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[Alric]

This is an in-progress project that I'm hoping to finish before Ragnarok. It's not a Dag sword, but I thought I'd share since we're all sword nerds.

I got my first steel sword last week. It's a Hanwei Tinker Norman - cheap, but made with attention to the little details like distal taper and blade geometry that separate functional reproductions from cheap wall hangers. I'm looking forward to doing some cutting with it when I get out of the city.

When it arrived, it was exactly what I had hoped it would be: a well designed blade and sturdy construction. But also kind of boring. So I decided to give it a makeover. Here's what it looks like from the manufacturer:



Not too shabby, but the pommel and guard were too shiny for my taste, and the black handle was boring (and the black chrome tanned leather wrap looked too much like a couch). The scabbard was really nice for something in this price range, but it was also a little boring, and it was made from fiberglass (covered in leather) and didn't fit the blade very well so that it rattled when the sword was shaken. The sword's blade looked machined (well, it is!). So I set to work!

First I spent an evening in front of the tv polishing the blade with progressively finer sandpaper to take off the machined grind marks and make it look a little cleaner. I didn't want a mirror finish, so I stopped once I hit 1500 grit sandpaper. I didn't take all the grind marks out, but I did manage to make it look less like it came out of a factory, which was my goal.

Then I attacked the pommel and guard with sandpaper, to try to replace the mirror finish with something more satin. I'm not convinced I took enough shiny off, yet - I might still try to dull it more once I get the new grip on it.

The I ripped the grip off, added some strips of leather to make it fit my hand better, and cut out a piece of thin veg tanned leather to re wrap the handle. My first attempt didn't quite work; this picture of is attempt #2. I ran out of glue here, so finishing the handle is on hold until I can get to the store.



In the meanwhile, I was also working on a new scabbard to replace the poorly fitting fiberglass one that came with the sword.

There's a cool book that discusses all the archaeological finds of Anglo-Saxon scabbards, Sheaths and Scabbards in England AD400-1100 by Ester A. Cameron. Using it as a reference, along with some helpful tutorials like this one, I chiseled out two pieces of 1/4" poplar to fit around my sword blade and glued them together.


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It took a long time to get the fit right, but it wasn't very difficult. The bandage on my thumb is from when I forgot that chisels are as sharp as knives; I cut myself almost to the bone, reminding myself to be more careful but also about how quickly cuts from really sharp things can heal (3 days later, the wound was completely closed!).

After I glued the two scabbard halves together I trimmed them to shape with a chisel and sandpaper.





Next up: glue linen to the scabbard to strengthen it. Then it'll be covered with leather.

[Spiderling]

Hot damn this is awesome.

[Solusar]

You're so on Team Awesome when zombies start rising.

[Alagos of Ivormere]

Yeah I'd call myself a sword nerd, but not on the same continent as that project far as know-how and awesomeness go.

[Alric]

I had zero know-how when I started this project (I'd never even used a chisel before, let alone tried to make something like a scabbard or re-wrap a sword hilt). It's been a huge learning experience, but the internet's got some great resources available.

Once I got some more glue, I finished wrapping the grip. I got the leather wet so I could form it tightly the the handle, then glued it on with multi-purpose cement and wrapped it in string to hold it tight while it dried (this also leaves a cool texture on the leather once it's dried).



And I set it aside to dry.

While it was drying, I started working on the scabbard again. The first step was the wrap it in linen. This was done on a lot of Viking scabbards, and there's evidence that some of the English scabbards found at York included this step. The cloth, soaked in glue, adds strength to the thin wood of the scabbard (it's only 2-3mm thick) and helps prevent the two halves from splitting apart.

I spread glue on one side of the scabbard, pressed the fabric onto it, and let it dry for a few minutes.



Then I flipped it over, spread more glue, and roughly stitched the fabric up the back.



The fabric was on pretty tight, and it changed the shape of the scabbard a little, making the sword loose (doh!). This was easy to fit, though; I glued two thin strips of 2oz leather into the opening of the scabbard to make it a little tighter, and that made the fit snug again (tight enough that the scabbard can be turned upside down without letting the sword fall out, unless it's shaken).

The next step was to wrap the scabbard in leather. I cut it out to the rough shape and soaked it in water to make it easier to form around the scabbard. Here it is as I'm sewing the seam along the back:



And here's the seam after I finished sewing it and burnished it smooth:



By this time, the grip had finished drying, so I took the string off and glued down the final few mm of overlap (I left it to the end so I could have more control and be sure that it was glued down completely; I didn't want the glue to come loose and the grip to peel off later!).

Here's the finished (undyed) grip:



And the scabbard:



Next up: dying the grip and scabbard finishing the top edge of the scabbard with some stitches, and making the belt!

[Alric]

I started dying it! My hand is not a nice shade of brown . I knew this would happen, but I don't think I understood just how much dye I'd get on me without taking more precautions... learning experience!

[Swordbrother Haldor]

Yeah it's easy to forget when leather working that we are made of the stuff the dye was meant to stick to. That goes for the stuff the knives were meant to cut, as well.


Really good work, as usual you crafty bastard.

[Siguric]

This is why the rest of us can't have nice stuff.

Great job, Al.

[Alric]

I dyed it! Unfortunately, I put the dye on too heavily and it got really dark (it almost looks black, though it's a dark brown up close). I'm disappointed, but it's my own fault for failing to test the dye on a scrap of leather first. Next time, I'm going to have to dilute the dye first, and be more careful how thick I put it on.

But oh well!

Here it is:





Next: stitches around the opening, and then a belt!

[Father Ciaran]

I think it's pretty slick man. I would be proud to have produced that.

[Rainen]

Alric... You're too damned awesome. Stop it.

[Alric]

It's almost done! I waxed the scabbard and added the belt. The bronze buckle and strap end are from Armour and Castings.

Here's a photo of me wearing it:



And two more views:





The belt still needs to be waxed, but aside of that, I think it might be done!

[Leaf of Redwater]

Bring this to oceanside onslaught, if you would. I'd like to see it.

[Laskiel Caphra]

That is awesome!! Gorgeous work!

[Rainen]

Looking great! (The sword that is.)

Alric, you look like you could use some sleep, man.

[Alric]

I got some!

[Rainen]

I'm gonna be honest, that's the most banged up I've ever seen you. Haha, poor Saxon. 

Scabbard is wicked, but how does the sword itself handle?

[Alric]

I haven't gotten to cut with it yet, but it feels good. It's heavy (2lb 7oz, I think), balances about 6" above the grip (which is correct for this style of sword), and has a good distal taper (the blade is not only wider but also thicker at the base, thinner at the tip, meaning it actually handles a little faster than my 29oz Dag sword, though the Dag sword does feel lighter to hold). When I get up to my parents' house in the country I plan on cutting some things with it, and I'll have a better answer then. People who know more about swords than me say this handles well, which is one of a reasons I bought it - I'm hoping to use this sword to learn what a sword should be like so I don't have to base all my experience on Dag swords and cheap wall hangers.

[Arrakis]

Get a good set of files and lobe the pommel.

PS: That looks totally sick.