was my update day until I had already shut my computer down for the day. Funny how these things work, eh? Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 14 3/4" Blade Length: 9" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 1/8" @ belly; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 13/16" Guard Width: 1 1/2" Pommel Length: 1 3/4" The very last knife design from my knife kick back in late-May/early-June, this was actually the design that more or less kicked the whole thing off (my cleaver design came first, but it strains the definition of knife so much that it's hard to really call it that). I'm sure many of you can see that this knife was heavily inspired by Aragorn's Elvish knife from the Lord of the Rings films; I have something of a love-hate relationship with that knife, to be honest. I really love the lines of it, the grip especially, and there are times I like the blade, but there's also times I just can't stand the blade. Don't ask me why, because it doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me. Anyways, because of my conflicting feelings towards the screen knife, I decided to design a similarly styled knife, but with a blade that I wouldn't flip back and forth between loving and hating. I wanted something that would give the appearance of being old and well used, so its grip is made of dark oak while its furniture is antiqued brass. Lastly, I call this knife Telcontar, which is Quenya for "Strider", something I felt was fitting considering its inspiration. Overall Length: 37" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 2 3/8" @ base; 1 3/4" @ profile taper (2 5/8" from tip); 1 1/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 1/4" Guard Width: 6" Pommel Length: 1 1/4" (2 1/2" wide) As I mentioned in my previous post, I discovered a way to bring back one of my older novels by integrating it into the world of Alterra and that I had subsequently redesigned (or at least slightly reworked) the swords I had designed for it prior to originally scrapping it. One of those designs was the sword I had dubbed the Endycion after the race of people that use it; it was a Type XIII with an unusual Type P pommel (of which there are no surviving examples; the only instance of it in art is on a chapel in Nuremburg, Germany). The idea was for something that could be used in one hand or two, as the people who used it preferred to carry shields, but couldn't use them all the time, and something that was cut-oriented as it was mainly for occupation soldiers that had no need to worry about armor. Anyways, due to how slender the original design was, combined with the width of the guard and the rather small pommel, it ended up looking like a full blown XIIIa despite not even being 39" in overall length. When it came time to redesign it, I could have gone the same route and just used the experience I've gained since then to do it properly, but I decided not to; I felt that this sword needed to be something beefy and intimidating, but still something that would work as a bastard sword. I also wanted something simpler, but much more distinctive. And that's how this sword, dubbed the Crusader (as I'm in the process of renaming the people who use it), came into being. The brass guard & pommel are based on the Type Y viking hilt, which was used from the start of the 10th century to the beginning of the 12th, and despite my original indifference towards the pommel style (I didn't exactly dislike it, but it looked funky), I've actually grown to quite like the way it looks, particularly in combination with the guard. Except for darkening the scabbard, I kept the color scheme the same as I was quite partial to it for this sword, though I added a simple suspension system with with a square buckle that I think really works with the rest of the design, in spite of its more angular look. Overall Length: 30 3/4" Blade Length: 24" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 3 1/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 5" Pommel Length: 1 7/8" (2 1/8" wide) Here's a design with an interesting history. I originally designed this sword waaaay back in June of 2011, back before I ever started using Inkscape; well, being as I'm not that great with pencil & paper, it didn't come out that great and had some odd proportions that, in retrospect, made no sense considering its original purpose in-universe. In September that same year, after originally designing Stigandr with similar poor proportions, I decided to get some help and PM'd Mikko. He took up the challenge and redesigned them the way they had been intended to, even going above and beyond with this sword; the original had a simpler S-guard (more in line with the Hanwei Warlord dadao) and a straight taper grip wrapped in jutte. His redesign gave it some serious Venetian flare (he also shortened the blade per my request). It was, to me, so perfect that I have never had to redesign it. Well, when I set out to redesign the swords from this setting, this sword, the sword of Harvey Sykes, was already finished as far as I was concerned but for one thing: a scabbard. So, I opened up the original design's SVG file, transferred it over to a blank and set about the process of adapting it to my 16th scale, which was easy enough. Then I went about designing a scabbard for it, which was not so easy; in the end, I copied the clasps found on actual dadao scabbards and combined them with straps to hang it from a belt like a Western sword. To give it (the scabbard) a bit of personality, I added a chape that was taken from the Hanwei Jie Dao and scaled up to fit this sword. The scabbard as a whole is soft leather and the clasps holding it closed are just large enough to hold it closed, but small enough that a sharp tug on the hilt will pull the blade loose. Overall Length: 36 5/8" Blade Length: 28" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 7/16" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5" Guard Width: 3 1/2" Pommel Length: 1 7/8" (1 5/8" wide) This is the sword of Lat'Teruya de Kagen, the protagonist of the novel from which all these recent redesigns come from; I originally designed this sword back in February of last year, but I never posted it because, quite simply, I was unsatisfied with it no matter what I did. I just couldn't decide on a style of sword for Kagen, going from dual dao to something inspired by Jody Samson to a shashka to this sword's original form to a Western style design and back. Nothing really seemed to fit, especially since I originally gave him dual swords to a single sword. Frankly, I just could not make up my mind on the subject. The main thing both for and against this particular design's predecessor is that it looked far too much like Ithin: silver furniture, a blue grip, a katana-like blade, silver scabbard fittings, gold habaki, Chinese inspiration... Well, I rather like the design's overall lines and proportions and the guard/pommel combo were what made this sword in the first place, so I couldn't see getting rid of them. So I changed the color scheme, modified the blade, got rid of the habaki, and completely changed the scabbard. The blade is now much wider than the original and has a diamond cross-section except for the last inch or so (much like an extended unokubi-zukuri), while the hilt underwent a few changes. Originally, I was going to have the fittings be blued, but they didn't come out right, plus it just didn't look right with the red grip (the only thing that would have worked would have been black or brown and neither of those felt right). So I changed the hilt & scabbard fittings to darkened bronze. The scabbard continues the Chinese influence of the rest of the design, particularly the shape of the chape & locket, while the scabbard itself is rosewood, which I think looks nice against the bronze. The pommel is the same as the one on my Vanguard sword and, in fact, this is the sword I mentioned as having used the pommel on but never posted when I uploaded Vanguard. The guard, however, was heavily inspired by the sword used by Lǐ Xiǎoláng from the manga & anime series Cardcaptor Sakura. Come to think of it, that sword is probably one of the more memorable ones from my childhood, alongside the sword of Van Fanel from Escaflowne, Vicious' katana from Cowboy Bebop, and Hiei's sword from Yu Yu Hakusho. Well, that's all for now folks; I've still got a couple left and I'll get those up whenever I get around to it. Ja mata.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Aug 19, 2013 21:26:50 GMT
Well, folks, it's that time again; it's time for what may very well be my last update for awhile, since I am finally caught up on all the backlogged designs I had yet to post and wonder of wonders, I didn't have a massive influx of new ones. Maybe now I'll get around to fixing the links in the first post. :? I am not looking forward to that, considering how bloated this thread has gotten in the past two years. Until the image scaling issue gets resolved, to view the designs in full, right click on them and select "View Image".Overall Length: 50 1/2" Blade Length: 39" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (2 1/2" from tip); 1 1/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 8" Guard Width: 10 3/8" Pommel Length: 2 7/16" I figured I'd toss this one out first since I'm not 100% satisfied with it; don't get me wrong, I like it well enough. There were just so many gradients to do in the guard (30, to be exact) that I screwed up a couple of them on the bottom. Anyways, this is more or less a fantasy themed claymore-style sword with the guard & pommel inspired by something I found on an anime-esque sword, though I had to make a couple changes; namely, the pommel in the original tapered to a very sharp point and I don't think anyone would want that pointing at their stomach or groin while holding such a sword. The blade is a run-of-the mill XIIIa, albeit on the longer end of that scale, and the scabbard is really just something to hold it in. I call it the Elysium because, well, I just really like the name. Otherwise, it has nothing to do with the sword. Overall Length: 34" Blade Length: 28" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 5/8" Guard Width: 7 1/2" Pommel Length: 2" diameter Here's an interesting little design that I owe to Tinker Pearce; I don't even remember how I stumbled across the inspiration, but stumble across it I did. The guard & pommel combination were heavily inspired by one of his swords, as was the double fuller. As is probably obvious, when I'm not designing fantasy swords, one of my favorite blade types to use is the XIV (and the counterparts I created or expanded upon) and for the longest time I've wanted to do do both a XIV with a ring pommel and a XIV with a crosspiece that was more straight than it was curved; I'm also rather fond of double fullers. Well, when I came across this hilt configuration, I could hardly resist giving it a shot and out came this sword. I call it the Mercenary as it was meant to be just a simple soldiering style sword; plus the chape, which was just a bit of experimental fancy, kinda looks reminiscent of a bullseye. Overall Length: 26 7/16" Blade Length: 21" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 7/16" @ profile taper (3 1/16" from tip); 13/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 4 1/8" Pommel Length: 1 1/4" (2 1/4" wide) Now this is an intriguing design; why? Because it's actually a redesign, though it's so wildly different from the original, you'd probably never know it if I didn't tell you. Almost a year ago, I took the Migration Era bowie Mikko designed for me and turned it into the langseax used by a people from my novel Dragon Fall, the Order of the Broken Blade. Well, as I'm wont to do, I began to flesh out this people, their culture, their clothing, their weapons, etc. I decided to call them the Tilanzians, a name that I made up after rolling it around in my head for awhile since I liked the sound of it; there may have been other factors in the name's creation, but for the life of me, I can't remember them now. And back in February, I posted their primary battle weapon, a heavy bladed swordstaff, though since that was almost immediately before the forum migration and the issue with the image scaling began, I'm not sure how many people have seen it. Anyways, for the past 6 months or so, I've been feeling dissatisfied with the Migration bowie I had been using for them previously. Primarily, it's because the hilt configuration just wasn't doing it for me anymore. In that time, I've tried repeatedly to design something new for them, but nothing at all seemed right for them. Well, a little while back, I was looking through some of the images I've saved to my sword design folder and came across the hilt of Mikko's Conan the Barbarian redesign; I remember saving it so I could use it as reference for its pommel, but then an idea formed in my head which eventually gave way to this design. It borrows heavily from Mikko's design (though, sadly, mine is nowhere near as smooth as his) in a one handed configuration, but what I'm most fond of is the blade. I call it a kromseax; 'krom' is the Dutch word for "bent" or "curved", so it's a curved seax.
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