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Post by johnlundemo1 on Feb 8, 2010 14:33:39 GMT
Hey, thanks Major for chiming in. Actually, that is on purpose. My thought is to have the guard and mouth fit together in a loose "snap" hold, where the top of the mouth's inverted raindrop is slightly wider than the neck of the guard's drop. this is to kind of "seal" the sword when not in use. Dunno if it can be done, but it makes sense in my head. ^^;; The peaks or in this case the raindrop center of the guard can be a problem not only to make, but also performance. See, those long peaks on your designs can cut the vibration and deaden the ring of a swordblade. If the large peaks in center guard of a guard can be made to be away from the blade and not touching in any way then the hilts can be made so that the blades retain all there beautiful ringing. Most Persian and East Indian/ Turkish swirds had the center peak set way away from the blade for example. Same principle for the Katana when habaki on most may fit very snug but the blade losses all of it's tone and feels sometimes dead. It doesn't really matter in the cutting I guess. When I make a habaki so tight I have to pound it on then the blade can vibrate enough to ring true. I have to do this type of thing alot and I try to avoid making swords with long peaks. Sometimes the design just has to have it, as in the case with most of your wonderful designs. Sometimes weight is also a factor in designing hilts, well always, and some huge guards must be counter balanced and that can add. But a good smith can usually know how to make most of your designs work. I could make most of your designs work as they are pretty porportionally correct looking on paper. You would not believe some of the stuff I have been sent by folks who want to design thier own and yet know nothing about what makes a sword work, except in a video game.. You will find very long peaks on some Scottish greatswords but not on most euro's historically. Anyway just a thought
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2010 15:06:01 GMT
Interesting insights into sword function John, thanks for sharing them.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2010 17:49:49 GMT
You know, I was just telling Brenno - I've been learning a lot about making swords but I still have TONS to learn - what John just mentioned is a perfect example.
Thanks for the insight, I'll remember that!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2010 2:28:42 GMT
Pardon the double post here.... Finally....a good design. Not to say I think less of my other projects....but this next one makes it look like my form is back for shading and dimension....I think Anyway, here is Excalibur. I have tried doing an Excalibur several times but it always either never worked or it became something else (my last Excaliber became my Stag themed sword) I will admit to the fuller being, perhaps, a bit too fanciful with the way it runs into the beveled rise in the blade. The fuller could be lengthened up the blade and then rounded off before the base, but I like how this looked so I kept it. Blade: 26" Hilt: 5" - 6" Grip: 3.5" Overall: 31" - 32" Material: Steel fittings, with copper or gold wire inlay. Gold/Brass grip accents, steel riser, buckskin leather grip and scabbard. Weight: 2.3 - 2.6 lb EDIT I'm gonna add a longer version. As the shorter version just looks good to me, 26" is an awfully short blade for a a sword of King Arthur's day, IMHO. Blade length: 29.5" Weight: 2.8 lb Hope ya'll like it! It was one of those really gratifying pieces to make. Thanks all
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2010 12:51:08 GMT
I like that longer version. The short one looks a little too stabby to me.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 4:59:35 GMT
This has really been a productive couple of weeks....it's goo0d to have some outlet for my imagination again! Today I just finished up a project I've picked up and put down several times due to everything from something not looking right to just not feeling the style of the sword. But I finally have one - A Gladius/Spatha style sword. Someone better get RicWilly in here. XD Designed with Brenno's skill in mind, this sword is designed to try to combine historical looks with fantasy style. What I came up with was Altor - the Protector. Grip: 3.5" Blade: 22.75" Total Length: 28" - 30" Weight: 2.2 lb. This one came out looking fairly nice I think. Historical accuracy is probablky out the window...but when has that ever bothered me? Comments welcome - Enjoy! - Aaron
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