|
Post by RobrtLand on Oct 24, 2011 3:22:02 GMT
Hello to you all,
Yesterday I finally gathered enough water bottles to do some cutting with my VA's (Bristol and Malatesta). Enough to say, as was my first try, I botched almost all the cuts and nearly hit the dog with a flying bottle :roll: I'm completely ashamed to post the videos...but that's for another topic.
Very bad technique aside, I noticed that both swords got loose at the pommel with just a couple of hits. I disassembled them, and noticed that the pommel hole for the tang doesn't fit flush with the tang itself. In the Malatesta, even the hole through the wooden grip is larger than the tang, resulting in the grip moving over the tang until I reassembly the sword . I haven't see this in my H/T Bastard...actually the contrary (the assembly ends with a very tight grip/guard unit).
I don't think that having that empty space between the tang and the rest of the hilt parts is good for the sword, and I plan to put some filler (epoxy?) in there to end with a tighter hilt assembly. Am i right? Can I put some epoxy in there without permanently attaching the grip and pommel to the tang?
|
|
|
Post by chrisperoni on Oct 24, 2011 3:39:11 GMT
It's tricky, but possible. Try maybe wrapping the tang with plastic wrap, maybe then oil that. This way when you get the glue in there you should be able to get the tang out without it being bonded to the grip. Maybe the bit of plastic gets stuck but that'd be better than the tang.
You could also make a shim out of thin wood.
I would wait for more people to answer though- maybe someone has firsthand knowledge.
|
|
ghost
Member
Posts: 1,323
|
Post by ghost on Oct 24, 2011 4:43:22 GMT
I am not sure what is the problem exactly with the two VAs. I've disassembled both the bristol and the mal (fittings) - they seem to be properly seated on the tangs. It's not unusual to see loosening from botched cuts on threaded swords sounds like you compressed the wood cores a bit - or the weather over there did it for you. Either way, shimming would work quite well. You won't even need any glue to secure the shim, though glue would definitely be a plus. (I shim my hammers all the time...awesome and strong) I think the epoxy idea is very tricky, since there won't be a lot of space to jam the epoxy down the handle w/ the tang inside. You have to poke a toothpick, skewer, kebab stick to let that epoxy get down there, while trying not to disturb the "non-stick" oil or plastic. If you want to do this route, I know Travis Nicko has done this for a tsuka so you could pm him for details. Personally, I'd shim it with wood and very small amounts of wood glue (shim to the core). Or the quickest fix I can think of would be to wrap some electrical tape around the tang, and slap your grip right over it.
|
|
jhart06
Member
Slowly coming back from the depths...
Posts: 3,292
|
Post by jhart06 on Oct 24, 2011 4:47:59 GMT
I've seen several stage swords done that way, some on purpose, to help absorb shock.. Thick electrical tape does that bizarrely well. Just change it out on occasion and clean the are free of the tape 'gum'
|
|
|
Post by RobrtLand on Oct 24, 2011 19:23:45 GMT
Thanks everyone....as always, I was trying for the hard route, heh. I will shim the pommel with wood and put some electric tape in the tang to secure the handle. I'll post the results
|
|
|
Post by Elheru Aran on Oct 24, 2011 21:33:37 GMT
I thought for a bit you were talking about space between the grip and pommel... Anyway, yes, electric tape will help thicken up the tang a bit. Back in the day they'd just have put a new grip on that sucker, or if they couldn't do that I suspect they'd have wrapped the tang with thin cord or shimmed the grip.
If your grip ever compresses between the guard and pommel, I've found a leather washer works quite nicely between the grip and pommel...
|
|
|
Post by RobrtLand on Nov 2, 2011 20:52:46 GMT
|
|
jhart06
Member
Slowly coming back from the depths...
Posts: 3,292
|
Post by jhart06 on Nov 2, 2011 22:36:34 GMT
Glad to hear it worked! Hope its back to cutting shape!
|
|
|
Post by RobrtLand on Nov 3, 2011 3:06:53 GMT
Photos fixed
|
|