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Post by davidoa on Oct 19, 2021 3:28:39 GMT
(First forum post! Hope the images don't bug out.)
Used the past year or so of Covid-induced solitude to dip my feet into sword customization. The tutorials here on SBG as well as this video by Parones on youtube were a great resource! vvv
First up was the Windlass Falchion. This was actually the first 'real' sword I ever bought, back somewhere around 2005, but the grip always rubbed a bit wrong on my gigantic-sized hands. First up was to rough out a new handle shape. The pommel being threaded made this a breeze to disassemble and get things fitting right.
I wanted a somewhat larger swell to sit in the center of my palm and give my fingers something more meaty to grip on to- there's not a ton of distal taper to this sword which makes it pretty hefty.
After wrapping the grip with some pre-dyed leather and letting it set, I buffed out the years of scratches and corrosion on the pommel and crossguard. Afterward they both got a treatment of Birchwood Casey Super Blue, and things were ready for re-assembly.
Once it was assembled everything got a final polish, coat of mink oil (on the leather), and sharpening. The end result was a MUCH more comfortable (and prettier, imo) grip. I can't stress enough how much better this thing feels in the hand now. Having a larger, flatter surface area along the grip really goes a long way to help control a heavy chopper like this.
Anyway! I'll continue with the Hanwei Mercenary in another post once I've had time to upload some more photos, but here's a little preview in the mean time. |
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Post by joe_meadmaker on Oct 19, 2021 13:22:01 GMT
That looks fantastic! Excellent job!
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Post by pellius on Oct 19, 2021 17:55:09 GMT
Very nice
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AndiTheBarvarian
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"Lord of the Memes"
Bavarianbarbarian - Semper Semprini
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Oct 19, 2021 18:50:28 GMT
cool!
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Post by eastman on Oct 20, 2021 2:27:09 GMT
great job on the new grip!
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Post by davidoa on Oct 29, 2021 2:47:46 GMT
Thank you all for the kind comments! They are very much appreciated, as I'm still relatively new to this side of blade-related craft. Onto the Hanwei Mercenary: This is the first longsword I've ever owned, and I absolutely love the look of it with that sexy triple fuller... however the stock grip left much to be desired. I found it to be overly round, and thick (almost like an elongated football shape), which made indexing the edge way more difficult than it needed to be.
To address this, I took a hobby knife to the leather wrap and found that it peeled off relatively easily- the adhesive they use isn't terribly tough, and the leather is pretty thin. Because my plan was to re-shape and re-wrap the grip without removing it from the sword, I left a little bit of the original leather on the ends to keep everything nice and tight on the grip assembly.
Here it is after giving it a rough re-profiling with a rasp, file, and sandpaper.
I used the same basic technique; cord underwrap with leather risers, followed by glue, new leather, and wrapping with cord again while it set.
In retrospect I think the grip is still slightly too chunky, and in future projects I'm going to be sure to remember to undersize the wooden core a bit to account for the thickness of the cord and leather (As well as get my hands on thinner leather! Any leads would be appreciated)
That said, it is still a marked difference in performance over the stock grip.
Since taking these last photos, I've actually added a bit of stain and antiquing to the grip on the Mercenary, as the bright fire-engine red just felt a bit too modern to me.
Anywho, back to tinkering!
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Post by pullrich on Oct 29, 2021 13:41:00 GMT
Nicely done!
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