uLike blade designs

No wonder, really, lots of neck and boot knives have grips somewhat like this, though usually smaller (this one's kind of a "palm-and-a-half" size, if you know what I mean). And the blade shape is basically like a double-edged barong. I've seen the same general lines in dozens of knives, honestly, though not in this exact combination, nor in these proportions.

The sword of Godric Gryffindor, from the fantasy redesign thread. First an unadorned draft, because it shows the hilt shapes better:








And that's the bejeweled full version. The whole sword is made of goblin-forged silver, and as such indestructible and incorruptible. The Oakeshott type XI blade is 35 inches long and 2 inches wide, with Godric's name inlaid in the fuller. The guard is 8 inches long, octagonal in the middle and very flat rectangular at the ends, tapering from the middle round bit towards the two smaller round bits, and then flattening and flaring out past them; three rubies are set into the round bits on either side of the guard. The grip is 4 inches long, leather over wood with a system of crossed and riveted risers. The pommel is a thick, beveled disk, slightly squashed on the grip side like many historical specimens, with a large ruby set in the hollow on both faces.

Oh, and these days the blade is impregnated with basilisk venom. Handle with care.

A Wizard Did It!

Something I did this morning, a short and stout type X from very late in the Viking age.







The blade is 28 inches long and 2.6 wide, with a type AE guard, a 4-inch grip and a rounded triangular or pointed brazil nut pommel that I would not want to be hit with. Overall length is 35 inches. This should be a compact yet heavy hitter, somewhat shorter and broader than the norm. These hilts seem to have been very popular all around the Baltic sea, and are surprisingly ergonomic - in fact, the grip could actually be a little bit shorter, I think, allowing the guard and pommel to sort of snuggle your hand, but I like the proportions this way, and for someone with large hands it's just perfect. The large smooth surfaces of the hilt kinda ask for some inlays or engravings, but I just couldn't be bothered.

Here's a close-up view of the hilt for good measure, as well as top and bottom views of the guard and pommel.

Yeah, the curved guard and pommel do give you a lot more room than plain grip length would imply. At best, with the short grips usually seen on these hilts, it feels very snug and secure - the whole hilt just hugs your hand.

I played around with the proportions of the Wehrwolf a bit - I realized what bothered me earlier was the crossguard, so I modified the curves a little, and made the blade a bit less broad (it's still 2.6 inches at the shoulder, though - no worries about cutting performance). That made the cross look a bit funny so I had to make it a little shorter, so it's now only 8 inches, which is perhaps a bit short for a longsword but still within historical precedent, plus it looks right. I think it ended up looking better than before.










Oh, and since it's a hunting sword, I also drew up a matching knife. It's pretty big, with a 14-inch blade (it started out at 13 inches but for such a mystically inspired set that just felt like asking for trouble), but messers and wehren tended to be on the large side, and hunting knives even more so.

Oh yeah, it actually looks like a hunting sword now. It's still wide enough to work for normal longsword fencing, too, you just have a little less margin of error than you would with a wider cross.

I'm not entirely sure about the knife. I might want to make the blade somewhat longer or wider: as it is, it looks like it might balance a little too far back, and as a heavy hunting knife it should be able to handle things like chopping bone, so I'd want the center of balance just a bit below the guard, maybe up to an inch down the blade. Of course, I could also make the fullers slightly shorter and the spine thicker - that'd probably be the best way to go, as it would also reinforce the blade... And it should probably have a smaller utility by-knife, too, and maybe a fork to make a full trousse. Naturally, that would call for designs for a sheath to carry them all... and then I'd have to make a scabbard for the sword, too, just so papa wolf wouldn't feel left out...

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The De-Animator 2012 - because you'll want to be prepared.

Thanks! I was bored and started actually thinking about what kind of sword you might really want in a zombie apocalypse. Since most types of zombies are only dropped by massive brain damage, something designed to lop off heads seemed like the logical answer. And then, if you're really gonna go around beheading zombies - like, what are you, badass or something? - you might as well do it with no-nonsense style like the stone cold pro you must surely be. And then I couldn't shake the idea of anti-zombie sports equipment becoming a hot seller, so... well, there it is. I tell you, they'll be bigger than Air Jordans when the apocalypse comes!

Oh, and also, here's my redesign of the Heavy Metal 2000 sword, posted in the fantasy sword redesign thread:

MOK some of you're designs blow me away that buliwyf is up there with the best of them