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Post by feral on Jan 3, 2013 7:41:41 GMT
I finally put pencil to paper and sketched it out. I feel like this is the archetypal short sword. She's got some beautiful curves inspired by the maintz pattern gladius and various bronze-age swords. I've always felt that bronze-age sword designs are the distilled essence of what a sword is while still maintaining a very visceral elegance and sharp-edged beauty that anyone across the globe can appreciate. I guess this would be my modern 'tacticool' version of what a sword can be and I feel like it's got a fairly broad appeal for anyone from zombie geeks and reenactors to history buffs and military personnel. Also please note that I wasn't paying attention when I made my notes and the pommel section should have a 2-inch diameter rather than a 2-inch radius. Also please note that the ring pommel is only there because it's a design element that I've wanted to incorporate for ages. Finally, I know a 5-inch grip is a bit roomy for a blade of this size but by making it this long it gives attractive proportions and insures that it can be wielded by a wide range of hand sizes. At any rate, if I get the opportunity to produce this I think I'll be exceptionally proud. I appreciate any input you folks have to offer.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 3, 2013 10:21:08 GMT
That actually reminds me of this design by Mikko in a very, very good way. I love shortswords and I especially love a leaf blade that can make me giddy because I'm generally not overly fond of leaf blades (I find they generally have too much belly and they get much too slender beforehand and have too blunt a point); yours is both. Oh, and here's something to consider about the extra long grip: for those of us with medium sized hands, a 5" hilt plus pommel is as good as a hand-and-a-half grip, so you could use it in two hands if need be. Also, it gives a wide variety of gripping options. You could choke up on it in what knife nuts would call the choil for hacking or stabbing, slide back to just behind the grip swell for more cut-n-thrust work; you could even grab it by just the ring and get as much reach out of it as possible if you wanted to play a strictly thrusting game. I could just see this with dark red micarta scales and the ring blackened and then rubbed back to a weathered greyish black while the blade had a nice satin polish to it and a kydex sheath to top it off.
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Post by feral on Jan 3, 2013 16:26:33 GMT
Thanks for the compliments! And MOK's design is pretty awesome and very similar. I'm kind of glad I didn't see it beforehand because if I had I might not have drawn mine up!
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Lunaman
Senior Forumite
Posts: 3,974
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Post by Lunaman on Jan 3, 2013 17:07:14 GMT
This is a very attractive design.
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Post by feral on Jan 5, 2013 16:25:14 GMT
Thanks!
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Post by Vilhelma on Jan 5, 2013 20:25:00 GMT
That is impressive. Echoing what Lunaman said, it's attractive.
What did you intend to wrap the hilt with? Or, rather, mold onto the tang? A plastic of some kind? My apologies if it was in there.
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jan 6, 2013 13:53:42 GMT
one critique I would add is in the formation of the grip, you have drawn a reverse taper, that is where the grip has a classic coffin shape it is reversed, when striking something the natural forces will have your hand sliding towards the ring pommel. If you look at medieval swords you will see either oval shapes or central risers to control this tendency, in modern times you can look at the classic coffin bowie knife for inspiration
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Post by feral on Jan 7, 2013 15:39:46 GMT
Handle scales could be anything you wanted, really. G-10 or micarta with a blackened blade would make a nice modern tactical while horn, bone, or mammoth ivory and a satin finish would lend itself to a more classical interpretation. Or you could mirror polish it and use a fancy hardwood for the gentleman's (or lady's) fine custom knife. Or at the farthest end you could give it blacked aluminum handle scales, acid etch the blade in a random pattern, and give the grip a leather wrap and it would fit right in with the zombie tools lineup.
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Post by feral on Jan 7, 2013 15:49:58 GMT
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Post by Dan Davis on Jan 8, 2013 2:15:36 GMT
actually, grip shape should be chosen in order to support the hand position for which the blade is designed.
For example (and using the examples already given), the "coffin handle" bowie was primarily used among the Mississippi boat community. It lends itself to a loose-fingered grip where the forefingers and thumb are closed but the smaller fingers are held open or loosely, allowing for a quick slashing motion and fast reversal of direction. The bulge or "shoulders" allow the blade to brace against the palm at the moment of contact.
The tapered grip allows all of the fingers of the hand to close equally providing a firm grip and solid hand position. This facilitates a steady hand position in a blade primarily used for cutting or thrusting.
Either is "right" depending upon how you plan the blade to be used.
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Post by feral on Jan 8, 2013 2:57:59 GMT
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to make a value judgement on the merits of a coffin handle or anything, I just didn't really see the need for that type of grip in conjunction with the ring pommel on what amounts to a cut and thrust shortsword.
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jan 8, 2013 4:16:26 GMT
The examples you use cover ergonomic, oval and other styles, however the ultimate choice is what feels good in your hand, if your shape is good for you that is the most important.
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Post by Dan Davis on Jan 8, 2013 13:28:21 GMT
Do not get me wrong either; I was not saying that you or anyone else was wrong so much as that you and anyone else are right depending upon what you want.
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Post by bigpete on Jan 22, 2013 9:41:40 GMT
I absolutely love your design! Something about it just catches my eye as something I'd love to have in my arsenal,although,being a bigger bloke,I'd probably prefer a bit longer handle and blade,but thats just me! Kudos to you for a great sword!
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Post by Kriegmalion on Mar 19, 2013 16:23:11 GMT
Hi SBG. Long time lurker but first time poster. Feral, i really liked your sword design. Actually, I liked it so much that I created it in 3ds max. This first initial render is a bit crap because I started on it late last night and was too tired to see what's what. After I woke up, I continued fiddling with it, and rendered it a few more times. If you want anything changed or if you want a hi-res render, let me know.
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Mar 19, 2013 22:39:46 GMT
HOLY CRAP THATS AWESOME! where can i get that program id love to see some of my knife designs in 3D before i make them
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Post by Kriegmalion on Mar 19, 2013 23:51:44 GMT
It's called 3d Studio Max. You can get it at autodesk's website. It takes a while to get used to the controls and interface, but it's great. Btw, if you want anything done, let me know.
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Post by Striderfly on Mar 20, 2013 18:58:19 GMT
I really like how you put it in with the sketch. Very cool.
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Post by Kriegmalion on Mar 20, 2013 19:21:52 GMT
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Post by Lonely Wolf Forge on Mar 24, 2013 0:31:51 GMT
amazing
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