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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 4:23:19 GMT
 Overall Length: 35 13/16" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (3" from tip); 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 3" Pommel Dimensions: 1 9/16"L x 2 1/2"W Funny story: this is the Type X blade I was originally planning on using for my Sword of Tesni redesign, but since it would have basically just been the Albion Reeve with a curved guard, I went the direction I did and I'm glad; the finished design fits the character better in my mind's eye. Anyways, if I render something for a specific design, but for whatever reason, it doesn't fit the sword, I don't just delete it. Instead, I save it in a separate file with the rest of the unused fittings and blades that didn't work with whatever design I was doing at the moment. I call this sword the Pearce after Michael "Tinker" Pearce because, for one, the man makes amazing swords, and for two, when I finished the base colors, I noticed that the general lines of the sword were reminiscent of the Hanwei/Tinker Pearce Viking. The hilt is a Petersen Type V in blackened steel with lacquered indigo diamonds the guard and roughly half the pommel. Outside of what I consider exceptional designs, I rarely go beyond the most basic of scabbards for swords unrelated to my novels; well, I considered this one exceptional enough to go beyond basic and, overall, I think it turned out quite nicely. I'm especially pleased with how the hilt came out.  Overall Length: 36" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 2 7/8" @ base; 2 3/8" @ profile taper (7" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 3 1/2" Pommel Dimensions: 1 3/4"L x 2 3/8"W Here's an interesting little blade I designed back in February 2012, though perhaps "little" isn't exactly the best word to describe this beast. The blade is, both visually and proportionally, based on an antique quadara I found on Oriental-Art some years back. While the size was impressive, what struck me the most was the configuration of the fullers. They are, quite simply, very unique. They were also, equally simply, a pain in the ass to reproduce. Still, they came out excellently, particularly the outer pair. Rather than just recreating the whole thing as is, I decided to rehilt it with a viking style hilt; specifically, a Petersen Type H in bronze. Most of you will probably recognize this as the hilt style on Albion's Hersir model, though mine lacks the simple wire decoration of the Hersir. Rather, the charm on the grip is a throw back to the original sword this design was based upon, which had something similar, in silver, on its grip.  Overall Length: 40 3/8" Blade Length: 31" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (2 3/8" from tip); 1" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7 1/2" Guard Width: 4" Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/16"L x 2 3/8"W Despite its more humble appearance compared to the previous two, this design actually has a rather interesting history that I only touched on in the original description when I posted it in January 2013. At the time, the Tilanzians from my novel, Dragon Fall, were going by the name "Order of the Broken Blade" and they were originally going to wield a two-handed sword that had a long (for the setting) blade that had been forged with the top 1/3 of the blade missing as an homage to the original broken sword that was used to form their order. That would have been this sword, a two-handed viking-style sword with a Petersen Type X (Earlier) hilt and a Geibig Style 2 blade. Due to how ridiculous the sword looked with the last third of the blade missing, I scrapped the idea, but saved the blade into my unused fittings file, where it languished for some time until I remembered that I wanted to do a two-handed viking sword with that hilt configuration and finally got around to doing it. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 6:45:40 GMT
 Overall Length: 30 1/16" Blade Length: 24" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 1/2" @ belly; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (6" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 1/2" Guard Width: 5" Pommel Dimensions: 2"L x 1 7/8"W I designed this sword in January 2012 as a bit of an exercise, so I never uploaded it, but I'm doing so now since it's not a bad design, all things considered. This short leaf-bladed sword was my first attempt at designing tangs on all my swords, as prior to this design, none of them featured tangs, a shortcoming of following Mikko's basic tutorial pretty much to the letter. As a result, the tang isn't quite as robust as it should be, which should be obvious thanks to the ring pommel. The subdued leaf-shape came from a personal dislike of overly exaggerated leaf-blades; though I've gotten past that dislike, I still prefer more subtle leaf-shaped blades, such as the one on Glamdring, Gandalf's sword from the Lord of the Rings franchise. The guard is just something I put on the sword to finish it off, so if I had to call it anything, I'd call it a very slightly curved Style 3.  Overall Length: 43" Blade Length: 33" Blade Width: 3 1/4" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (9" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7 3/8" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/4"L x 1 3/4"W This is one of those designs that look good in my head, but don't turn out quite the way I'd hoped; something gets lost in the translation. This sword, which I call the Forest Guard on account of its coloration, was inspired by an anime sword, specifically the unnamed sword of Jeanne d'Arc the 30th from the light novel/anime/manga series Hidan no Aria, primarily as it appeared in the anime. Being an anime sword, it was fairly unrealistic. The broad blade featured two cutouts at the base that left approximately 1/8" of steel near the edge, which had me doubting the structural integrity (I know it's an anime sword, so that should have already been in doubt, but aside from that, the blade looked solid). The guard was also typically chunky and the typically undersized pommel was a roughly triangular shape. I thought that if you got rid of those cutouts and gave it a more realistic guard and pommel, it wouldn't be such a bad sword, so I set out to do just that. To replicate the breadth of the blade, I chose a Dolan Type XIVa, which I think accomplishes the job marvelously, though an XVIIIc wouldn't have been amiss, either. The crosspiece is the (possibly) Style 6 design found on the Albion Prince and I knew it was too thin and a touch too short for this blade when I was designing it, but it was the only thing I could think of at the time. The pommel, which I think does fit the sword rather nicely, is the faceted teardrop shape I've taken to calling a W1, as it's roughly similar to the Type W or misshapen wheel pommel, but with a thinner cross-section. Both are in a brushed bronze, as is the vaguely leaf-shaped chape.  Overall Length: 41 5/8" Blade Length: 32" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (9" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 5"L x 1 1/2"W This is the Southern Flame, a sword I originally wanted to name in Sindarin, as a tribute to Anduril, which is where my fondness for extra long pommels comes from, but the best name I could come up with was "Haradril" and I didn't really like the way that flowed off the tongue, so I stuck with English. This one took me quite some time to get right for two reasons; first, because of the complex shape of the pommel. I modeled the face of the pommel off the symbol for the Fire Nation from the cartoon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender (or Legend of Aang, for those of you across the pond), while the body of the pommel was modeled around the film version of Anduril. Secondly, because I wanted to know if it was physically possible to heat steel to that rich, vibrant red color and have it stick. Alas, I couldn't find a definitive answer, so I'll just have to hold onto hope that it could be; besides, there are probably other methods to attain that color in steel. I based the crosspiece off that of Caliburn, one of the swords of Saber from the Fate/Stay Night franchise by Type-Moon, and trimmed it down to a more moderate size, though not much because I think the chunky size actually suits such a large blade; it also features a somewhat rounded rectangular cross-section akin to a Style 4. Lastly, the Fire Nation theme is continued with the chape, where I replicated the Fire Nation emblem and gave it a vaguely flame shaped finial. |
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Post by Brendan Olszowy on Jun 1, 2014 12:14:46 GMT
Sick Work mate
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jun 1, 2014 14:52:13 GMT
I think this one is beautiful.  |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 17:36:53 GMT
Thanks, Brendan; that means a lot coming from you.  Overall Length: 32 1/2" Blade Length: 27" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip. Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 1 1/4"L x 2 5/8"W So, who knew a Type XIV could look good with a Brazil nut pommel? I certainly didn't when I designed this sword in September 2012. Ever since I designed the sword that would go on to become Reclaimer, I've had something of a fascination with ahistoric Type XIVs, a fascination that led me to creating and expanding the three subtypes XIVa, XIVb, and XIVc. Oakeshott recorded Type XIVs as featuring a curved crosspiece with a wheel pommel; not much variety there, to be honest. Well, after redesigning Reclaimer, I wondered what other non-wheel pommels might look good on a XIV, which led me to design several rather unusual XIVs. I became curious as to how well a Brazil nut pommel might look on one, so I sat down and began designing. The answer is that they look very good together. I gave it a Style 6 cross to complement the Type A pommel, while the rather unusual chape is actually based on a viking-style that I would later learn is called "Novgorod". This simple sword, which looks as if you might carry it about town, is called the Rider, after the riding swords men of privilege would wear in their daily lives, swords that were often shorter and lighter than their so-called war swords.  Overall Length: 32 1/4" Blade Length: 26" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D Now here's an interesting sword. In July 2013, I asked myself a seemingly simple question: if I could only have a dozen swords, regardless of cost, what would they be? If cost weren't an issue, it seemed only natural that I would want swords of my own design, as you'd be hard pressed to find a sword you liked better than one you designed yourself. Thus came about what I call my "Circle of Swords", so named because when I originally rendered it, each sword was arrayed in a circle like the hours of a clock. Only, there was a problem. At that time, there were only 11 swords in the circle: Ithin, Mé'aré, Dalun, Vanguard, Sorin's Viking Daisho, the Sentinel saber, Vakha'Eket, Wyrmfell, Drake, and Rider. I had intended for some of the number to be production swords I had a soft spot for, but considered too expensive for me to likely ever purchase (the Albion Sovereign and Huskarl, for instance); that intention went out the window when I realized that 11 of the 12 spots had already been taken. Then I noticed that, of the designs listed above, only one was unrelated to my novels and it was also the only Type XIV, which happens to be one of my favorite blade profiles, aesthetically speaking. Then, like a brick to the face, I was struck by the idea to design a new XIV unrelated to my novels, thereby killing two birds with one stone. The result of that was this sword, which I dubbed the Royal. I actually began this design with a standard curved guard and a ring pommel; however, I didn't want my second XIV to look like a recolored Rider with a different pommel, so I got rid of the guard. Out of curiosity, I tried the Style 12 guard I've previously used on Ifearnán and my XVIIId and, frankly, I love the way it looks, particularly blackened. However, compared to the graceful lines of the guard, a plain ol' ring pommel just wasn't doing it for me anymore, so I thought I'd add in a transparent gem like I did on one version of Undbitr from the Inheritance Cycle. That didn't turn out, so I scrapped the idea and made it a wheel pommel with an inset gem... Until I remembered I'd just done that with a different design not too long before designing this one; however, I really liked the way the red, black, and purple looked, so I fiddled with the pommel and added the claws you see on the finished design. I think they really add a subtle complexity to it that matches well with the guard. By comparison, the scabbard is quite simple and almost undecorated, though I wouldn't call it plain by any means. Though the exact lineup of my Circle of Swords has changed, both this sword and Rider are still on that list.*  Overall Length: 36" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 2 3/4"W In January 2012, relatively fresh on the heels of my Reclaimer redesign, I decided to get a little... Radical, shall we say, with my next Type XIV. The result was an unmitigated disaster I referred to as the Firenze; it featured a rather squashed Type M pommel, Style 5 cross with fishtail finials (ala the Albion Burgundian), and a whopping five fullers. Had the fullers been significantly thinner than they were, they might actually have looked fairly decent, but I found that a straight crosspiece just does not work with a XIV... Though that may have been as a result of my inexperience at designing a Style 5, as the Style 12 featured on Royal above is relatively straight and looks quite attractive. Well, in March 2013, shortly after the forum migration, I decided to have another crack at the design and this is the result. The crosspiece is a simple Style 6, similar to what's on the Albion Mercenary, though I don't recall that being a part of the design process, so perhaps it's a coincidence. The pommel remains a Type M, but broader, more like a Brazil nut, so it doesn't seem quite so squashed; as I mentioned above, I didn't realize a Brazil nut pommel could look so good on a XIV until I designed Rider. Unlike the original's dark gray steel, I opted for a subdued gold that, when combined with the deep plum of the grip and scabbard, looks very regal in my eye. The grip ring, another thing that I think adds to the rich feel, remained from the original, if perhaps a touch slimmer so as not to be too overpowering. I flattened the ends of the once rounded risers on the grip, as I feel the overall theme, though I couldn't say why, exactly. Rather than a simple oval shape for the buckle on the scabbard, I went for something that has a more traditional buckle shape, but with the corners cut out to make the overall design more ornate without making it gaudy. Due to this, I actually feel that this redesign is more deserving of its Italian name than the original and, so, it remains the Firenze. *For any curious, the current lineup of my Circle of Swords consists of 13 swords: Ithin, Mé'aré, Vanguard, Wyrmfell, Drake, the Sentinel Saber, Vakha'Eket, the Tilanzian kromseax, Lat'Teruya de Kagen's sword, the Forester, and my Arturian Excalibur. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 18:34:49 GMT
 Overall Length: 37 1/2" Blade Length: 31" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (6 3/8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 2 3/16"L x 2"W I've always had something of a passing interest in the story of King Arthur and Excalibur, an interest exacerbated by Saber, the central character in the Fate/Stay Night franchise by Type-Moon; Saber, for those unfamiliar, is actually a female King Arthur who feels that she failed her people and wishes to go back and undo her decision to become king. Well, some time last year, my interest in Arthurian myth blossomed into the rough outline of a story centered around the infamous Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot affair, as well as the rise and fall of Camelot. This outline also incorporated Saber being one of my favorite female characters in anime, proposing that Arthur is actually a woman named Arturia, a fact that is an open secret. Though I may or may not decide to ever write this story, I did design the various swords that would be used in the story in the event it ever gets written. To start off the collection, this is Caliburn; now, most tales accept Caliburn as simply being an older name for Excalibur. Specifically, Excalibur is the French form of Caliburnus, which is the Latinised form of Caledfwlch, the Welsh name for the sword of Arthur. Next, some stories present Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone as being separate entities, though others believe them to be one and the same. I've taken the former route and, rather than simply call it "the Sword in the Stone", which would get tiresome after awhile, I decided that Caliburn would actually be the name of the Sword in the Stone with the premise that the two were conflated into one at a later date (because people love a good story more than being bogged down by details). Now, I've pictured Caliburn as being a somewhat older sword and with some magical properties to keep it from rusting, despite being exposed to the elements for years. With that in mind, I decided to make it a Type XII, which Oakeshott recorded as having first appeared in 1170, yet not falling out of popular use until 1350, so even though you would likely still see them around in the early 14th century, it would be quite an old fashioned style sword. The aged bronze furniture consists of a Style 2 guard and a Type J pommel which features a slightly convex face, while the dark purple grip has four evenly spaced risers to provide a secure grip even when wearing gauntlets; overall, the hilt was visually inspired by the Albion Squire. The scabbard is a basic thing of leather over wood with plain steel fittings, since Caliburn itself wouldn't have a scabbard, being lodged in stone for a hundred-odd years.  Overall Length: 42 3/8" Blade Length: 33" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (6 3/4" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6 3/4" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 2 3/6"L x 2"W This is Excalibur, sword of King Arthur Pendragon... Or rather, Arturia Fendraeg as I've named my version. In the legends, Excalibur is, sometimes, one and the same as the Sword in the Stone, but far more often is an enchanted sword gifted to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake, with a scabbard equally enchanted so that its bearer will never be wounded in battle, the theft of which is what leads to Arthur's death at the Battle of Camlann. Due to this, I wanted it to look like a sword made for a king, but also a warrior, so it would be an elegant weapon, yet lacking in needless ornamentation; hence why the leather is dyed a royal blue, a color commonly associated with royalty and King Arthur in particular. I pictured my version of Excalibur as being a much more recent weapon than Caliburn and, indeed, more recent than most other swords in the story, so I chose a Type XVIa blade for it, a form that Oakeshott records as first having appeared in 1330 and then falling from popularity a mere half-century later in 1380; I even had the thought that I could work that into my story, as well, as though people stopped using it because of how associated it had become with Arturia. Anyways, the guard is a Style 6 and modeled on the one from Brendan Olszowy's In Nomine Domini, which I feel is an example of a quintessential knightly sword; the pommel is a standard Type J. The locket and chape on the scabbard are modeled on what is found on Windlass' discontinued Knightly Sword, primarily because I find them to be slightly ostentatious, but at the same time, I think they are a good way of adding ornamentation to a sword without making it seem gaudy.  Overall Length: 44" Blade Length: 35" Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (5 11/16" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6 1/2" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D This is Clarent, an Arthurian sword with an interesting history; in the legends, Clarent is listed as being a sword of peace meant for knighting and ceremonies in battle, but was stolen by Mordred and used to kill Arthur at Camlann. This was a sword that I intentionally designed to be ostentatious, going against my natural inclinations; as a result, the hilt and scabbard fittings are made of gold and consciously meant to invoke a kingly aura. The red grip and black scabbard were deliberately chosen as counterpoints to the royal blue found on Excalibur. Now, in my mind, Clarent is meant to be the most recent sword of the stories, not forged until Arturia had been king for a few years and had more knights coming to the Round Table, wherein a ceremonial sword would be necessary; however, keeping in mind that it would eventually be stolen by Mordred and used to kill her, I wanted a sword that would look unimposing, but still be capable of killing a fully armored knight. And so, I chose the Type XVII, a type that Oakeshott recorded as having first appeared in 1335 and not disappearing until almost a full century later in 1425. It's characterized by a slim blade with a hexagonal cross-section and a narrow tip; the majority of the blade was occasionally left unsharpened, allowing the sword to act more as an impact weapon against plate armor where the ability to cut was virtually unneeded. Despite its heavily thrust oriented nature, modern reproductions (the Landgraf and Sempach by Albion) of the type still cut way out of proportion to what you would imagine such a slender blade with a thick cross-section should be capable of. The guard, while being fairly simple in shape, is somewhat fancy in design; it's a Style 10 inspired by another SBG member's design (a combination of LemuelTheLemur and Kriegmalion's work). The pommel, a Type I with a concave face, along with the grip, were heavily drawn from Albion's new XVIIIc sword, the Alexandria, which I find myself quizzically drawn to more than their Principe despite the fact that I prefer fishtail pommels. Lastly, the scabbard's chape and locket were inspired by those on Weta Workshop's Anduril scabbard from the LotR films, though lacking the finial of the chape and the side rings of the locket. I felt they were suitably regal looking for a ceremonial sword. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 18:41:39 GMT
 Overall Length: 38" Blade Length: 31" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (8 13/16" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 3/4"W In many sources, the sword of Lancelot isn't named or even really described, save for a single battle wherein he borrows a sword from Arthur; a few, however, call his sword Arondight. Because Lancelot is such an integral character to the Arthurian legend and, indeed, to the story in my head, I felt he deserved a named sword, even if the weapon itself was rather plain. And so, I decided to call it Arondight after those few sources. I began designing Arondight without a clear picture in my head of what I wanted, beyond that I felt a Type XVI blade was appropriate. Oakeshott records the XVI as first appearing in 1300 and disappearing a half century later in 1350. It features a Style 6 cross and a Type T pommel, meaning there's virtually nothing unusual about this sword from a historical perspective. The specific proportions of the blade were actually inspired by the Angus Trim Maker's Mark XVI in the collection of our very own Mike Harris.  Overall Length: 37 3/4" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (2" from tip); 1 1/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 1/4" Guard Width: 7 3/4" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/8"L x 2"W Sir Ector is a somewhat less well known character from Arthurian myth, but is a knight of the round table, as well as Arthur's foster father; he's most notable as being the first to swear fealty to Arthur following the latter's removal of the sword from the stone. Despite such a small part in the overall legends, I feel he could use greater characterization, having had such a hand in shaping Arthur's early years. I pictured him as being somewhat stern, but also a caring man, a country lord who is frugal, yet magnanimous to take in an orphan no questions asked. Being as Ector is the foster father of Arturia, as well as having the characteristics I pictured above, I believe a somewhat older style of sword that was more utilitarian than anything would be the most fitting, so I chose a Type XIII; Oakeshott records it as first appearing in 1240 and disappearing over a century later in 1350, meaning that it would be seen as slightly old fashioned, but still in popular use, so to speak, so it wouldn't set him apart too much. The pommel is a Type I while the guard is a Style 6, so again, as with Arondight, there is nothing historically unusual about this sword, though historical accuracy in what amounts to a fantasy novel doesn't mean much.  Overall Length: 44 5/8" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (3" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/16"L x 2 5/8"W And now the grandaddy of them all, after a fashion: the sword of Uther Pendragon; or rather, Uther Fendraeg as the name appears in my head. In all versions of the legend, Uther is the father of Arthur by way of the Lady Igraine. According to the earlier legends, Igraine was the wife of Gorlois, one of Uther's enemies, whom he tricked into sleeping with him with the help of Merlin, making Arthur a bastard. In later legends, Arthur's conception happens after Gorlois' death, upon which Uther marries Igraine, legitimizing Arthur, though both versions agree that the act of conception happened the same night that Uther's men dispatched Gorlois. Other than this one fact, Uther is a fairly ambiguous character in the Arthurian legend, though he is oft described as a strong king and a defender of the people. Due to his status as a king and the biological father of Arturia, I pictured him carrying a large warsword of an old style that was richly decorated, though nowhere near as gaudy as was popular with later Renaissance period swords. As such, I chose a Type XIIa profile for his blade, a style that Oakeshott records as first appearing in 1250 and not falling out of favor until 1400, giving it the second longest (recorded) period of time, usage wise (the one handed variant, the Type XII, holds the longest at 180 years, from 1170-1350). The pommel is a Type A and the guard is a Style 1, both of which could have been found on the XIIa, though I can't think of any example of the former being found on a longsword. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 18:47:03 GMT
 Overall Length: 33 1/8" Blade Length: 28" Blade Width: 2 7/8" @ base; 1 3/4" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 1 3/4"L x 2 5/8"W In the Arthurian legends, Sir Bedevere is best remembered as the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake following Arthur's death in the Battle of Camlann, but in the Welsh tradition of the story, he is known as Bedwyr Bedrydant (Bedwyr of the Perfect Sinews) and is described as an exceptionally handsome, one-handed knight who uses dark magic to subdue his enemies with great skill and aggression; he was feared because of this and his hanging was called for again and again, but Arthur refused as he held him in high regards. If I were to ever write this story, my Bedevere would be a mixture of the two traditions. For the sword of Bedevere, I chose a Type XIV, which was popular from about 1275 to 1340, a period of 65 years; my primary purpose in choosing it, however, was to pay homage to the character's disability: anything requiring two hands, be it a sword or style of fencing, would be out of the question, so a relatively short and broad sword that is slightly better at cutting than thrusting seemed perfect for him. The guard is a Style 7, though the pommel is an extremely a-historical Type C variant; I chose it, as well as the color scheme, for its somewhat menacing appearance compared to the near universal wheel pommel found on so many other swords as another homage to the character's reputation.  SwordOverall Length: 38" Blade Length: 32" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (3 1/2" from tip); 1" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 2 3/4"W By-knifeOverall Length: 9" Blade Length: 5" Blade Width: 1 5/16" @ base; 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/8" Guard Width: N/A Pommel Dimensions: N/A Sir Gawain is King Arthur's nephew, by way of his sister Morgause and King Lot, and is described as a great many things in the sagas. He is formidable, courteous, compassionate, and fiercely loyal to king and family. He is a friend to his junior knights, defender of the poor, and "the Maiden's Knight", a defender of women, as well. He is also described as having an exemplary knowledge of herbs that make him a superb healer. It is primarily this last aspect that fueled my interpretation of the character. I pictured him as being something of a wanderer, going from place to place, helping the sick and poor and I felt that a sword with a relatively gentle appearance, as well as a useful by-knife, fit that image. To this end, I chose a Type Xa for his blade, a style that dates back to the vikings, enjoying usage until about 1200. The pommel is a Type M, also hearkening back to the lobed pommels found on viking swords, though the guard is a curved Style 1, giving it a somewhat more modern feel. The by-knife, by comparison, is based on something I found through Google that I really liked the shape of; it reminded me of the roach belly trade knives found in the American frontier of the 17th-18th centuries.  Overall Length: 38" Blade Length: 32" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1" @ profile taper (9 1/2" from tip); 1/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 7 1/2" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D Galahad is an interesting character in the Arthurian legends; the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, who took on the appearance of Queen Guinevere, yet despite this, he is renowned for his purity and gallantry. He is also the only knight to survive the Siege Perilous (an unused seat kept vacant for the one who will accomplish the Grail Quest and is fatal to all others), as well as pulling a sword from a stone, much like Arthur himself did to become king. When he passes these tests with ease, he is instantly declared to be the greatest knight ever and promptly made a member of the Round Table. Now, between you and me, that sounds suspiciously like what we call a "Mary Sue" these days, so the Galahad I envisioned for my story is quite a bit different. Anyways, the sword of Galahad, I think, reflects his characterization in the original legends. I felt a Type XV, popular from 1290 to 1415, was rather fitting, as the thrust is oft portrayed as more elegant than the slash, perhaps thanks to the help of swashbuckling films wherein the rapier is king. Despite that, it is still quite useful as a cutting weapon. The pommel is a G1, a strongly convex disc pommel with floral designs, reflecting the character's purity; it came about in the second quarter of the 15th century and seems to be solely Italian, but I think a few liberties can be taken for a fantasy story, no? The guard is borrowed from the Albion Prince and doesn't conform to any single style, but it could be considered a variant of the Style 6 or 8 if you cocked your head to the side and squinted just right. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 19:28:56 GMT
 Overall Length: 34 1/4" Blade Length: 28" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (7 1/4" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 6 1/4" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D King Lot, last of the prominent characters to wield a sword in the "Arturian" story I pictured. In the legends, Lot is a very important character to the story, yet is, at the same time, quite minor; he is often portrayed as the father of both Gawain and Mordred, meaning his overall impact to the legend is an extreme one, yet his personal impact is negligible, rarely receiving a mention compared to his sons. Due to this, he is also a relatively minor character in the story I've envisioned and, in fact, is primarily only there to serve as the father of Gawain and husband to Arturia's sister. As such, I decided that his sword, at the very least, should stand apart from the rest, as an indication of his status as something of an outsider. To that end, I went with a falchion which is a mix of styles. The hilt is, quite obviously, based on that of the falchion in the painting St. Michael and the Dragon by Antonio del Pollaiuolo, which I've had a soft spot for for quite some time, while the blade is based on a scaled up version of the one found on the old Windlass Steelcrafts Archer's Falchion.  Overall Length: 46 15/16" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1 1/8" @ profile taper (2 1/2" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 8" Guard Width: 9" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 3/4"W Some time in late July 2012, I had an idea for a Type XIX longsword that looked like it would be right at home in, shall we say, a dark fantasy story. This is that sword. The pommel, which is a variant of the fishtail, reminds me of a bat's wing, with the ribs and fluting that terminate in exaggerated points; the guard, best described as a fantasy variation of Style four with a squared cross-section, reminds me of something born from dark gothic stylings. The chape continues the gothic theme, while the charcoal gray grip and scabbard only add to it without going into the boring black-on-black combination so many swords use these days. I call this sword Caius, because I got the inspiration for the sword from Caius the Shadow Monarch, a Monster from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. He is one of 7 who are loosely based on the 7 emperors of Rome; in Roman history, Caius is interchangeable with Gaius, which was the name of several powerful emperors, namely Gaius Gracchus, Gaius Augustus, and, of course, Gaius Julius Caesar (the Monster's original name is Wicked Emperor Gaius, further emphasizing this point). That said, this is clearly not a Roman styled sword, so why that name? Well, Caius the Shadow Monarch is a Dark Monster illustrated in charcoal gray armor with a ragged black cape and it occurred to me that a true Dark Emperor wouldn't opt for the huge evil looking broadsword that's good for nothing more than intimidating the fearful and making us sword guys laugh at the ridiculousness of it. So, I dreamed up this XIX longsword as something a dark lord would be proud of. It's simple, it's practical, it's rather elegant, but most importantly of all, it's realistic; it still has some of the flair you see on those "wicked" fantasy swords, but there's not a single ridiculous spike in sight.  Overall Length: 41 1/4" Blade Length: 32" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (8 1/16" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 4 3/4"L x 1 7/8"W I call this sword "Bane of the Dark One", as it was heavily inspired by the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan; this is most obvious in the gold spinning wheel in the chape. The blade is Type XVIa, though the fuller is closer to 1/2 length than the 1/3 Oakeshott said was usual, but as the man himself stressed, not every sword would neatly conform to his typology and, indeed, the fuller on the Albion Crecy, another XVIa, is quite near half length, so there is some precedent for it. The blued crosspiece is almost complete fantasy, as it exhibits the pentagonal cross-section typical of historical Style 9s, bit it lacks the rolled finials; it also protrudes quite sharply near the center much like a Style 8. The similarly blued pommel is also almost complete fantasy, as it is similar to a Type T4 in length, but its bottom half fluted and it features a ring at the base that has had a recessed channel incised in the center; it's actually a modified version of the scent stopper pommel featured on my rendition of the Heron Mark sword. Last but not least, the inscription, which I feel is the focal point of this sword, as well as the basis of its name. For those of you who can't read the Old Tongue, let alone read it upside down, it reads "Dyu mia je, niende se mordero Shai'tan" or, in literal English, "By my edge, lost to death, Shai'tan"; more loosely, it'd be "By my edge, Shai'tan is lost to death". Shai'tan, almost universally called the Dark One, as saying his name can draw his gaze, is the universe spanning force of evil in the world of the Wheel of Time that is incomprehensible in its nature and infinite in its being. I'm sure you can understand how ridiculous the concept behind the inscription is, but that's the point: it's a ludicrous show of bravado in the face of incomprehensible evil, particularly as the Dark One can be destroyed in exceedingly specific circumstances, but doing so would actually be worse for the world than merely resealing him. To make the words stand out better against the plain steel, the engraving has been filled with red lacquer. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 20:11:56 GMT
 Overall Length: 45 13/16" Blade Length: 35" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (5" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6 15/16" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 2"W This is the Fire Lily, a design I know will likely appeal to only a small number of people. The name comes from the fire lily flower, which contributed color samples to this sword. The modified fishtail pommel is based around the one from forumite Crockett's Cymelie design, a pommel I've always felt was vaguely floral in design. The crosspiece is a variation of Style 11 which didn't out quite the way I'd hoped, but c'est la vie. The finials were supposed to have resembled a fire lily in full bloom, its petals curling back along the terminals; instead, they look like typical Style 11 knobbed finials that have been cut away. The blade is a Dolan Type XIb and, despite my reservations about the way the guard turned out, I'm still quite fond of this sword, which I originally designed back in July 2012. I'm also thinking I'd like to use the color of the grip again on another sword.  Overall Length: 40" Blade Length: 32" Blade Width: 2 1/8" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (6 3/4" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 11/16" Guard Width: 7 1/4" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D Here's a design I never posted because I just never really got around to it. This is Fire, a rather unimaginative name for a sword... But then, since this is to Brisingr what my previous Misery design is to Zar'roc, I think I can let myself slide (honestly, who names their sword "fire"?). As with Misery, I thought about how Brisingr might be a pretty nice sword if you removed all the fantasy trappings that I've vocally expressed my distaste for. As a result, the blade is a Type XVIIIa, the crosspiece a Style 9, while the pommel is a Type J1 with a sapphire gemstone in it. Funnily enough, the furniture of Misery and Fire (ugh) swapped colors, as Zar'roc is described as having a gold hilt, Brisingr a blued hilt. The grip and scabbard are similar in color to that of my Firenze design, which I think looks rather fetching combined with the gold.  Overall Length: 38 1/8" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 1 1/2" at the base; 7/8" at the profile taper (6" from tip): 1/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 7/16" Guard Width: 4 3/4" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/8"L x 2" This sword, which I refer to as simply "Hollow Ground XVIIId", is from the tail end of October 2011 and was inspired when, for whatever reason, I was browsing Kult of Athena's Arms & Armor selection. I came across their Irish Ring Sword and, as usual, I loathed the guard on it; I just find it to be far too blocky and wide. But, I was also fond of the slender XVIIId blade with a ring pommel, so I set about designing something with those features. While I think this sword is quite nice in its own right, hindsight and greater experience have pointed out the little flaws I've found this sword to have. Firstly, the Style 9 guard is just too chunky for such a slim blade, though that would be easily solved by making them thinner; secondly, the grip is perhaps just a touch too wide for the sword, being 1 3/8" wide where it meets the cross. Those are, thankfully, the only real flaws due to the fact that I actually redesigned this sword at some point and never posted it, having completely forgotten about it. This was mainly as the only change was designing a tang for the sword, as the original version was from my pre-tang days and it was my first attempt at a ring pommel, which I had no real idea how to do at the time. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 21:01:44 GMT
 Overall Length: 32 1/2" Blade Length: 27" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (5 1/2" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" Guard Width: 5" Pommel dimensions: 1 15/16"L x 1 7/8"W This sword took so long to design from conception to completion, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get it done. I originally conceived the basic idea for this design in January 2013 when I came across a reproduction of the crosspiece from the sword of Mehmet II, which I really wanted to use on a sword. Given that Middle Eastern swords typically lack separate pommels, I decided on using a pommel from a traditional Tibetan sword... And that's as far as I got until I decided to see what a knife blade from a scrapped design would look like scaled up to sword size, an event that took place in July of 2013. For as great a headache this sword gave me, I'm quite happy with the end result, particularly as the number of attempts I made at it number close to a dozen or so; I tried a two-handed design, a hand-and-a-half design, a straight blade, curved blade, and just about every combination in between, none of which looked right. This sword was inspired by the Wheel of Time franchise; as should be obvious, this is not the Heron Mark sword, but it is a Heron Mark. And that's really all I can think to say about it at the moment.  Overall Length: 43" Blade Length: 33" Blade Width: 1 7/8" @ base; 1 5/16" @ profile taper (3" from tip); 5/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6 15/16" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 3/4"W Here's one of the few swords that has as long and as storied a background as some of the designs from my novels. First created at the beginning of October 2011, this sword was inspired by the Warders from the Wheel of Time series; as the Warders are repeatedly described as blademasters who all seem to use the same style of swordsmanship, which calls for a vaguely katana-shaped sword, I wanted a hand-and-a-half saber that would look at home in the hands of a Warder, but designed with my tastes in mind. I borrowed the pommel from fellow forumite and sword designer Jeremy Hart, who sadly hasn't been online in some time, but added my own spin on it, envisioning it with a central rib similar to what's found on historical Type V pommels just broader and rounded. After the original design, I would go on to redesigning this sword three more times, each time refining it slightly and, after the first redesign, named it Rahien'd'ashan, an Old Tongue name of my own devising that means "Sword of the Dawn".  Overall Length: 39 3/8" Blade Length: 29 11/16" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (3 1/4" from tip); 11/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 3"L x 1 7/8"W When I originally designed Rahien'd'ashan, I designed it for myself, so I designed this sword as its spiritual brother and as a general representation of the Warders themselves. It is simple, it is practical, it follows their principle of being inconspicuous. It is unadorned, but not plain. It is well suited to a fight against just about anything, be it an Illianer, an Aiel algai'd'siswai, a Trolloc horde, or even one of the dreaded Eyeless. It is reliable long after the courage of men is spent. Originally designed on the heels of my second redesign of Rahien'd'ashan, I redesigned it a few months later in January 2012 to give the blade a simpler cross-section. The crosspiece is a Style 4 with a rectangular cross-section with rounded edges; the rain guard is boiled leather and is thought to have originally been meant to protect the thumb from an incoming blade during the bind, an addition I felt would be perfectly in keeping with the practical nature of the Warders. The pommel, which is slightly more ostentatious than you might expect on a sword like this, is a T2, a style seemingly exclusive to Type XVII swords, but has been found on a few XVs, as well. Both cross and pommel were originally darker steel, but when I redesigned it, I felt it better to leave them somewhat bright with a satin finish. The scabbard features no suspension system, so that it could be worn in whatever manner that best suits each individual owner. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 21:48:05 GMT
 Overall Length: 37" Blade Length: 30" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 3/8" @ profile taper (6 3/4" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4 1/8" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 7/8"W In February 2012, I posted the Type XVIII entry into my Oakeshott series, which consisted of the parent type and all five subtypes. The XVIII of that entry wore a Type V pommel because, of the antique XVIIIs I had seen with a fishtail pommel, all had inordinately long and slender blades, so I wanted to design one that had a broader blade that was more modest in length; the fishtail I used was the one I had been using on Ifearnán up to that point, which was rather blocky and one of my earlier attempts at a more ornate fishtail (rather than the simplified V1 I had been using on Mé'aré). Some time later, I redesigned Ifearnán with a more organic fishtail pommel and I got the urge to do a proper Type XVIII with that pommel. Like my Arturian Excalibur design, the crosspiece comes from Brendan Olszowy's In Nomine Domini design, while the blade is based almost completely on the ATrim 1557, a sword that has earned much love in the sword community over the years. The scabbard's chape was inspired by one from Armory Marek in the Czech Republic, which I believe is intended for a rapier or dagger's sheath; either way, I felt that the delicate styling was perfect for this sword. Looking at this sword, I bet I know what you're thinking; it looks a fair bit like my Royal XIV due to the broad blade, purple grip & scabbard, and the blackened furniture. That, however, is really just a funny coincidence. I decided to blacken the furniture primarily because I had already done this pommel in both plain steel and gold, so I wanted to do something different; purple for the leather just happened to be the first color that sprang into mind. On account of this, I dubbed this sword the Prince.  Overall Length: 47 3/4" Blade Length: 35 15/16" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 9" Guard Width: 9" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"L x 1 7/8"W This is the sword that, quite obviously, features the gold fishtail I just mentioned. I call it La Imperator, which is Latin for The Emperor; it is also #IV in the Major Arcana. At the time I designed this sword, the tail end of July 2012, I had just finished re-watching the anime series The Vision of Escaflowne, where tarot is heavily featured. I also designed it to be a kingly sword, albeit without the gaudy jewel-encrusted hilts you often find on the swords of the rich an powerful. The blade is a Type XVIIIc with a possibly ahistoric fuller in the upper third and the guard is heavily inspired by that of the Violator, a sword design by Jeffrey Robinson, though mine is vastly simplified. In contrast, the chape is probably one of the most ornate I've ever designed, as it's the one place I felt I could go all out with the more fantastical elements. Instead of the usual grip ring, I decided to try something a little different by giving it a heavy gauge gold wire wrap; this is the only thing that didn't come out quite how I pictured it, but I'm satisfied enough that I've never felt the desire to go back and change it, even though I realized how to accomplish it while typing the original description for this sword.  Overall Length: 46 1/2" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (3 1/2" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 8" Guard Width: 9" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D I designed this sword back in November 2013 and, for whatever reason, never posted it. As a result, I don't really remember too much about what went into the design process of this sword beyond that I wanted to make a Type XIIa war sword. The pommel is a Type I, while the cross is a Style 4; both are in bronze which, when combined with the rich brown grip, give it an almost utilitarian feel. A sort of everyday man's war sword. I call it Warsong because I think it's a neat name for a sword and it's the only one I've designed that it felt appropriate for. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 22:29:15 GMT
 Overall Length: 53" Blade Length: 40" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 9 15/16" Guard Width: 10" Pommel Dimensions: 2 1/2"D This is the Behemoth, a sword truly worth its name; this was also my very first XIVb. First designed in January 2012, it is also the only one among my XIVb designs to not feature that distinctive wasted grip. This is primarily due to the fact that it owes part of its inspiration to the Hanwei/Tinker Great Sword of War, which can be seen in the grip with the triple risers in the middle. As a bit of trivia, this sword is so massive that the fullers, despite looking so close together as to be nearly on top of one another, are actually separated by a full 1/8" of steel. I originally called the crosspiece a Style 6, but it is properly a Style 4, while the pommel is a Type G1, notable for the floral pattern incised on its faces. Owing to the sheer size, the scabbard is really just something to house the blade in.  Overall Length: 50" Blade Length: 38" Blade Width: 3 5/8" @ base; 2 1/8" @ profile taper (9" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 9" Guard Width: 10" Pommel Dimensions: 2 9/16"L x 1 7/8"W Designed in February 2012 as a part of the same batch as the Numenorean, this sword, simply dubbed Type XIVb, was my second foray into the greatsword type I had created. It's just a bit shorter than the Behemoth, but a fair bit wider as a trade off, though the most noticeable feature about this sword (beyond its size) is the fuller configuration, a style that is complex enough that I've only used it on one other sword: my Quadara. That said, I modified the fullers to feature only a single wide central fuller rather than the four fullers from the Quadara. The guard is a fantasy style I found through Google that I took a liking to, while the pommel is based on that of the Albion Brescia Spadona.  Overall Length: 47 1/2" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 3 1/2" @ base; 2" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ from tip Grip Length: 9" Guard Width: 11" Pommel Dimensions: 1 7/8"D Nicknamed The Goth, this is the third Type XIVb I designed, which I did as part of my Oakeshott series in February 2012; visually, I was quite inspired by the Albion Munich. The Goth features a particularly thick Style 7 cross and a Type I pommel with a pyramidal peen block, as well as a half-wire wrap. Incidentally, this sword was the first time I had ever attempted designing a half-wire wrap rather than the full-wire I'd used on my interpretations of Zar'roc. Also, as a bit of funny trivia, but after designing this sword, I noticed I had a propensity for designing XIVs with double fullers, which may have to do with my fondness for the Albion Sovereign. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 22:57:27 GMT
 Overall Length: 11 7/8" Blade Length: 7" Blade Width: 1 1/8" @ base; 1" @ profile taper (2 1/8" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4 1/4" Guard Width: 1 3/4" Pommel Dimensions: 3/8"L x 1 3/8"W And now for something completely different! After using Inkscape for 2 weeks, I decided to try experimenting with what I could design; my first experiment was an axe, which was recently redesigned into the Gotland that made its way into this thread. The second was a knife. This knife was dubbed the Ka-Bar Slasher, because it was a Ka-Bar through and through, the only differences being the upswept tip rather than the clip point, and a thumb ramp on the rear quillion. Despite my inexperience, I am still quite shocked it came out as well as it did. It's been 2 years and 9 months since then and one year ago (give or take a few days), I was on a knife designing frenzy and decided to revisit my old Ka-Bar design. The result is what you see above. There were a number of small changes made to refine the knife, but the biggest addition by far was the kydex sheath, which I'm quite proud of. I'd originally intended to give it a standard Ka-bar sheath, but the upswept tip got in the way of that idea, so instead, I used the sheath from the Cold Steal Leatherman Tanto as a base and reshaped it to fit my design.  Overall Length: 18" Blade Length: 12" Blade Width: 2" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (5 1/8" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 2 1/8" Pommel Dimensions: N/A Despite being essentially a conglomerate of various design elements I liked, this bowie knife, which I call Bowie (re: once again, I suck at naming), is actually one of my favorite knives that I've designed. The hilt assembly is based around Mikko's Slasher, an earlier design of his that I liked quite a lot despite not caring for drop points at the time, while the blade was based on a Gil Hibben design, a knife I would like a lot better if the hilt weren't so tiny; I've yet to see that particular knife in person, but in the photos online, it just seems so insubstantial for such a large knife. Mine features a completely full tang, green micarta grip scales, and a bronze bolster, as well as a sharpened false edge that measures 5 3/8" in length, so it should be capable of some nasty back cuts.  Overall Length: 14 3/4" Blade Length: 9" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 1/8" @ belly; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 13/16" Guard Width: 1 1/2" Pommel Dimensions: 1 3/4"L x 1 3/8"W I'm sure many of you can see that this knife was heavily inspired by Aragorn's Elvish knife from the Lord of the Rings films; I have something of a love-hate relationship with that knife, to be honest. I really love the lines of it, the grip especially, and there are times I like the blade, but there's also times I just can't stand the blade. Don't ask me why, because it doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me. Anyways, because of my conflicting feelings towards the screen knife, I decided to design a similarly styled knife, but with a blade that I wouldn't flip back and forth between loving and hating. I wanted something that would give the appearance of being old and well used, so its grip is made of dark oak while its furniture is antiqued brass. As an homage to its design influence, I call this knife Telcontar, which is Quenya for "Strider", as well as one of the numerous names of Aragorn. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 23:13:35 GMT
 Overall Length: 14 7/16" Blade Length: 9 7/16" Blade Width: 1 3/8" @ base; 1 1/16" @ profile taper (2 9/16" from tip); 11/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 7/8" Guard Width: N/A Pommel Dimensions: N/A This is a simple knife design I did back during my knife designing frenzy of mid-2013, though I didn't actually get around to posting it until August. I based it on a LARP knife/short sword that I happened to stumble on while googling knives for inspiration. I call this knife the Woodsman, as I pictured it as a plain workingman's knife with a carved wood grip (though I could also see bone or antler). There's very little else to say about it, so I'll leave it at that.  Overall Length: 20" Blade Length: 14 5/8" Blade Width: 1 3/4" @ base; 1 15/16" @ bend; 1 7/16" @ profile taper (2 7/8" from tip); 13/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" Guard Width: 1 3/4" Pommel Dimensions: 1 3/8"L x 1 3/4"W Another design from my knife frenzy of mid-2013, this Khopesh was actually originally posted alongside my Cleaver design; cue chuckles at my naming abilities. Obviously, this was inspired by the Egyptian khopesh, but of a markedly different style, namely one I found on Google that may have been ornamental. My design is smaller and slimmer than the blade that served as a basis, and is also double edged, so it's got that going for it, which is nice. Lastly, thanks to the shape of the guard and pommel, there's 5" of useable grip space, so even someone with meat hooks could use it, while someone with smaller paws could get a two-handed grip on it.  Overall Length: 19" Blade Length: 13 9/16" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (2" from tip); 7/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/8" Guard Width: 4" Pommel Dimensions: 1 3/8"L x 2 3/8"W For those of you despairing at my abysmal naming skills, you'll be pleased to know that I call this knife/short sword from my mid-2013 knife designing frenzy the Youngling. I call it that because what started out as a dagger ended up looking more like a youth's first sword than anything. Interestingly, this is another of those designs that, at least partially, came about because of my curiosity. I wanted to make this dagger viking-themed, but I couldn't decide on a hilt style for it, so I got to wondering "what if I combined two different styles?" And so I did. The guard is a Type AE (I believe I took it from my Cynwrig sword and scaled it down to fit the dagger) while the pommel is a Type S (specifically, borrowed from the Albion Jarl, perhaps my favorite viking sword, aesthetically speaking). I think that in spite of the two being completely different styles, they actually manage to look quite nice together. It's kinda got me wondering what other styles might look good together. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 23:30:58 GMT
 Overall Length: 13 1/2" Blade Length: 9" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 2 3/8" Pommel Dimensions: 3/8"L x 2 3/8"W If you were hoping my fit of inspiration at naming Youngling would continue, well, I don't know how to let you down gently, as I call this knife simply "Fighter". It's a medium sized bowie knife with a rosewood grip and, for lack of a better term, C-guard, finished with a stitched leather sheath that has a belt stud. The hilt was inspired by another Gil Hibben design, though, funnily enough, with this blade, it reminds me of the Spartan swords from the film 300.  Overall Length: 17 5/16" Blade Length: 12" Blade Width: 1 11/16" @ choil; 2" @ edge; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (2 7/8" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 3 3/8" Pommel Dimensions: 11/16"L x 1 1/2"W So, it seems the muse is fickle, as this knife is actually fairly decently named. I call it the Sandbar after the famous Sandbar brawl that I believe is primarily responsible for launching Jim Bowie into legend. Though the blade is based on a fairly generic bowie knife, the grip is based on the Cold Steel Natchez Bowie; specifically, the SK5 version with the brass furniture, which I think looks more attractive than the version with the steel.  Overall Length: 18" Blade Length: 13" Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ choil; 2 5/16" @ edge; 1 13/16" @ profile taper (3 13/16" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 4" Guard Width: 3 7/8" Pommel Dimensions: 3/8"L x 2 5/8"W And so the muse deserts me; the Serpent is based around a combination of Gil Hibben designs that have been modified to be somewhat more practical. The blade is based on the Serpentine Bowie, which is another blade shape I'm quite fond of, though not so much the hilt. Speaking of hilts, this one is based upon the Survivor Bowie, but with a seemingly minor, yet quite major, modification: on the original hilt, the quillions were reversed, so that the upturned quillion was in front while the downturned quillion was in back, meaning any blade that hit it would be guided down onto your wrist. I reversed this, which I think is a simple, yet infinitely more practical, change. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 1, 2014 23:55:34 GMT
 Overall Length: 27" Blade Length: 22" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (7 7/8" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" Guard Width: 5 1/8" Pommel Dimensions: 1 11/16"L x 1 3/8"W While this design from February 2012 is the one that convinced me that viking-style hilts just look right on a XIVc, there's nothing actually bad about the way it looks with a medieval-style hilt, so I'm going to chalk it up to personal preference. It could also be that I just don't really care for the hilt combination any longer; I may try a XIVc with a different medieval hilt one of these days and see. In the meantime, this XIVc was intended to be an everyman's, or even youth's, weapon. The pommel is a Type P and the guard a chunky style that could best be described as a Style 4.  Overall Length: 33 3/4" Blade Length: 27 7/8" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 2 1/8" @ profile taper (9" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 7/16" Guard Width: 5 3/8" Pommel Dimensions: 1 7/8"D From the same batch as the XIVc above, this pattern welded XIV is perhaps my least favorite XIV, if only because the guard didn't really turn out as well as I was hoping, but I wasn't bothered enough by it to redesign it; the cross is borrowed from Mikko's Italian XVIII, on which I think it looks infinitely better. The pommel is an H with concave faces.  Overall Length: 45" Blade Length: 36" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 1/2" @ profile taper (4" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 7 13/16" Guard Width: 6" Pommel Dimensions: 1 3/4"L x 3"W Here's another of those swords that came about because of my curiosity getting the better of me. I'm sure a number of you have seen the sword listed as XII.7 over on MyArmoury and, if not, have probably come across the old Hanwei Cawood, which I believe is based on that sword. I was looking at that sword some time in January 2013 and wondered what it might look like as a hand-and-a-half sword; well, now we know. I call this sword the Oslo because the XII.7 is in a private collection and was once on loan to the Tower Armouries. Neither of those is really conducive to a name, so I instead looked to the sword listed as XII.3, which has a nearly identical hilt configuration and is housed in the Oslo Museum. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 2, 2014 15:16:26 GMT
 Overall Length: 26" Blade Length: 20 3/4" Blade Width: 2 3/8" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (7 7/8" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 5/16" Guard Width: 4" Pommel Dimensions: 1 1/16"L x 2 1/4"W This is the Hailene, the very first XIVc I ever designed, back near the end of January 2012. I call it the Hailene for a number of reasons, chief among them that I am a big fan of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, which was taken over by Brandon Sanderson following Jordan's death. Hailene is an Old Tongue word that means "Forerunners" or "Those Who Come Before" and, in the context of the story, refers to the vanguard of the Seanchan army, which lands in the Westlands at Falme some time during the second book in the series, The Great Hunt. In the context of this sword, it is my dedication to both men, my forerunners in the literary world and two of the authors who have inspired me a great deal. The Hailene is also an homage to the evolution of swords; early on, swords tended to be short, broad affairs with minimalist guards, but as forging methods, to say nothing of the manner in which swords were used, changed, swords gradually became longer, with wider crosspieces, eventually becoming what we all recognize as the medieval sword. Since the Hailene is a short, broad bladed sword with a minimalist guard, I feel calling it a Forerunner is a very appropriate.  Overall Length: 34" Blade Length: 26 13/16" Blade Width: 2 1/8" @ base; 1 11/16" @ profile taper (4 1/2" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 3/4" Guard Width: 6" Pommel Dimensions: 1 7/8"D Originally designed whilst I only had a few weeks of experience in Inkscape and then redesigned a few months later in January 2012, I call this sword Iustitia. Iustitia is the Latin word for 'justice, and of the many roles the sword has played over the millennia, two of the most constants are as a tool for execution and for dueling. Both of these two uses have a single thing in common: they dealt with justice. One determines the just during trial by combat, the other dispenses it. This sword was inspired by the Sword of Mercy, also known as Edward the Confessor's sword, one of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom; the Sword of Mercy is a symbolically broken sword meant to symbolize the quality of a ruler's mercy. On the other hand, if you rooster your head to the side and squint your eyes just right, it looks like a single-edged sword with an upswept guard and a round pommel. It was from that head cocking that the general shape of Iustitia was born. The crosspiece is a heavily curved Style 9, the same as on my Reclaimer design, while the pommel is a simplified Type Q, more heavily influenced by the Albion Chevalier, one of the few modern reproductions of that particular style of pommel.  Overall Length: 35 3/4" Blade Length: 27 5/16" Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1 1/4" @ profile taper (4 1/16" from tip) Grip Length: 5" Guard Width: 5 1/8" Pommel Dimensions: 2 3/8"L x 1 1/2"W Here's another sword I never got to posting, because its original purpose was negated following a different design. This is, for lack of a better name, Kagen's sword, and it was intended to be the sword of Lat'Teruya de Kagen, protagonist of the novel tentatively titled Children of Conquest. As I mentioned in the description of the finalized design of his sword, I flip-flopped back and forth on what style of sword he should have, one of which was this sword. Well, as soon as I finished this design, which I did back in February 2012, I knew that it wasn't Kagen's sword, but I was prepared to settle as I was becoming fed up with trying to figure out what sword to give him; I would actually scrap the entire project not longer after designing this sword. In spite of it no longer being related to my novels, I still think it's actually a pretty neat sword, even if I'm not longer overfond of the fluting on the pommel. Speaking of, the pommel is the same as what is on my Heron Mark sword, while the guard is a curved Style 1, which I've used on several other swords; the habaki is something I carried over from the previous version of this sword, a design I scrapped for looking too similar, thematically, to Ithin. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 2, 2014 15:38:59 GMT
 Overall Length: 26 1/2" Blade Length: 20 15/16" Blade Width: 2 3/8" @ base; 1 5/8" @ profile taper (8 1/16" from tip); 3/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 1/2" Guard Width: 4" Pommel Dimensions: 1 5/8"L x 2 1/2"W This is the originally Type XIVc entry into my Oakeshott series, but I like it enough that I saw no reason not to bring it back. As I've mentioned a few times before, I think that Viking-style hilts just look right on a XIVc; this particular example of the type is wearing a Petersen Type L, specifically, a simplified version akin to what is found on the Albion Thegn. Really not much more to it than that.  Overall Length: 32 1/4" Blade Length: 26" Blade Width: 2 1/2" @ base; 1 3/4" at profile taper (7 7/8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 7/8" Guard Width: 7" Pommel Dimensions: 2"L x 1 7/8"W I call this sword, originally from July 2012, the Scout primarily because I couldn't think of a better name on short notice at the time, but also because it's a compact little sword that I think would make a decent sidearm for a scout or archer. I also noticed as I was putting the finishing touches on it that the chape on the scabbard looks vaguely like the emblem for the Rebel Alliance from the Star Wars franchise, so perhaps it wouldn't look so out of place on the belt of an impoverished Rebel scout in a galaxy far, far away? The Scout's crosspiece is a Style 6, while the pommel is a Type W, a misshapen wheel, which is somewhat ahistoric to the blade type.  Overall Length: 34" Blade Length: 28" Blade Width: 3" @ base; 1 7/8" @ profile taper (8" from tip); 1/2" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3 5/8" Guard Width: 7 1/2" Pommel Dimensions: 2"D I owe this design primarily to Tinker Pearce, as I was heavily inspired by one of his designs for the hilt furniture; I don't remember how I stumbled across that specific sword, but stumble across it I did. As should be obvious, when I'm not designing more fantastic swords, my favorite type to play around with is the Type XIV and, prior to designing this sword in August 2013, I had wanted to design a XIV with a ring-hilt and, quite separately, I had wanted to design a XIV with a crosspiece that was more straight than it was curved. With the latter, I may have subconsciously wanted to see if a straighter cross could work on a XIV after how ugly the Style 5 looked on my original Firenze design. Well, when I came across the sword this one's hilt was inspired from, a sword that had both elements I had been wanting to do in one neat little package, I could hardly resist giving it a shot. This sword, which I call the Mercenary, for its simple styling and on account of the fact that the chape is reminiscent of a bulls-eye, was the product of that. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jun 2, 2014 16:02:17 GMT
 Overall Length: 29" Blade Length: 26" (Cutting Edge: 25 1/2") Blade Width: 1 5/8" @ base; 1 5/16" @ profile taper (3 3/4" from tip); 3/4" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 3" (3 3/4" total grip space) Guard Width: 4 1/16" Pommel Dimensions: 1 1/2"L x 1 5/8"W On the net, there's a sword known as the Yatlass, a yataghan-cutlass hybrid (though given the blade's width, it'd probably be more accurate to call it a falcata/cutlass hybrid, but that's just me) designed by Iikka Keränen; a steel version was made by Michael Rader in '05. Overall, it's a real nice looking sword. Anyways, the hilt on it has always appealed to me for its simplicity and the blade collar that is reminiscent of what you might find on a Chinese dao (something that, sadly, didn't make it on the steel version); however, I'm not overly fond of forward curved blades, so out of boredom, I decided to work the guard, pommel & collar into a plain-jane cutlass design I wanted to do and this is what came about of that. Due to an exportation error, similar to what happened to Ithin, a part of the blade collar is messed up, though it shows up fine in the original SVG file.  Overall Length: 42 3/4" Blade Length: 33" Blade Width: 2 1/4" @ base; 1 15/16" @ profile taper (4" from tip); 13/16" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 6 1/4" Guard Width: 8 3/4" Pommel Dimensions: 2 3/4"L x 2 1/4"W Another of those designs that came about because of my curiosity, I designed this sword July 2013 because I was curious what it would look like to mate the hilt from the sword of Edward III with a saber blade. I liked it, but the blade I used in the beginning was roughly the same width as the blade from my Sentinel Saber which, with such a hefty hilt, just really didn't look right when compared to the original XVIIIa blade. So I did the most obvious thing possible: I widened the blade to similar dimensions. Overall, I think it came out very nicely. The only real change to the hilt, aside from simplifying it, was to place a gemstone insert in the pommel (I would later do the same on my redesign of the XVIIIa entry of my Oakeshott series) to make it a bit less boring. I call this sword the Edvard, a variation of Edward found in Sweden and the Czech Republic; I figured it was fitting, as the sword is a product of my curiosity and I am Czech on my father's side, as well as a very small part Swede on my grandmother's side.  Overall Length: 41 1/4" Blade Length: 33" (30 7/8" from the rings) Blade Width: 1 1/2" @ base; 1" @ profile taper (1" from tip); 5/8" @ 1" from tip Grip Length: 5 7/8" Guard Width: 8" Pommel Dimensions: 2"L x 1 5/8"W Like the Edvard, this sword (originally designed in December 2013) was the product of my curiosity, though, oddly, it wasn't meant to be a bastard saber from the outset. I had actually intended it to be a single-handed saber. The hilt is based on the Phoenix Metal Creations Bastard Sword owned by Nathan Robinson of MyArmoury, albeit lacking the side rings and slightly more compact. When I finished rendering the hilt, it looked so good as a bastard sword, a bastard it became; the real bastard, though, was in the scabbard... Said scabbard is actually from an anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, though very few people would actually know that, as the scabbard only shows up in concept sketches. It was meant to house the character Miki Sayaka's sword, which is a hand-and-a-half "cutlass". Due to how ornate the scabbard looked in the concept, I felt it would be a nice complement to the PMC hilt and, while it may have come out a little overpowering, I think it still works rather well. That said, because this isn't what I actually set out to design, I just call this sword "Saber" because I didn't put much thought into the name until I was completely done. |
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