German made ,,Blucher'' sabre variant. The Scabbard.
Jun 20, 2019 11:57:34 GMT
Post by Uhlan on Jun 20, 2019 11:57:34 GMT
When I first introduced this wierdo, sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/57353/german-mystery-sabre-new-info Jordan Williams asked whether I would revamp the grip.
Well I have. At least I tried to, but it will never be as perfect as Blucher grips can be, due to the fact that with jobs like this one has to work with the sabre, not just the grip.
Anyway, there's leather on the thing now and the looks can to an extend lifted after the glue has set. I use sheep skin and that is perfect for these jobs. Once wet it works like putty and will do whatever is asked of it.
So here are a few pictures to give you the idea of what is involved should you ever decide to do a grip repair yourself.
1.
The old grip. You can see the imprints of the old cords. The four in the middle I left in place.
2.
Removed debris and cut a channel for the new cords and the leather.
3.
Cleaned out and channel cutting done.
4.
Repaired the broken off piece under the pommel cap. These are thin and are very often broken due to the movement and resulting pressure of the back strap and knuckle bow during hard workouts.
5.
This is a first generation Blucher. Probably from the first batch. If I could get close to this level of work.....
By the way, I found that the number of ribs vary. 17 is the mean, but I found 15 and 18 too.
This mystery sabre turns out to have had just 13 ribs. The imprints of the old cords and the space (4 mm) between the four original cords tell me so.
6.
To get the cords straight I dunk a piece of wire in glue the night before and hang it out to dry with a small weight at the end. The next day the cord will bend but be fairly stiff and easy to work with. What I forgot here is that the cord will also get somewhat thicker. Well, I used it anyway. What the F....
Here the first half of the grip is done and sealed with glue. You can also see that I did not get enough material out to get leather under there. The cords have to be cut later.
7.
The second half is in place and glued.
8.
The next day the cords are cut and the channel opened up for the leather to go under the strap and ferule.
9.
I fixated the ferule with wax, got glue in and could finally start with the leather.
Given that you have to handle the sabre while doing this work, it does not look too bad.
Tomorrow I will have to go to fase 2 and start cleaning up and see whether I can improve on the final looks before painting. Usually this will take more time than the placing of the leather.
The beauty of sheep skin is that one can work on it and shape it to hearts content. That is why it was used in making the old leather bound books. And for sword grips. Once dry and painted it gets very hard and tough.
I will try to get the rest of the work up the next few days.
You notice I guess that indeed the sabre is cleaned up. Even got a new washer. But that is for another thread.
Cheers.
Well I have. At least I tried to, but it will never be as perfect as Blucher grips can be, due to the fact that with jobs like this one has to work with the sabre, not just the grip.
Anyway, there's leather on the thing now and the looks can to an extend lifted after the glue has set. I use sheep skin and that is perfect for these jobs. Once wet it works like putty and will do whatever is asked of it.
So here are a few pictures to give you the idea of what is involved should you ever decide to do a grip repair yourself.
1.
The old grip. You can see the imprints of the old cords. The four in the middle I left in place.
2.
Removed debris and cut a channel for the new cords and the leather.
3.
Cleaned out and channel cutting done.
4.
Repaired the broken off piece under the pommel cap. These are thin and are very often broken due to the movement and resulting pressure of the back strap and knuckle bow during hard workouts.
5.
This is a first generation Blucher. Probably from the first batch. If I could get close to this level of work.....
By the way, I found that the number of ribs vary. 17 is the mean, but I found 15 and 18 too.
This mystery sabre turns out to have had just 13 ribs. The imprints of the old cords and the space (4 mm) between the four original cords tell me so.
6.
To get the cords straight I dunk a piece of wire in glue the night before and hang it out to dry with a small weight at the end. The next day the cord will bend but be fairly stiff and easy to work with. What I forgot here is that the cord will also get somewhat thicker. Well, I used it anyway. What the F....
Here the first half of the grip is done and sealed with glue. You can also see that I did not get enough material out to get leather under there. The cords have to be cut later.
7.
The second half is in place and glued.
8.
The next day the cords are cut and the channel opened up for the leather to go under the strap and ferule.
9.
I fixated the ferule with wax, got glue in and could finally start with the leather.
Given that you have to handle the sabre while doing this work, it does not look too bad.
Tomorrow I will have to go to fase 2 and start cleaning up and see whether I can improve on the final looks before painting. Usually this will take more time than the placing of the leather.
The beauty of sheep skin is that one can work on it and shape it to hearts content. That is why it was used in making the old leather bound books. And for sword grips. Once dry and painted it gets very hard and tough.
I will try to get the rest of the work up the next few days.
You notice I guess that indeed the sabre is cleaned up. Even got a new washer. But that is for another thread.
Cheers.