Migration Period Sword by L. Driggers (J&L Cutlery)

I have been listening to a significant amount of Wagner's music lately, especially the Ring Cycle. That means I have been consuming stories of dragons, Valkyries, broken swords, reforged swords, etc... I am also quite enthralled by Anglo-Saxon Britain: the Sutton Hoo exhibit at the British Museum, the Staffordshire Hoard, gold, garnets, dragons, Beowulf, yet another broken sword, etc... To date, I have acquired a lovely pattern welded spear, a pattern welded axe, a pattern welded seax, and a few other migration period pieces. What I really wanted was a sword. I wanted my own Gram, my own personal Nothung. "Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches schwert!"

Siegfried reforging Nothung with the dwarf, Mime, by Arthur Rackham.

An expertly made, well-researched and authentic migration period sword ain't cheap. They were not cheap for our ancestors and they have not depreciated in value that much. The Sutton Hoo sword would have cost roughly the same as a present day luxury sports car, but a replica of this famous sword costs around 9k or 10k today. Albeit, that is a marked depreciation in value, but it is still expensive. The best pattern welded swords are made by Vince Evans, Brian Kerce, Paul Binns, Owen Bush, and Patrick Barta to name a few. I knew I could never afford their work, not now, and perhaps, not ever. So barring commissioning a sword from a Chinese forge, I knew that pattern welding was off the table, at least the multibar stuff. Yet, I was still going to survey the works of these master smiths to find some sort of compromise.

This sword by Patrick Barta of Templ is a replica of a 4th century sword discovered in Poland. It is pattern welded and costs a cool 7k. I quite like the way the organic and metal hilt components are stacked. There were many different ways this could be done, but I liked this arrangement.

I concluded that I could afford a version of this sword with a mono steel blade and a simple hilt consisting of mostly organic parts: enter Lyndle Driggers.

I reached out to Lyn on New Years Eve a few months ago. His work queue had cleared up a little by then and he could undertake a new commission within a couple months. I told him what I wanted and supplied him with a few images.

This typology was very useful. Barta's replica was of an earlier sword and not exactly what I was looking for, but the hilt configuration, also shown here as swords N-K and V-H, were common throughout the migration period in what is now Denmark. A simple peen block was used to hold all the pieces together, along with some glue I suspect. I asked Lyn for a 30 inch long blade with a deep fuller, little to no distal taper, and a handle consisting of layers of mild steel and walnut spacers, and a hard maple handle. He quoted me a VERY reasonable price. I gave him a down payment to secure my place in the queue by late January, and paid him the remainder in March. He updated me periodically to let me know where he was and if I liked the work so far. He completed the sword last Tuesday and I have had it since Thursday afternoon. In terms of the commission itself, Lyn was an absolute pleasure to work with from beginning to end. I highly recommend him from a customer service perspective.

After I spent a couple hours playing with the sword like a five year old, I took out my ruler, yardstick, digital calipers and digital scale. Here are the specifications:

Weight: 2 pounds 13 ounces (1286g)

Blade length: 30.5 inches

Blade width: 2 inches

Blade thickness: 6mm-3.5mm

Grip length: 4 inches

Length overall: 37 inches

Point of balance: 7 inches from hilt

Center of percussion: 22 inches from hilt

Handle materials: mild steel, hard maple, walnut, and to my surprise, ebony!

This sword should come with a warning: Be careful, she bites! Not only did this sword cut its creator, she cut me this morning. The blade is 5160 carbon steel, which is a nice compromise between hardness and flexibility; she has a nice flex to her, but is hard enough to acquire a keen edge. Lyn's final edge on this blade was capable of shaving the hair off my arm and I could detect no weak spots. The sharpness would even please Skallagrim! The polish is a satin finish and is very attractive.

Even though Lyn told me there is no distal taper, it actually DOES taper. Using my digital calipers I found that the blade does taper from roughly 6mm to about 4mm throughout, ending at 3.5mm at the tip. Obviously, this steel is considerably thicker than migration period blades, which tended to be quite thin, but it does taper enough to provide a modicum of balance. The final point of balance being 7 inches from the hilt is not too shabby considering there is mostly organic hilt components. The Sutton Hoo sword had a point of balance roughly 12 inches from the hilt! Modern reproductions have improved this point of balance, but as Matt Easton once pointed out, a POB of 12 inches is still more balanced than an axe. These swords are unambiguously designed to be choppers. There is no doubt that the sword Driggers has given me could devastate a human body. To be honest, this sword frightens me a little bit.

The handle of this sword is designed for hands of the ham-fisted variety, my hands. It is 4 inches long, which is quite long for a sword of this type. While our ancestors did not have tiny hands, their swords had small handles, which has led many reenactors to speculate on how they were gripped. The hammer grip certainly does work, but it can be uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. With the hammer grip, one should expect blisters galore, however, it can produce devastating draw cuts by helping orient your wrist to keep it straight throughout the cut, much like the Indian tulwar. The handshake grip, however, is much more comfortable.

Although my hand fits snugly with a hammer grip, the handshake grip leaves more room than desired. I did not consider this when I made the commission. If I could do this over again, I would have asked for a slightly smaller grip, probably 3.75 inches. Still, the handshake grip does work despite the slightly larger handle.

No matter how you choose to grip this sword the recovery time is quite slow. That is why when I was asked about the dynamics of this sword, I replied, "What dynamics?" I think it is safe to assume that our ancestors would lead with the shield versus the sword, and when an opening become available, they would strike hard. Handling this sword without a shield in the other hand is akin to playing a piano only with one hand. In order to create that perfect harmony, I really need to pair this with a shield. So I really cannot form any solid conclusions about how this handles other than it appears to handle as one would expect.

Constructive Criticism (Wherein I nitpick)

In lieu of the usual conclusion section with the list of pros and cons, I thought I might offer some constructive criticism on how this sword could be marginally improved, and I do mean marginally because I am absolutely thrilled with it.

I must congratulate Lyn for creating a migration period sword with a spatulate tip! It aggravates me to no end that the major manufacturers out there are seemingly incapable of doing this. What is so difficult about creating a sword blade with a lenticular profile, virtually no distal taper, no profile taper, and a rounded tip? Lyn gets a gold star for this, but I would like to see the ridge line disappear entirely in the future. It is very subtle, indeed, but it could be polished out. This is a minor nitpick, barely even worth mentioning, but there you have it.

On the right side of the handle where the handle meets the hilt there is a little gap. Can you see it? Once again, this is a minor nitpick, barely even worth mentioning, but the handle could be perfectly flush with the hilt. On the subject of the handle, although I have never experienced a failure with a wood handle consisting of glued bookmarked pieces, I would prefer a one-piece construction in the future. It would make me feel just a wee bit more secure. Furthermore, and this is the most minor of nitpicks, I believe the handle could be slimmed down just a bit. Lyn clearly received the memo to build a handle designed for a large hand, but this could be reduced a little bit. I may retrofit a new handle in the distant future.

The peen block is nicely made and it is definitely secure. I do not detect any rattling whatsoever. There is no nitpick here. I just wanted to show how pleased I am with it.

I am delighted with this sword and with Lyn, both as a craftsman and a human being. I cannot recommend him or his work more highly. Having said that, I want MORE! I desperately want another sword of this same variety, but pattern welded. Ok, so I cannot afford a multibar construction, but how about a laminated variety vulgarly referred to as "damascus?" Instead of scratching my itch, Lyn has left me wanting more.