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Post by Kilted Cossack on Jan 15, 2011 18:49:09 GMT
Gents:
In case anyone ELSE has been sitting up nights wondering if the furniture (pommel, grip, and complex cross) from a Hanwei Renaissance Side Sword will fit on the bare blade from a Valiant Armoury AT303S, well, you can stop wondering.
Get some sleep.
It works.
The ricasso still calls for some leather wrapping, and, of course, this never happened until I can post pictures, but yes, yes, a thousand times yes, you can put the pommel, grip and cross guard from a Hanwei side sword onto a AT303S bare blade.
And yes, somehow, it resembles a quasi-facsimile of the A&A Town Guard sword, or the Windlass Munich cut'n'thrust.
Pictures, if I get around to them, will prove this (unless I just photoshopped it, which I didn't do, because I can turn a computer on and that's about it).
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Post by Elheru Aran on Jan 15, 2011 19:05:01 GMT
That is definitely an interesting thought right there. It'd be a slightly better cutter than the standard Hanwei blade, I imagine, but I can see how the balance would be affected by that crazy-heavy pommel... Do post pictures shortly!
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Post by adtharp on Jan 15, 2011 19:13:12 GMT
well that sounds like quite an excellent sword, you have inspired me. Do the 303S fittings fit on the sidesword blade? I mean, that would make a pretty bad sword, but it might be fun.
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Jan 15, 2011 22:21:48 GMT
adtharp:
The pommel and pommel nut fit fine, and I think the cross would fit, but I haven't taken the leather wrapping from the ricasso of the side sword blade yet, so can't be sure. I think that itsy little blade would be overpowered by the 303's fittings . . . .
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 15, 2011 22:23:36 GMT
I'd actually like to see images of both; they both sound rather interesting.
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Post by johnapsega on Jan 15, 2011 22:32:22 GMT
I agree this sounds very interesting. Can wait for pictures:D
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Post by chuckinohio on Jan 15, 2011 22:41:40 GMT
Pictures, must have them, very interested in this project, must have pictures.
If you get the time, a couple of pics of the end result would be great, it's a very novel idea, and since I am not a fan of the Hanwei Side Sword blade, the perfect project.
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Post by LittleJP on Jan 15, 2011 22:57:08 GMT
How does it handle?
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Jan 16, 2011 1:00:25 GMT
Some further short comments.
I like the Renaissance side sword as Hanwei built it, but I think I like my frankensword a good bit better. From Hanwei, the side sword felt like it was neither fish nor fowl nor good red meat. To me, the light blade resulted in a sword that was very, very biased towards the thrust, yet at the same time, not really a small sword. I think the blade would do for light cutting . . . just not with that furniture.
At the same time, TomK's recent comments have emphasized that the 303 falls on the light side for an arming sword. As Tom put it, more of a riding sword, really. (NTTAWWT.) Well, in my little collection the 303 has been standing in as "stereotypical European single handed sword" and the more I thought about Tom's comments, the more I was impelled to try this out.
I have to say it's a very pleasant surprise to find that the 303's pommel nut fits the threading on the Hanwei blade. (Blades, really, as I also tried the nut on a EMSHS bare blade. The side sword guard, however, won't fit on the H/T EMSHS without filing----but I think it would fit with some judicious filing.)
As for handling, I'm kind of surprised so far. Given how very butt-heavy the side sword is, I had anticipated a similar strong orientation to the thrust when the 303's blade was fitted. While the side sword's pommel is quite weighty, so is the 303's. (I don't have scales to measure them.) As cobbled together, the "303SS" (303 Side Sword) feels about the same as the 303 did with the original pommel, cross and grip. There is some enhanced bias towards the butt, but the cut still feels authoritative.
The Hanwei complex guard went onto the 303's blade pretty easily: requiring tapping down for the last half inch to a good friction fit. By fortunate happenstance, the Hanwei's guard, grip and pommel snug down tight for a good fit in terms of length. The Hanwei grip, however, will still need either filling or replacement.
The inspiration for this piece comes, as I mentioned in the first post, from the Windlass Munich and the A&A Town Guard. I don't know if anyone else calls them this, but I do: I think of this class of sword as a "town sword." It's not a war sword, you're not wearing armor, but still you feel the need, as you go about your affairs, for a good cut and thrust sword. In my imagination, at least, it's the kind of sword George Silver might nod approvingly towards.
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Lunaman
Senior Forumite
Posts: 3,974
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 16, 2011 2:22:09 GMT
For the love of God, man, PICTURES! I've been looking for something drastic to do with this old Hanwei Side sword I have laying around.
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Jan 16, 2011 3:13:32 GMT
I'm such a tease! Soon, soon! (Tomorrow, in all odds.)
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Post by chuckinohio on Jan 16, 2011 10:27:41 GMT
That would be great if you can post some. I'm poised to buy a 303S and tear my Hanwei apart, and it all hinges on you and your photo skills  |
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Post by Tendrax on Jan 16, 2011 16:50:18 GMT
GAH! We need Pictures! You're killin' me man! Lol.
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Jan 16, 2011 20:10:06 GMT
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Post by adtharp on Jan 16, 2011 21:33:42 GMT
I like that, with a nice leather wrap on the ricasso, it almost looks like it belongs there. Not Frankensword-y at all. I would also imagine there is some historical precedent for this. I know a lot of sideswords were re-fitted arming swords, so that is exactly what you have done here. Now tell us how the 303 hilt fits on the sidesword blade....I mean, I really like this project, but I would have to buy both blades, and it might be a really crappy little thing, but I could probably sell it or just play with it....
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Post by LittleJP on Jan 16, 2011 22:18:24 GMT
Hmm, I wonder if I can get a 303 bareblade then.
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Lunaman
Senior Forumite
Posts: 3,974
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 16, 2011 22:33:02 GMT
Just buy the whole sword, ya cheapskate. I'm starting to get tired of hearing about nobody being willing to pay over $200 for a sword on this forum. You want a good sword? Pay good sword prices.
We're killing the companies that provide us with swords by demanding so much for so little. I'm very worried. The Hanwei Bamboo Mat will murder other kats that can't compete--it looks better than swords that used to retail for $1000 or more. The price of Hanwei/Tinkers terrifies me--something like the GSOW used to retail for $200 more than the current price. When the big companies can step up and do rock-bottom prices like this that can't be sustained by anyone else...semprini. It scares me thinking about small companies like Valiant Armoury.
These are luxury items, we should be willing to pay for them.
Agh...ranting. I'm sorry, I'm just freakin' out. We have it so good as sword collectors right now and we're not even willing to buy enough to sustain the amazing quality being desperately thrown at us. We turn up our noses at what's offered and ask for it all, but under $200.
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Post by LittleJP on Jan 16, 2011 23:16:30 GMT
Whoah whoah, I'm just saying, I don't have much use for spare furniture.
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Jan 17, 2011 0:50:19 GMT
I can pick up what Lunaman is putting down . . . .
I'm pretty sure the Renaissance side sword blade would, technically, work with the 303's fittings, but I think it wouldn't work well. For some reason, when I look at that blade (Renaissance side sword), I imagine it with kind of a spadroon hilt----like it was the last of the "broadswords" (snicker, snicker).
For me, I do have that spare EMSHS blade----and I'll mention that I think it could be made to work, pretty easily, with some judicious filing. Hmm, even though I was thinking of the Renaissance furniture, my actual plan is to file some on the 303's guard to get it to work with the EMSHS blade. The grip from the 303 will NOT fit the EMSHS, though.
LittleJP: You don't have any use for spare furniture? Why, don't you know that spare furniture inevitably turns into a spare sword? You just leave the parts in the closet until a spare blade comes along, and voila!
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 17, 2011 1:16:49 GMT
Yeah, I was raised to be cheap, but even I can get behind Luna on this. Expecting so much for so little could put swordmakers (be they large companies like Hanwei, small companies like Valiant Armory, or individual smiths like Brendan Olszowy or John Lundemo) out of business.
Me, I'm hesitant to look at blades over 300$ because that's a lot of money to drop on something I may not like, but hey, that's what the Classifieds here are for. Anything under 300$, though, if I want it and I've got the money, I don't have a problem paying for it; even with that mindset, there's about 18-19 swords I want over 300$ (one's right on the 300$ line and it's only a bare blade, but it's a Jody Samson blade; who could pass that up?).
And Cossack's right; spare furniture becomes a spare sword. Ever thought what you could do with the 303 fittings, an inexpensive katana blade (an example, since it's something I'd like to see), and a little work?
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