A Scotsman Goes Native.
Jun 20, 2014 19:07:12 GMT
Post by Uhlan on Jun 20, 2014 19:07:12 GMT
A Scotsman Goes Native.
Introduction.
About two years ago I bought the Windlass Scottish Cutlass here: www.schwertshop.de/schwerter/mit ... charf.html
Not because I really liked the thing , but because of this:
Combining that hilt with a good blade could be a nice project.
So I looked around for a blade to use, but could not find what I was after, until one day I was oiling my swords and I inspected this one.
And here is the review: sbgswordforum.proboards.com/thread/13867
Bought years ago, it sat on its perch, doing nothing, getting bored.
My version of the Sea Dragon was a custom order with a blade length of 80 cm, a clay tempered hamon and 20 cm grip.
Over time the scabbard, made from some hardwood called Hualee, had dried out. The fittings were getting loose and the sword was rattling inside. But apart from that, it and the blade were in good condition.
Perfect for a project.
So, after fiddling around with it for a while, the decision was made to take the blade and hilt it with the Scottish Cutlass basket.
The story I made up for myself was about a Scottish mercenary or trader, going down the market at Tiencienwey and coming across a nice Jian. A good replacement for his old and worn out broadsword blade. I like stories to make up a sort of context for my projects.
What had to be done.
Unscrewed the Jian and found, to my surprise and a little ashamed about my doubts I must add, a strong, thick tang and good blade shoulders.
Really, for the about $145 I paid, this sword is a hell of a steal. Flawless blade with nice, although standard, wave hamon, razor sharp too.
Nice fuller, 100% centred and a very good polish. Heavy, yes. Typical Jian feel, only more so because of the extra length. But I figured the weight of the basket would straighten things out a bit.
Anyway. Dismantled the Windlass too and started puzzling. A piece of the Jian tang had to go and new threads made. Also the pommel should rest on its own shoulders. Pommel and retaining nut of the cutlass had Imperial threads, because of Indian manufacture. This could be problematic.
The tang slot in the basket had to be filed, because the Jian tang is much thicker than the Windlass. The blade shoulder slots had to be Dremeled out a bit. Kept the cutlass grip, removed the leather and made it somewhat fatter by winding leather string over it and filling in the gaps with steel wire from the junk box.
After measuring it all and making very sure no mistakes were made, the blade was wrapped securely, together with the pommel and nut. An 8 minute bicycle ride took it to the blacksmith. Shouting to each other to clear things, because Rammstein was up full blast,we agreed the price and time.
He already knew about heat sinks and temper of course and he had some Imperial thread cutters that fitted, so no problems. Euro 35 and end of the week.
In the mean time the scabbard should be done. First the wood must be degreased. The spots where the fittings were to go should be marked and painted black.
All casting flaws and flash and there was a lot of that on these cheap fittings, were to be removed with the diamond rat tail files. The fittings should then be silver plated.
The scabbard covered with black leather on risers around the fittings.
The bare zinc, from the filing, took the silver,albeit somewhat darker than the rest.
No problem,because I was going for the antique look anyway. Bought good quality second hand leather pants at the flea market at severe discount because of some little scuffs I could work around anyway and a big, fat roll of good flax string, enough to last me a lifetime, for the risers.
I can highly recommend flax, even over cotton. It takes wood glue like a sponge and does not split when making sharp turns when following the outside lines of fittings. Man made fibres will not deliver such good results.
This set me back Euro 20. Me happy.
Enough nice leather for 4 scabbards at least and don't talk about that string! Thus far this escapade cost me Euro 55 total. Not bad at all.
There is not much more to add, really. With all the building blocks in the house, filing work done on fittings and basket, it was assembly time.
One thing I had to do was to lengthen the grip just a tad with a boiled leather washer, placed right under the pommel.
The smith had made the pommel shoulders just a fraction too high. Also made a leather blade cravat and filed out the scabbard entree to prevent the sword from touching the metal when drawing or sheeting. A little piece of leather glued to the inside of the scabbard holds the blade tight and gives a nice soft feel when drawing. Hefty as it is, the sword will not drop out of the scabbard when held upside down and there are no rattles.
Overall things worked out well and the sword has this nice ,,boing'' to it when struc.
Some statistics: Scottish Jian.
Weight : 1499 grams or 3 lib 4.875 oz.
POB : 10 cm or 3,94" from the guard.
Blade length : 80 cm or 31.5".
Total length : 96 cm or 37,8".
Summary:
This build was fairly easy to do. Even the tang work was nothing out of the ordinary, but I prefer to leave such jobs to the professionals at this moment.
Though it feels substantial, this sword is not cumbersome at all. Well balanced, I should say. The spherical pommel is a good and soft stopper for the sword hand and the basket is roomy enough, even when I use my gauntlets. For once Windlass got that right. With the typical forward feel of the Jian this would be a very good Cavalry sword indeed. Due to the exceptionally good mirror polish on such a cheap blade and the nice hamon, the basket makes a nice contrast.
It is really two worlds meeting.
All in all I am quite satisfied with the outcome of this little experiment.
Next week I will post the sequel: ,, The River Pirates of Tiencienwey ''.
Cheers.