The Construction Of The Windlass English Two Hand Sword.
Jul 16, 2014 14:52:30 GMT
Post by Uhlan on Jul 16, 2014 14:52:30 GMT
For the benefit of those who own or plan to buy a Windlass English Two Hand Sword.
As the pictures show, the sword is of sound construction.
It may look like s^$t, but that is the work of a previous owner who thought ageing was
a piece of cake and so caused that rust on the tang and therefore the grip to split.
I do not mean Mr. Dave Kelly, who I bought this sword from, but the guy Mr. Kelly bought that aged batch off on EBay.
As you can see, there is nothing to worry about, though for those who want to customise this sword I would advise to look at the blade shoulders. Here one is minimal and one not there and that black blob on the tang, to the right is metal glue of some kind to fill in the space between pommel and tang.
This sword should be 5 to 6 years old and maybe Windlass are doing a better job of it now, but when you are there anyway, I would remove the glue with the help of acetone and bang in some thin metal strips. Flat hammered nails would do.
When I got the sword, the grip was just wood and I think Mr. EBay cut the wrap off, or more precise, the cord that should be the main material holding the grip together.
Since the top of the 4 part grip does not show any glue to hold the pieces together and so came off easily, this portion of the sword needs some extra care.
I do not know whether the English grip comes wrapped in cord, but my advise is to look that grip over good and regularly.
If you do not want to remove the grip, just drill a little hole up on the top under the pommel and inject some epoxy, just to make sure. This is a weighty SOB, so that grip gets a lot of torque. Anyone who wants to go the epoxy way and does not know how, just ask and I will tell you about how to do this without messing up the entire blade. Epoxy is like water and will go anywhere where there is the smallest of holes.
The weighty guard was fitted so tight I had to hammer it down the tang. Very good. The same with the pommel.
Here are some pictures.
Notice that black blob on the tang, to the right.
Cheers.
As the pictures show, the sword is of sound construction.
It may look like s^$t, but that is the work of a previous owner who thought ageing was
a piece of cake and so caused that rust on the tang and therefore the grip to split.
I do not mean Mr. Dave Kelly, who I bought this sword from, but the guy Mr. Kelly bought that aged batch off on EBay.
As you can see, there is nothing to worry about, though for those who want to customise this sword I would advise to look at the blade shoulders. Here one is minimal and one not there and that black blob on the tang, to the right is metal glue of some kind to fill in the space between pommel and tang.
This sword should be 5 to 6 years old and maybe Windlass are doing a better job of it now, but when you are there anyway, I would remove the glue with the help of acetone and bang in some thin metal strips. Flat hammered nails would do.
When I got the sword, the grip was just wood and I think Mr. EBay cut the wrap off, or more precise, the cord that should be the main material holding the grip together.
Since the top of the 4 part grip does not show any glue to hold the pieces together and so came off easily, this portion of the sword needs some extra care.
I do not know whether the English grip comes wrapped in cord, but my advise is to look that grip over good and regularly.
If you do not want to remove the grip, just drill a little hole up on the top under the pommel and inject some epoxy, just to make sure. This is a weighty SOB, so that grip gets a lot of torque. Anyone who wants to go the epoxy way and does not know how, just ask and I will tell you about how to do this without messing up the entire blade. Epoxy is like water and will go anywhere where there is the smallest of holes.
The weighty guard was fitted so tight I had to hammer it down the tang. Very good. The same with the pommel.
Here are some pictures.
Notice that black blob on the tang, to the right.
Cheers.