Vincent's Hall of Blades

Overall Length: 35 3/4"
Blade Length: 26"
Blade Width: 1 3/8" @ base; 1" @ profile taper (2" from tip); 11/16" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 4"
Guard Width: 3 7/8"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 1/2"L x 1 5/8"W

As this was my very first sword design (if not the first posted), it seems only fitting to start with it. This is Ithin, the sword of Vega, protagonist from my first novel, though the sword doesn't actually appear until the sequel, as it wasn't a part of the story when I first started it. It's gone through many, many forms before I settled on its current design; it started life as a katana with a vaguely fantasy-styled guard, became a katana with a red blade and, after I read Eragon, ditched that idea, where it became a katana with a dao's cup-guard, albeit of a smaller diameter that would lock into the scabbard. It was actually at this point that it first gained its name, Ithin, which is Sindarin and refers to the heraldric symbol of the moon (the Sindarin word for moon itself, ithil, didn't seem to lend itself too well to a name). Anyways, after I realized how ridiculous that guard was, I opted to redesign the sword, whereupon it took on the shape that would eventually become what it is today: a jian-hilted katana.

However, while the pommel has virtually always been roughly the same shape (albeit with varying levels of smoothness), the guard has gone from being an upswept Qing style to the downswept Ming and, finally, back to the upswept Qing. The decision to go back to the Qing style came about when I bought a replica of Elizabeth Swann's jian from Pirates of the Caribbean with the intent to make a Franken-Ithin; while the guard wasn't too bad while grasping the sword in the middle of the grip, it became really uncomfortable when choking up so I could fit a second hand on the hilt. Further, the upswept nature would be better at preventing blades from sliding off onto your hand, so the change became a no brainer. Lastly, Ithin originally featured an engraving on the blade in a script of my own invention that read I am Ithin, Harbinger of the Night's End., but when I thought on it, I felt that such a thing smacked too much of higher fantasy than I was aiming (more Lord of the Rings, less Mistborn), so I did away with it.

Now, as to the history of the sword itself, which I've saved for last in deference to those who don't care to read the (often lengthy) backgrounds I give my swords. Ithin was forged in the year 244-8 for a Mashaln commodore by the Ororan bladesmith Soratha, who carried it throughout a successful naval career until his demise at the hands of pirates in the year 009-9, so perhaps it wasn't quite so successful. It was then sold to a weapons merchant in Estrella, a vastly successful trading port that marks the half way point between the northern continent, Korëna, and the southern continent, Anor; and there it stayed for the next eleven years when Vega happened to stroll into the shop looking for a blade, though, oddly enough, not for himself. Still, it's a sword Vega will carry it for the rest of his life.

As an aside, the habaki is supposed to be symmetrical; there was a rendering error while exporting it from Inkscape that messed up the bottom half.



Overall Length: 43"
Blade Length: 33"
Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (7" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 7"
Guard Width: 8 1/2"
Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 7/8"W

After Ithin, this is second sword I designed for my novels and, at least in my first novel and its sequel, only second to it in importance. This is Mé'aré, a name formed from various words in Sindarin that roughly translates into "to light the day", which was originally meant as a counterpoint to Ithin's "moon", but like Ithin, this sword once had an inscription on its blade in a script of my own invention that read I am Mé'aré, Banisher of the Forever Night., but again, I felt that was too high fantasy for what I was aiming for, so I did away with it. However, the name itself could serve as a call back to that engraving despite having come first. Of the two, Mé'aré has a much less complicated design history, though it's still an interesting one, I think.

When I originally decided to give Lunæon who, at the time, was the primary antagonist, a signature sword, I wanted to give him something vaguely menacing in appearance, so I took a bit of inspiration from the lightsaber hilt of Count Dooku from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (as terrible as the prequel movies are, I still think that curved lightsaber hilt was pretty sweet looking). As a result, I had a straight sword that had a curved hilt, upswept guard with hooked points, and a roughly claw looking pommel; the furniture was also originally supposed to be of blackened steel. Well, one day I happened to be browsing the gallery of Jody Samson's works when I saw that exact design, and I mean exact, from the quillons to the pommel, to the color of the leather and furniture. The only real difference was that Jody's had a curved blade. Following my little finding, as well as my ogling of the Valiant Armoury Bristol, I redesigned it into the design that would, more less, remain unchanged until now. It features a Style 9 crosspiece, Type V pommel, and an XVIIIa blade, still with the original oxblood leather.

Mé'aré was originally forged in the year 239-8 by Soratha for Dalun's firstborn son, Tielo, to celebrate his thirteenth birthday and it would have become the symbol of his reign had he lived. However, Tielo was a reckless little prick and ended up breaking his neck while attempting to tame a particularly wild stallion when he was 15. In his grief, Dalun essentially stuck the sword in the attic and forgot about it until his second son, who would become Lunæon, found it while exploring the castle when he was about 10; he asked his father if he could have it and was told "only if he could prove himself capable of being responsible". Well, he did just that and, on his thirteenth birthday, Lunæon was presented with this sword, which, like Vega and Ithin, he would carry to the end of his days.



Overall Length: 21"
Blade Length: 15"
Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (4 7/8" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 4 1/4"
Guard Width: 5"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 1/4"L x 1 1/4"W

This is actually one of my more recent designs, but even when I originally designed it, I'll admit to being less than pleased by it and, with a bit of fridge logic, became less and less so the more I thought about it, so I redesigned it in preparation for this thread. Previously, it featured a narrow blade with dual cutouts at the base, a vaguely trident-like guard, a T1 pommel, and a weird chape. The pommel was pierced and had a metal pin holding it onto the tang, rather than peening it, with the intention of being able to remove the grip and pommel to turn the weapon into a spear by way of the dual rivet holes in the tang. However, with this redesign, I opted for something more practical considering the nature of the people that use it in-universe; I also owe a fair amount to TheMu for inspiring me with his shortsword/spear made from a Windlass Hewing Spear.

This long knife is designed around a repurposed spearhead, specifically, is was modeled after the discontinued Windlass Lugged War Spear, to make it easier to convert into a spear. To keep the trident/trishula stylings that prompted the original's design, I replaced the wings with tines similar to what is found on an Okinawan sai; I felt this would aid in catching an opponent's weapon and also aid in spearfishing. Rather than leather, which soaks up water and would likely cause the grip underneath to rot or rust, I wrapped it in jute cord, much like traditional Okinawan weapons, particularly the rochin and several examples of historical sai I found while redesigning this blade. The pommel is mostly hollow and fastened to the socket of the spearhead via its own socket and a brass pin; I heavily modeled it after the hexagonal knuckle found on most sai to further emphasize the theme of this being akin to an overgrown, bladed sai. And, to show just how it would look fully mounted as a spear, I included a shot of it on a staff, which is 42 1/4" long, for a total length of 72" or six feet long. The scabbard is made of balsa wood, which is prevalent in the area this weapon is found in, and features a Viking-style bridge made of balsa wood and jute cord, capped by a simple brass chape that has a star cutout.

The Sylvyn people, who are the owners of this style of knife, are a primarily fishing and maritime culture that lives on a shallow coastal shelf that causes the water to rise, on average, no more than three feet high; as a result, what would otherwise be a perfect harbor prohibits typical construction methods, making it useless to neighboring Ellfaria. The Sylvyns, having lived there for a few hundred years, take full advantage of this and live primarily on the shelf, putting a somewhat marshy land between them and their old enemies. Because both the balsa tree and the cork oak are prevalent in this area, they're used to build houses atop the water, albeit they don't actually float, as they're anchored by a central pylon. Due to the relative shallow nature of the bay, the inhabitants descend to the shelf and walk along it to go places (though most buildings that consist of more than one structure have short, floating walkways between them), so I thought, what sort of weapon would they use? They wouldn't use an arming sword or a cutlass, let alone a longsword. Well, what weapon is more associated with the sea than the trident? That said, I couldn't picture everyone lugging around full tridents; that'd be a bit odd and inconvenient. Then I read up about the trishula, which is a trident-like weapon from India & Thailand. It's much like the Okinawan sai, but bladed, and can be converted to a spear, so it suited my needs quite nicely and it fits with the East Asian stylings that much of Korëna has.

Overall Length: 44"
Blade Length: 33"
Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 9/16" @ profile taper (3 5/8" from tip); 13/16" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 7 3/4"
Guard Width: 4 3/8"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 3 3/8"W

This is the longsword of Luceri* Mascenin'iin Sorin (Sorin, son of Mascenin, clan of Lucer), Tesni's son, prior to becoming the Crown Prince of Lucera in 017-8 (two years after the end of the war). I wanted Sorin to carry a Westernized daisho, in counterpoint to his mother, whose sword is similar to a falchion, just to illustrate how different the Thirteen Clans of Lucera are from one another; well, what can you expect from thirteen independent clans that banded together to form a confederacy to combat first the Soriyan nation and then the Ellfarian Empire? Originally, I gave this sword a straight cross and a brazil nut pommel, but after seeing how it flowed together (it didn't), I decided to try something else and, on a whim, I chose what you see above: a Petersen Type Z hilt configuration in a nice polished bronze. The scabbard is plain black leather, with a simple bronze chape, and a gray leather suspension system. Altogether, I think it coalesced into quite a handsome sword.

Now, this sword was originally his late father's, passed down to him on his thirteenth birthday, and he carried it and its little brother into battle alongside his mother during the War for Independence. The grip leather was originally bright red, but it had been in his father's family for nine generations and was darkened by the sweat of countless years of handling. In accordance with Lunarion's will, both swords were placed in the Hall of Kings below the symbol of his kinship to honor his father.



Overall Length: 24 11/16"
Blade Length: 19"
Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 5/16" @ profile taper (1 5/8" from tip); 11/16" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 3 1/2"
Guard Width: 3 1/8"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 9/16"L x 3 1/8"W

What can I say about this blade that wasn't covered in my description of the longsword? For all intents and purposes, this is just a shorter version of that piece; I designed it that way, after all. The only thing of note is that I shrunk the guard and pommel some to fit the shorter blade better. The blade itself was the biggest pain in the ass of the whole lot, since, to get the shape as similar as possible, I just took the blade from the longsword and moved the nodes until I had the length I wanted. Unfortunately, doing so gave it a curvature at quite a steep angle, meaning I had to play around a bit to get it back to looking right; I think that took almost as long as the rest of the sword itself. That said, I'm quite fond of how this pair came out.



Overall Length: 41"
Blade Length: 32"
Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 6 3/8"
Guard Width: 3 1/4"
Pommel Dimensions: 2"L x 1 3/4"W

This is the sword of Vahn de la Gard, protagonist of the novel tentatively titled Vanguard, which takes place on Shiran, the same world as what I've taken to calling the Keeper Collection (as all three have Keeper in their titles, but they're not actually a trilogy), but as it takes place on the other side of the world and features a vastly different cast of characters, not to mention setting, it can't properly be called a sequel. This sword originally started life as a Swiss saber with forward curving quillions. I struggled for a good 5-6 hours, but no matter what I did, I just wasn't feeling the quillions; and that's saying nothing of the headache the pommel gave me. Well, in the end I sorted out the pommel and decided to ditch the quillions altogether. What I ended up with could best be described as a Euro-tana, an interesting hybrid with the lines of a katana and the stylings of a Euro. Surprisingly, I am actually very pleased with how this came out, as I originally envisioned it as a sort of fantasy proto-cutlass.

The blade itself is one I've used a number of times on my curved sabers (if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?) and has a triangular cross-section with an off-center fuller, similar to many falchions; or at least, the reproductions I've seen. The guard is composed of brushed bronze side-rings, mimicking the Japanese tsuba, and the pommel is fashioned after the one found on the Czech Dussag by Patrick Barta, but modified to be more symmetrical. Despite my fondness for the pommel, I've only used it on two other designs to date, but I find it resembles a kashira fairly well. The grip is cord wrapped leather with a crossed overwrap held in place with bronze pins, mimicking the tsukamaki of a katana, all of which I think enhances its hybrid nature. The scabbard is plain leather over wood, thought the chape is actually modeled after a kojiri that can be found on various katana around the 'net. And, unlike most swords from my novels, I designed no suspension system for this sword as I envisioned it being worn in a baldric.

*Luceran naming conventions were modeled after those from Mongolia, with a few innovations of my own, but the long and short of it is is that, much like Icelandic names, where your surname is patronymic or matronymic depending on your gender, so too are clan names (the 'iin portion is gender neutral and means "child of"); previously, Dalun's clan name was Luceri due to Lunarion wishing to honor his stepfather, Lunasier. However, it made more sense for Lunarion's father to be Luceri, as that's where Tesni would have lived during her time as a gladiator and, as his clan name would be patrilineal, it stands to reason that Lunarion's would be Luceri, as well.

Overall Length: 32 1/8"
Blade Length: 26 1/2"
Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (2 1/2" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 3 3/4"
Guard Width: 2 1/8"
Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/8"L x 2"W

This is Ælfwing, the sword of Corvidus, an infamous sky pirate king on Alterra. Originally, this sword was quite a bit longer, featuring a 33" blade that I borrowed from the Albion Condottiere; as you can see, the overall length of this sword is shorter of that version's blade and the decision for that was a simple one: Corvidus is not only a pirate, but he is also a hand short. Why would such a man want a massive sword? So I shortened it to cutlass-length. Similar to my other fantasy cutlass, Ælfwing takes its inspiration from the jian; in this case, the Han Dynasty. When Mikko was cool enough to render this back before he posted an in depth tutorial on how to design swords with Inkscape, the grip flared out near the end, further hearkening back to its Han heritage. However, since I felt that the sword was a mix of Chinese and Celtic influences, when I designed this version, I opted for a straight grip that was wasted in the center. The blade is, quite obviously, a Type XIX, which I think actually looks quite at home with the Chinese furniture, as it reminds me of the octagonal Han jians you see every now and then. That said, what I'm proudest of about this design is actually the scabbard, which took a bit of fiddling to get right.

In-universe, Corvidus is a ruthless sky pirate, who carried this sword throughout his entire career, even after he lost his left (and dominant) hand to a Sentinel; despite being able to easily replace the limb with magic, Corvidus opted to replace it with a bladed hook, that he used enhance his already fearsome reputation. He loved using his new hook to grab enemies by the neck and slit their throats in combat while simultaneously fighting one of their comrades, earning him the moniker Hook (cue Captain Hook jokes). The name Ælfwing is actually a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon Ælfwig, which means "elf battle", and is something I chose due to the evocative imagery of an elf in flight, which also references Corvidus' nature as what is, essentially, a homunculus; incidentally, Ælfwig is also where the surname Alvey comes from.



Overall Length: 34 13/16"
Blade Length: 27 5/8"
Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (4 3/16" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 4"
Guard Width: 6"
Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 5/8"W

This is Ifearnán, the sword of another sky pirate, the pirate queen Seraphina. The blade is a Type XXI with a simplified fuller arrangement, a somewhat elaborate Type V pommel, and a Style 12 crosspiece that I found on an illustration of Celtic sword hilts. This has actually been its configuration since its inception, though like nearly all of my designs, has undergone changes in the time since; in this case, they were relatively minor, mainly consisting of the shade of the grip and scabbard darkening, removing the gems that were set in the guard, and changing the suspension system. The largest change to this sword was the guard. Previously, the guard was a very curved Style 12, with the arms bent nearly to the center line of the sword (it was very similar to the illustration of the style found in MyArmoury's article of the Oakeshott typology). Well, it was a little too blocky for my tastes and then I found a page of illustrations detailing curved guards with one I liked quite a bit, so I modeled it on that. the hardest part was figuring out the gradients to get it to look right, but I think I did well in the end.

Seraphina went into piracy at the relatively young age of 19 in order to provide a better life for her baby sister, who was only five at the time. For the first several years of her career, she didn't actually own a sword and made do with whatever her ship's captain saw fit to give his crew; however, she was also apprenticed to the ship's Winddancer (a type of swordmaster noted for the extremely graceful swordsmanship), which called for a vastly different style of sword than the usual dregs, so when she finally became a captain in her own right, she had this sword forged to her specifications, which she dubbed Ifearnán, a Gaelic name that means "demon". Even after her ship, The Red Lady sank and she became Corvidus' first mate, she kept this sword with her.



Overall Length: 35"
Blade Length: 28"
Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (4 3/16" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 4"
Guard Width: 6"
Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 5/8"W

Iomhair is the sword of Eira, the much younger sister of Seraphina. Being only 20 at the time of the story, Eira is a boisterous, tomboyish young woman, but she has a great respect for her elders and positively idolizes her sister to the point of following her into piracy aboard Corvidus' ship, Corvus Benetti (something Seraphina was, shall we say, less than pleased about). Thanks to Seraphina teaching her sister the art of winddancing, and eventually having Iomhair forged for her, this sword shares a vast number of similarities with Ifearnán. Mainly, the XXI blade, general length, proportions, and things of that nature. The Type T3 pommel and Style 6 guards are the only major differences aside from the color of the leather, which is a dark purple rather than green. Iomhair was originally supposed to be Iomhar, the Scottish form of Ivor, an Old Norse name that means "archer", but through a rather simple mistake, I started calling it Iomhair instead and the name stuck.

Since she was very young, Eira has idolized her sister and sought to emulate her in every way she can, starting with learning her winddancing style of swordsmanship and ending with getting into piracy at the age of 14; thankfully, she had the foresight to sign on with Corvidus, where her sister was. Even after their careers as pirates came to a close, Eira is still following her sister in an effort to do whatever she can to assist her.

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 Dimensions: 1 11/16"L x 2 1/4"W

This is Stigandr, the longsword of a viking-influenced culture called the Hulern from Children of Conquest, though I may or may not rename them at a later date. I came up with this design because of my two loves when it comes to viking swords: single-edged and two-handed. What could be better than combining them? It also provided a neat in-universe explanation in the way of a two-handed, single-edged weapon being easier to learn than virtually any other style of sword, at least in my own (admittedly, extremely limited) experience. With only one edge, you don't have to worry about lopping off your leg if you can't stop your blade in time and, with two hands, you have significantly more control than with only one. To me, that's exactly the kind of sword you'd want if you had to train an army in a hurry.

Originally, this sword was meant to arm the Drakoneans, an oppressed people whose uprising is central to the plot of Children of Conquest, primarily so that I wouldn't have to figure out how a couple thousand trained soldiers were overpowered and disarmed by people armed only with knives... But in my haste, I completely skipped over the logistical nightmare of trying to import thousands of swords into a conquered nation whose people aren't allowed to own any blade longer than their forearm. Especially as those swords would have to go through the conqueror's nations. That'd be like Carthage trying to arm the German Gauls by sending their weapons through Rome... Anyways, while I am still quite fond of this sword, as I am with any viking sword that has a Type AE hilt and grip ring, if it appears at all in the story, it will be in a far diminished capacity. As a bit of trivia, Stigandr is an Old Norse name meaning "wanderer" and was chosen because the Hulern people are nomadic despite living in arctic conditions; they believe that if they stay in one place too long, evil spirits will find them, but they also believe that those spirits can be driven away, albeit temporarily, by a harsh clanging noise, hence the ring through the pommel. Their nomadic lifestyle also serves a practical purpose, as most places in their nation capable of growing food aren't sufficient enough to sustain a population year round, so they survive like the vikings of old at times.



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 Dimensions: 1 3/4"D

This sword was intended to be the replacement to Stigandr above and, as you can see, was heavily based on the Chinese dadao. In fact, save for the shorter grip and the more Western style wrap, I basically copied the design from an antique I found online. The Chinese influence is easily explained due to Kagen teaching his people how to forge the sword, as he learned how during his time abroad. However, a sword is quite a bit different from a knife, so even forging day and night, I'm unsure whether or not dedicated knifesmiths would be able to churn out a few thousand swords; as a result, while this sword will be present in the story in some capacity, it won't be in anywhere near the same numbers. Instead, the majority of Drakonean combatants will be armed with the weapons they are most comfortable with: long knife and tomahawk, a combination I think could equal a sword fairly well, while also being relatively innocuous.



Overall Length: 47 7/8"
Blade Length: 36"
Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 3/4" @ profile taper (3" from tip); 1" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 10"
Guard Width: 4"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 3"W

This is Wyrmfell, longsword of Miria Luan, the protagonist of Dragon Fall, my only novel as yet to be set on Terra; in fact, I created Terra specifically for this story, itself created as a direct result of Wyrmfell's design. Originally, I redesigned the Dragonslayer from the manga series Berserk into something more manageable by normal men (this was before I started reading the series, so I was unaware that the Dragonslayer's size and ridiculous weight are lampshaded at nearly every opportunity) and one of the things I kept was the ring on the guard. Well, my version was noted to be a little too slim in the blade, so I decided to make another attempt and Wyrmfell was born. Rather than designing a scabbard for it, I kept the ring, but changed virtually everything else. Where the Dragonslayer had a Petersen Type K hilt arrangement, Wyrmfell features a Type S, which is one of my favorites. Where the Dragonslayer had light tan grip leather, Wyrfmell's is a dark chocolate brown, separated by a broad grip ring. And where the Dragonslayer had plain steel fittings, Wyrmfell has blackened steel. On the grip ring, the word "Wrmfell" is engraved in Elder Futhark.

Despite being a regularly sized longsword to us, on Terra, Wyrmfell is actually grossly oversized; due to the presence of a variety of species of dragons (which I have envisioned as being top-tier predators that are a natural part of the world, rather than something magical), steel is needed in massive supply for arrowheads, spearheads, and the number of of anti-dragon weaponry that the Terran peoples have come up with. As such, most swords are no longer than a gladius in length, though the actual styling of the blades can vary.

Overall Length: 34 1/8"
Blade Length: 26"
Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 2" @ profile taper (5 11/16" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 5 1/8"
Guard Width: N/A
Pommel Dimensions: N/A

This is the sword of Altan Solak, a supporting character from Dragon Fall. The style of sword is what's known as a hiebschwert (cut/hack/slash sword in English) and is actually a type of seax. Since Altan comes from Terra's equivalent of the Far East, I wanted something that looking significantly different than the rest of the setting's edged weaponry, but still somewhat familiar. That's when I came across Ragimond's work on DeviantArt; he makes some very nice viking-style blades, so I recommend checking out his work. His aptly titled "Suebi Hiebscwert" was the inspiration for this blade, albeit the handle scales are quite a bit different to better fit my aesthetic. The size of the blade also fits quite well into the setting, where blades are rarely longer than two foot. That said, this particular piece is actually a redesign I did in preparation for this thread.

The changes were quite significant and, side by side on my screen, the original actually looks like a large kitchen knife, as opposed to a so-called war knife. Altogether, I ditched the fuller, widened and lengthened the blade slightly, widened the grip accordingly, and completely redid the scabbard. Save the suspension system, the original scabbard was just a plain expanse of blade-shaped wood and, in an unusual (for me) oversight, was designed to hang edge down, whereas seax of all types were worn edge up. The new scabbard features a flat bottom that I think stands out as more unique, as well as iron banding to reinforce it, particularly near the mouth, which isn't exactly weak, but has a somewhat odd shape that could become a weakness.

Canon-wise, this sword is a phoenix-marked blade, which serve a similar purpose as the heron-marked blades from the Wheel of Time franchise, but for a markedly different (yet similar) reason. If memory serves, the heron-marked blades were originally only the sign of a blademaster because the majority of them were power-wrought; an exceptional blade for an exceptional swordsman, so to speak. After the War of Power, the Aes Sedai took an oath to never forge another power-wrought weapon and the method to do so was lost, making heron-marked blades a rarity. In Terra, much like real life, the phoenix is a mythical bird that bursts into flame when it dies and is reborn from the ashes, making it a symbol of immortality; it is also, in Altan's homeland, a symbol 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: 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 Dimensions: 1 1/4"L x 2 1/4"W

This is the main weapon, out of battle, of the Tilanzians, an Amazon-like culture of warrior women on Terra. It's also a redesign. Originally, their sword was a slight redesign of the Migration Era bowie that Mikko designed with me in mind several years back, but as time went on, I just continued to grow more discontent with it, particularly as I was beginning to envision the Tilanzians with a curved blade. After roughly a year, I finally decided to redesign it while looking through the myriad number of images I have saved to my reference folder. One of those images was the hilt from Mikko's redesign of the Conan the Barbarian (2012) sword; the film sword was even more atrocious than the film itself (though I personally think that Jason Momoa better fits Robert E. Howard's descriptions of Conan than Arnold Schwarzenegger), but Mikko's redesign was simply sublime.

The hilt of this shortsword is heavily modeled after Mikko's Conan, but in a one-handed configuration and slightly simplified (and perhaps not quite as smooth). My favorite aspect, however, is the blade itself, which is very similar to the Norse longseax (the blade from Albion's Berserkr is probably the most well-known example), except with a curve to it, something that led me to begin calling this type of blade a kromseax; 'krom' is the Dutch word for "bent" or "curved", so it literally means "curved seax".



Overall Length: 72"
Blade Length: 27 3/8"
Clip Length: 8 1/4"
Blade Width: 2 3/16" @ base; 2 1/16" @ base of wings; 2 7/8" @ beginning of clip; 2 5/8" @ profile taper (7 7/8" from tip); 7/16" @ 1" from tip
Haft Length: 43 1/4"
Mace Diameter: 2 3/8"

I posted the original design of this weapon February 15, 2013 shortly before the forum migration, so I'm not too sure how many people saw that version. However, like the kromseax above, I became increasingly dissatisfied as time went on and, after stumbling across an image of a fantasy poleweapon with a blade I really loved, I decided to redesign it. This is the main battle weapon of the Tilanzian warriors and has several aspects to it. First is the blade, which was originally exceedingly plain, but now is very attention grabbing, but also likely a far better cutter thanks to its pronounced belly, and a much better at penetration thanks to its narrower tip. It also has a sharpened false edge running nearly 1/3 of its length with a long enough bevel to make for some nasty back cuts. Also, unlike the original, this one features a tang that runs to the end of the section that has been reinforced with studded leather.

At the opposite end of the weapon is a very significant mace head, which I modeled after the mace of Ali Pasha (you can see the original by clicking here); I simplified mine greatly to give it more of a working man's weapon feel. It would be perfect for breaking through Terran shields which, much like viking shields, are relatively cheaply made and considered largely disposable; unlike a viking shield, they are quite a bit smaller, never more than two foot in diameter, and are nearly always strapped to the wielder's arm rather than held by a central boss.

Overall Length: 39 1/4"
Blade Length: 30"
Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (2" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 6 1/2"
Guard Width: 6"
Pommel Dimensions: 2 5/16"L x 1 1/2"W

As you might be able to tell, this is the Heron Mark sword from the Wheel of Time franchise; specifically, it is Tamlin al'Thor's sword, which he gives to his son, Rand, early in the first book of the series, The Eye of the World, and he carried it until it was destroyed during Rand's fight with Ishamael in the skies over Falme at the climax of The Great Hunt. Windlass Steelcrafts offers a licensed replica of Tam's sword, but I felt that it had a single glaring flaw that stopped it from being Tam's heron mark in my eyes and that's the guard; the Windlass version is a hybrid that has a double-ring tsuba (presumably to emhpasize the katana-like nature of the sword) attached at the base of two upswept quillions that are quite simple in design. However, when the sword is first introduced, the quillions are described as resembling "braided rope"; there is no mention of the tsuba found on the official replica. To a lesser degree, the Windlass version lacks the herons on the grip and the scabbard that are repeatedly called attention to.

Now, in spite of these seemingly small flaws, I am rather fond of the Windlass replica and wouldn't mind owning one some day, so when I set out to redesign the sword myself, I took inspiration from that version. I rather like the blue/gold combination, as well as the pseudo-scent stopper pommel it features, so I integrated those features into my design. The guard and pommel both were heavily inspired by Zachary Luna's Faramir design, as I felt the guard perfectly evoked the forward curving "braided rope" description of the sword from the book. Then, at two points in The Great Hunt, the herons on the sword's grip are branded into Rand's palms. In the few official artworks of these brands, the herons (roughly) stretch from the base of his fingers to near his wrist; unless the heron curved around the grip, this would be very difficult to achieve with a medallion that I've always envisioned as being a particularly large menuki. As a result, my version is smaller in width, but is long enough that it would stretch across his palm from index to pinky finger.



Overall Length: 20"
Blade Length: 5"
Blade Width: 3/4" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (4" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip
Haft Length: 12 7/8"

This is the Dragon Scepter, a former Seanchan spearhead. After fleeing a Seanchan patrol together with Aviendha, having accidentally found themselves on the Seanchan continent due to a Traveling mishap, Rand found a two foot section of spear, with a green and white tassel, that had been cut off by their closing Gateway. Rather than discarding it, Rand kept the section of spear as a constant reminder of the threat posed by the Seanchan, as well as of the numerous problems he had to deal with, figuratively keeping his hands full. The Maidens of the Spear carved dragons into the short haft and it picked up the name "the Dragon Scepter".

I originally designed this back in October 2011 when I was on something of a spear kick; I wasn't overly fond of that version and another member, Dampiel, pointed out that my measurements were a little off, so I redesigned it in preparation for this thread. The original version was 24" in overall length, featured a lighter haft, green and white Chinese spear tassel, and a ryo-shinogi-zukuri spearhead. It was okay, but it wasn't quite what I pictured. A while back, I stumbled across a rather ornate 15-16th century German spearhead that I fell in love with. I simplified it, as the antique head featured some gold filigree and a hollow section in the blade, as well as a very ornately worked socket, but otherwise kept the shape and proportions the same.

The short, braided tassel, was modified after one I found on an antique halberd that I think was German or Bulgarian in origin; I don't quite remember. My original attempt at the Dragon Scepter featured only a single dragon carving in the very center of the shaft, so with this new version, I opted to have two that appeared to wrap around it. I also opted for a darker haft than I used previously, as I felt that would make the tassel stand out better, particularly as it's significantly shorter and more subdued than the original. And, lastly, the "foot" found in the Wheel of Time has been argued to actually be equivalent to 10", so I shortened the overall design to 20". Overall, I think it looks much better and more like a scepter.



Overall Length: 40"
Blade Length: 32"
Blade Width: 2 1/8" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (3 9/16" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 6"
Guard Width: 7"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 1/2"L x 1 3/4"W

As should be quite obvious, this is my take on the Kurgan's sword from the movie, Highlander. Anyone who's seen that movie will know exactly what you're talking about when you say Kurgan, the sword is just that iconic. However, as anyone on this or any sword forum will tell you, while that take down sword is cool as hell, it would make for a terrible sword unless the tolerances were exceedingly strict, as would have to be the case in Mikko's redesign, which you can see here; he even points out how insanely tight things would have to be for it to not destroy itself the first time you use it. Well, in another thread, I and another member were talking about the feasibility of a take down sword. He said that it'd be best to just use an ATrim style hex-nut assembly method, but I felt that while it would result in the strongest possible sword (in a take down), it lacked the flair of the Kurgan's sword, so I set out to redesign it. To make a long story short, my first design wasn't terrible, but it had a glaring oversight in the form of the pommel. While preparing for this thread, I had a flash of insight that led me to redesigning the sword and here it is.

To solve the issue with the pommel, I gave the pommel itself a tang which, when attached in the grip alongside the blade, leaves very little room for movement and would actually be similar to a full length tang. Disassembled, the blade measures 36" overall, meaning it could easily fit in most guitar cases. It's not quite the briefcase from the film, but I've always felt that the Kurgan's punk rocker look would have been better suited to hauling a guitar around. The tanged pommel is a modified Type R, while the fantasy-styled Style 6 guard features the springblades featured in the original film, but in a smaller package. I wanted a bastard sword that would function like a proper sword while keeping the design features that made the original so unique; there's no telling how sturdy this design without someone making it for real, but I think I did a pretty good job.

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 Dimensions: 1 1/4"L x 2 1/2"W

I call this knife... Short sword... Whatever... The Cleaver, because first of all, I'm not exactly the most creative at naming things unrelated to my novels, but also because I based the blade off a falchion wielded by Odin in a medieval manuscript (shouldn't it have been a spear?). For whatever reason, I happen to like this blade profile, so it appealed to me enough that I wanted to make a large knife with that profile. The guard is an unadorned Style 4 while the pommel is a garden variety Type A. Beyond that, there's not much to say about this knife.



Overall Length: 18 5/16"
Blade Length: 4 1/4"
Head Width: 5 1/8"
Haft Length: 18 1/16"
Grip Length: 6 3/4"

This is the Gotland, so named for the Iron Age head that started it, which was unearthed in Gotland, Sweden, and it was actually the first axe I ever designed, all the way back in October 2011. Originally, the Gotland had a plain-Jane wood haft that looked like a box, so when I decided to update it in preparation for this thread, I have it a bit of character, darkened the wood, and added a spiral leather wrap for a grip, which I think really changed this design into something completely different.



Overall Length: 66"
Blade Length: 12"
Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (5 7/16" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip
Side Blade Length: 3 3/16"
Side Blade Width: 15/16" @ base; 5/16" @ 1" from tip
Haft Length: 48"
Pommel Dimensions: 3"L x 1 7/8"W

Here's a rather simple spetum-styled spear I originally designed back in October 2011; this is another of my older designs that I decided to update (though not necessarily redesign) in preparation for this thread. I think I got the design right the first time, so all I did was to scale it up to my 1/16th scale and widen the haft so you would really have something to grab onto, as the original haft was a little too slender, particularly with such a heavy blade on the end.

Overall Length: 27 7/8"
Blade Length: 20"
Blade Width: 1 1/4" @ base; 1 3/4" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 1 1/16" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 5 3/4"
Guard Width: 3 1/8"
Pommel Dimensions: 13/16"L x 1"W

Here's a blade I've been wanting to do in real life for some time, but haven't been able to. This is a naginata with its tang cut down, making it a wakizashi in size, but otherwise keeping all the trappings of a naginata, from the uniquely-shaped end cap to the bolsters on the wood haft. The blade, end cap, and bolsters are all based on those found on the Hanwei Naginata, as it was the most readily available example I could find images to use as reference. I was originally going to go with a simple disc tsuba, but then I remembered the DeviantArt user who has categorized the various sword guards used in anime, from Bleach to Escaflowne, so I decided to see what I could use for this blade, since I'd always meant it be one of those designs I did for myself. I was considering using the tsuba from Nanashi's sword from the film Sword of the Stranger, but then I noticed one of his sketches was the tsuba for the murata-tou, the sword of Busujima Saeko from Highschool of the Dead; and, seeing as she's one of my favorite female characters in anime, I couldn't exactly pass up the opportunity.



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 Dimensions: 7/8"L x 1 3/8"W

Here's a blade I first designed, oddly enough, back in October 2011 (sure was a busy month for me, huh?) in response to coming across a design on DeviantArt that purported to be the "Sword of Desmond" from the video game franchise, Assassin's Creed. Well, aside from the fact that Desmond Miles is a modern day character, where a longsword would stick out like a sore thumb (note: the exact opposite an assassin wants), it also featured a perfectly cylindrical grip. All fine and well if it's a dedicated thrusting sword, such as a rapier, but not so much for a cutting sword. And so I designed this sword's very first incarnation, dubbing it The Creed. Well, for various reasons, prime among them being my inexperience, I redesigned this sword several times after that before finally settling on this.

This version features a vaguely modernized wakizashi blade with a T-spine, an innovation found on a number of Middle Eastern large knives that strengthens the blade while giving it a very thin cross-section; the hilt is a combination of a pair of modern bowie knives that I'm very fond of, the grip being from the Cold Steel Laredo Bowie and the guard/pommel combo being from the Hanwei Outrider Bowie. The stitched leather sheath features a belt stud so that you could just slide this into your belt and go. I'm very fond of this design and, due to the styling, I have taken to calling it the Creed Outback to differentiate it from its predecessors.



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 Dimensions: N/A

While I love the Creed Outback, at the time I designed it, I felt that it didn't really capture what a modern day assassin might carry, so I decided to design a "tactical" counterpart to it, which is how this knife, dubbed the Creed Tactical, came into being. I actually started this knife without any real idea as to 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). 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: 36 5/8"
Blade Length: 31"
Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (3" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 3 3/4"
Guard Width: 6"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 2 3/4"W

Back in February 2012, I designed one of my favorite swords that I personally think marked a turning point in my design career, the Numenorean. Afterwards, I found myself wondering how I was going to top it then realized I shouldn't be trying to top myself with each design, so instead I began what I call the Oakeshott Series, as it was my attempt to design a representation of each of the 26 blade styles in Oakeshott's typology. With a few exceptions (that will be posted eventually), I can honestly say I was less than pleased with the majority of them. And so, in preparation for this thread, I redesigned them all. There are 32 swords in this series, which includes 5 of my own "Dolan Types" and a secondary design for the Type XIX. This is the first.

The Type X, which fell out of general usage around 1200CE, is the archetypal Viking sword, though MyArmoury says it can also be viewed as a transitional sword, falling between Viking swords (that is, the Wheeler Types I-IX) and true medieval swords. It has a broad blade with a lenticular cross-section that gently tapers to an often nearly rounded point. For this Type X, I chose a Type M pommel and a Style 1 cross. Style 1 crosspieces are simple straight bars of metal that taper towards the end, most often found with a square cross-section, but also found with a circular or octagonal cross-section; Type M pommels are a distinctly English style popular during the 13th and 14th centuries and are the last holdover of the old lobed Viking-style pommels. Together, I think the pommel and guard make this a distinctly medieval sword with a Viking flair that pays homage to its transitional nature.



Overall Length: 38 1/8"
Blade Length: 32"
Blade Width: 2 1/8" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 4 1/16"
Guard Width: 7 3/8"
Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 2 3/4"W

The Type Xa is virtually identical to the Type X in every respect, save for the narrower fuller... So sayeth the wizards of MyArmoury. As such, I had a bit of difficulty attempting to differentiate the two enough to make them unique, while retaining the historical plausibility that I was aiming for with this series. The darkened steel hilt furniture consists of a curved Style 1 guard (the same as on my Sword of Tesni) and a rare proto-Brazil nut that I first saw on Mikko's Lion's Paw and have been dying to find the sword that it would fit on, stylistically speaking, ever since. Despite being a little anachronistic, I think it works quite well on this sword.



Overall Length: 43 1/2"
Blade Length: 34"
Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (2 3/8" from tip); 1" @ 1" from tip
Grip Length: 7 1/4"
Guard Width: 7"
Pommel Dimensions: 2"D

This is the Dolan Type Xb, which I can't claim much credit for. This type is far more commonly known among the sword community as the "two-handed viking", ala my Wyrmfell design. However, while that is certainly descriptive of the type, I've felt for a long time that it didn't encompass the full scope of the type's potential, so I decided to expand it and give it a classification, which is how the Xb came to be. The Xb has all the same characteristics as the Oakeshott Type X, but in a two-handed configuration. This particular example has a Style 1 guard that has been exaggerated slightly to make it look like a flattened hexagon when viewed from the point; the pommel is a Type H, which is considered the most common form of medieval wheel pommels and is found on swords dating from the 10th to the 15th centuries.