Nightmare is no more. Introducing: Night-Rider

I probably should have asked myself more questions before I hacked off the tang. If I had left a few extra inches, I could have a proper type XIIa. As it stands, it can't be a type X or XI because the profile tapers too much. It can't be a type XII because of the taper as well. Definitely makes more sense as a XIIa.

I can't build a two handed sword with a tang that's only 7.5 inches now, can I? How about a hand and a half sword? Would a longer grip be a good idea in this case? It could be wielded with one hand with a longer grip (say, 5.5 inches), while leaving room to hold the grip/pommel in the other for a two handed strike.

What do you think? Long grip? Short grip?

First, I made the fateful decision to chop off six inches from the length of the sword. I explored the possibility of elongating the tang, but I was uncomfortable undertaking that job on my first try. Furthermore, after experimenting with potential hilt fittings, I determined the sword would be unbalanced as a one handed sword if the blade remained in tact. This is just my opinion based on my handling of the sword, so I am not discounting that keeping the sword blade in tact would have resulted in a bad sword. I just decided to go with my gut instinct based on my personal preferences.

This is the tip of the sword blade after removing six inches and reprofiling the tip. The fuller terminates at the tip at a diagonal angle, which is a bit wonky, but I don't mind little quirks like that.

The fittings I chose are a Style I guard and a wheel pommel. I was going to buy Printed Armoury fittings, but it is simply taking too long for the new vendor to list the items on their webpage. I don't believe this is currently their fault, but I need to move forward with this project. To make the guard, I used a bar of steel I bought from a mill, which measures 10 inches long, 0.75 inches wide, and 0.50 inches high. I have always wanted a Medieval sword with a super long guard, so this is a bit of wish fulfillment.

Below is what the fittings looked like after I milled the slots to fit them over the tang. I like the proportions of these fittings and the length of the guard provides superior hand protection.

Today, I went to work on the bar of steel with an angle grinder and belt sander to shape the guard into something boat-shaped. The Gaddhjalt sword was my inspiration. The quillons are 6mm wide at both ends. I used about 6 sanding belts on the guard alone.

I also took an angle grinder to the tang in order to ensure a good fit and taper it down a bit. I finished the work with a belt sander.

Lastly, I used a belt sander to reprofile the edges of the blade. Despite being made by a reputable smith, the blade had really pronounced secondary edge bevels. I sanded the shoulders down. This will, of course, require me to repolish the entire blade all over again. Say a prayer for my fingers.

Below is the current state of the sword. The point of balance is 4.75 inches from the hilt. Once I add a wood grip and wrap it with cord and leather, I reckon the balance will shift a little more. My fittings are not fit perfectly. As you can see the slot in the guard is a bit wonky, but that's because yours truly is a novice at this stuff. I can make adjustments to ensure a good fit in the end with things like epoxy and JB Weld compound.

Thanks very much.

The fuller IS slightly off, specifically where it begins at the tang and where it terminates at the tip. The blade has a few quirks, but it has fantastic temper and nice spring.

After polishing the fittings with some emery cloth and polishing up the blade with steel wool and polishing paste, I created a grip for the sword out of two pieces of maple. I decided to opt for bookmatched scales instead of drilling through a block of wood. I've always had more success with carving than boring. Once the ends were carved, I glued them together with a quick setting epoxy. When that cured, I sanded the grip into shape and prepared to peen the sword.

This was a critical juncture for me. In hindsight, I was far more concerned with the task in front of me than the tasks to come. It would have been better if I blued the hilt fittings, wrapped the grip in cord and leather, and THEN peened the pommel onto the tang. I would have avoided several awkward stages of the build.

For starters, bluing the fittings when they are unmounted is a lot easier, and I can always touch up the pieces once they are fitted. Also, wrapping the grip with cord and leather would have been much easier prior to peening and would have avoided all sorts of mess with glue.

Below is what the grip looked before I peened. I was so concerned that the grip would crack during the peening process, but it withstood the full force of my hammering. It really wasn't the issue I thought it would be.

Once the sword was peened, I decided to wrap the grip with cord and THEN with leather. Many Medieval swords are believed to have this style of construction, and I think the cord underlay has many benefits. For one, it strengthens the wood grip. Also, it creates a nice cushion beneath the leather wrap to attain a really soft and comfortable grip.

This is what the grip looked like at this stage. Please notice that I also set lab created emerald cabochons into brass bezel cups into the pommel by this stage.

After the cord wrap was complete, I wrapped the grip in veg tan leather, and secured the leather with another cord wrap, which has the added effect of creating an impression of cord in the leather.

Once everything cured, I dyed the leather and applied leather conditioner.

Why? The grip was too thick. Here's what I've learned. You need to start small. If you are satisfied with the thickness of the wood grip PRIOR to adding any other layers, then you need to reduce the thickness even more. One layer of cotton cord adds anywhere between 0.5mm to 1mm thickness on either side of the grip, potentially increasing the thickness to 2mm. These many layers quickly add up. Once I added the cord wrap underlay, I was satisfied with the thickness at that stage. This should have told me to go back and reduce the thickness of the wood grip.

Removing the leather was not too difficult. Removing the cord underlay was one of the most tiresome tasks I've ever performed. All the glue I used to fit the leather wrap caused the cord underlay to stiffen. Any crack to the grip caused by use would have definitely been held together by the cord underlay. To remove the cord, I used a razor, a chisel, and a box cutter to remove the cord. My fingers ached afterwards. They ached too much to take pictures of my progress.

Once this was complete, I decided I could not wrap with cord two more times, so I omitted the cord underlay and went directly to leather. I also did not want to reduce the wood grip any further because it was installed into the tang and it would potentially scuff up my fittings.

Final update to come shortly...