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Post by T.Sugiyama on Aug 24, 2014 19:11:44 GMT
So this project is a first flimsy western sword I have ever tried to make. (Compared to gladius, falcata, and Viking blades they are incredibly flimsy.) The blade is no issue to make, but my biggest confusion point is their hilts.
I know that in medieval time they did not have arc welders, spot welders, or oxyacetylene torches. Therefore I would not dream to use one. How did they make their swept hilts with all those rings like you see in (I hate referencing Hollywood) the 3 Musketeers? Did they make a basket weave split the bars individually and twist around? Or maybe they made a cross bar and split that into the sections they needed?
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Aug 24, 2014 19:22:44 GMT
Usually they used a combination of splitting bars and forge welding/pinning others. You should go look at some originals, there are a couple pics on Myarmoury.
Btw, rapiers aren't nowhere near flimsy. They're actually pretty heavy, substantial weapons. Don't let Hollywood fool you... They have narrow but very thick blades, easily a full cm at the guard with a light convex distal taper.
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Post by TheNewDavout on Aug 25, 2014 3:26:33 GMT
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Post by Barnaum on Aug 25, 2014 19:02:32 GMT
Great question, I've been trying to figure this out myself. I believe forge welding is the primary method. You can see the construction of a complex hilt for a longsword here: stellenboschbladesmith.blogspot. ... ed-in.html I think it would simply translate for a rapier guard. There is very little information out there in terms of historic forging of complex rapier hilts, so you basically have to just experiment with various methods and look at pictures. Some of the methods used in this video could probably be used for make a rapier hilt: ... F2aUzCsR8Q
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Post by T.Sugiyama on Aug 26, 2014 4:14:54 GMT
Forgive my calling of them "flimsy" as I was merely stating that particular blade would have been feeble in their early stages as Europe was just getting to the age of steel and many were made from low to mid quality grey iron.
That as well as I have held but a small few production rapier. I imagine I can expect higher quality from a smith. The ones I held felt flighty and dainty. Their tips bent when striking a pine board. Far below the expectation I would have for a thrusting weapon (that had some slash ability but was built mostly to counter attack rather than block) as opposed to the Viking sword which is just as effective at thrusting as it is slashing.
In regards to it's weight, it was also exceptionally longer than many European weapons to allow reach past the opponents weapons and into armor; thus granted the ability to have a longer threat area.
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Post by Lukas MG (chenessfan) on Aug 26, 2014 11:09:54 GMT
I'm not sure were you get that from... people in Europe have been making high quality mono steel blades for hundreds of years by the time rapiers came around. Doesn't mean there weren't a lot of crappy blades but they were absolutely capable of making very high quality steel blades.
You should really look at some originals or high quality replicas, not some cheap stuff before you start making the blade. Otherwise you'll end up with something very far from actual rapiers.
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